Tick-lish situation

As Dieter was happily trotting out into the backyard, I noticed a little lumpy thing on his head, near his ear. After a quick inspection the verdict came down: Tick!

I was dispatched to bring out rubbing alcohol, paper towels, and Q-tips. While Lloyd tried to convince the tick to let go, I started querying Siri.

Me: Removing ticks in dogs.
Siri: I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Me: Ticks. T-I-C-K-S
Siri: I'm sorry, I don't understand.

I finally gave up and asked my Facebook friends for advice. And I texted Trinity Ranch Kennels.

From Facebook I was told: use tweezers and put the tick in rubbing alcohol, or soak a cotton swab in Dawn dish washing detergent and hold it on the tick, or use vegetable oil and remove with a tweezers, or find a tiny little newspaper and swat the tick across the nose (must double check with Siri on that last one). Patty at the kennel said: strike a match, blow it out, and hold the end against the tick. And then flush the tick.

Do I have a nervous tick?

Finally Lloyd extricated the tick. I must say, Dieter was a trouper and didn't complain a bit.

To reward him, I brought out the container of Two Boston's peanut butter dog candy (AKA peany-boo canny). Dieter saw the "canny" and before I could even give him a command, he started running through his repertoire. "I'll give you my paw. Now the other paw. I'll do a high five. I'll do a down. One of those has to be right!"

I also gave him his heartworm pill. That gets hidden in a gloppy blob of  KONG Stuff'N Easy Treat Peanut Butter Recipe. It was a treat-a-lishious evening.

And you'd think that would be enough for one dog, right? Not Dieter. I took something in the house and came out. "Uh, where's the candy container." I hear a sound and look out by the arborvitae. There's Dieter with the pried-open candy container. "Mmmm, this stuff just melts in your mouth, did you know that, mom?"

I take that away and put it in the house and come back outside. "Um, where's the top to the Kong treat cannister?"

There's Dieter, carrying that top around and just laughing his head off at me. "Mom, you're so easy to hoodwink."

Yeah, I guess I didn't bring my "A" game today.