How to Check Your Dog for Ticks (Step-by-Step)

If you walk your dog through grass, woods or even a city park, a tick check should be part of coming home, like wiping muddy paws. Here's how to check your dog for ticks in under two minutes.

When to check

Within a few hours of every walk. Ticks usually wander for 1–2 hours before attaching, so a quick check often catches them before they bite.

What you'll need

• Good lighting (daylight or a head torch)
• Your hands, ideally bare so you can feel small bumps
• A fine comb for long or double coats
• Tweezers or a tick hook nearby in case you find one

Step by step

1. Start at the head. Run your fingers around the muzzle, eyelids, inside the ears and along the jaw.
2. Move to the neck and collar area. Ticks love warm, hidden skin under collars and harnesses.
3. Work down the chest and front legs, paying extra attention to armpits and between toes.
4. Run your hands along the back and sides, pressing gently to feel for small bumps under thick fur.
5. Check the belly, groin and inner thighs. These are the most common attachment sites.
6. Finish with the back legs, tail base and under the tail. Don't skip between the toes on the back paws.

What a tick feels like

Before it feeds, a tick is a small, hard, flat bump, like a sesame seed. After feeding it swells into a grey or brown bean shape. Skin tags feel softer and move with the skin; ticks feel firm and anchored.

If you find one

Don't panic and don't yank. Follow our step-by-step tick removal guide and read the full tick guide for diseases to watch for.

Make tick checks effortless with BeneathFur

BeneathFur walks you around your dog zone-by-zone and uses AI to flag anything that looks like a tick, rash or hot spot. Try a free inspection after your next walk.