Is it Normal to Find This Many Ticks on a Dog?

I can't stress enough how important it is to check for ticks.

If you spend any time outside this time of year in the Hudson Valley, you probably already know that we seem to be home to a huge tick population. Over the years I remember always hearing people talking about how many ticks they have found on themselves and their pets. I never believed that you could find 10 plus ticks on a dog until earlier this week and I'm shocked!!

I'm not sure if Poughkeepsie is a hot spot for ticks or not, but I figured I should warn anyone that walks the rail trail in Dutchess County that ticks are all over the place. Back on Tuesday, it was so nice outside that for the first time in a while I decided to take my dog Smalls on a long walk on the rail trail. We started our walk near Morgan Lake Park in Poughkeepsie and started to walk towards the Walkway Over the Hudson.

Walking my guy in a new place for the first time is always challenging because he has to stop and smell just about everything. We stopped and started at least 50 times, he was in the grass and weeds a few times and I didn't think anything of it until we got back home later in the day.

When we got home he grabbed a drink, I got changed and grabbed some water and we plopped down on the couch to chill for a bit. As we were sitting there I felt something moving on my arm, and when I looked it was a small tick. I automatically went into freak-out mode!! I checked myself and the couch and didn't find anymore and then came checking the dog.

I grabbed his doggie brush and started my search. I couldn't believe how many ticks he had on him. After sifting through all of his hair, both high and low, I found 11 ticks on him. ELEVEN!!! Couldn't believe it!! Needless to say but three days later and I'm still freaked out by it. I constantly keep getting that feeling that they are still on me and him. I think he might hate me because I've checked him for ticks at least 20 times since it happened.

Have you ever found a large number of ticks on you or your pet? How many? Call or text us through the Wolf app. You can also include any tips or tricks you might have to prevent it from happening again....LOL!