A dog came in recently after a weekend at Lake St. Louis, and the owner said the same thing we hear all summer: "He seemed fine, I checked him over before we left the water." We got him up on the table, started the brush-out, and found a tick tucked in the fold behind his front leg — the kind of spot that's easy to miss with a quick once-over at home but impossible to miss once we're actually working through the coat section by section.
That's a normal Tuesday for us right now. Missouri is in the middle of a genuinely rough tick season this year, and it's showing up at the grooming table more than usual.
Why This Summer Is a Bad One for Ticks
Local news coverage has been tracking this all season — St. Louis Public Radio reported that Missouri and Illinois are facing a particularly nasty tick season in 2026, driven in part by an unusually warm spring that let tick populations get an early, strong start. Ticks that used to show up mainly in late spring are now active from as early as mid-March through October — which means "tick season" in our area isn't a short window anymore, it's most of the year.
We're not vets and we don't diagnose tick-borne illness — that's a conversation for your veterinarian. But as groomers, we're hands-on in a dog's coat every few weeks, which puts us in a good position to catch ticks early, before they've been attached long enough to matter.
The Ticks You're Actually Dealing With in Missouri
Missouri is home to a few tick species that are common enough that most local dogs will run into one eventually:
- The lone star tick — widespread across the state and one of the more aggressive species; females have a distinctive white dot on their back.
- The American dog tick — especially active in spring and summer, and one of the ticks most likely to end up on a dog after time in grass or brush.
- The deer tick (blacklegged tick) — smaller and easier to miss, which is exactly why a thorough check matters more than a quick glance.
All three show up in the kind of places St. Charles County dogs spend their summers — tall grass, wooded trails, creek banks, and anywhere brush grows up along a path.
Where Ticks Actually Hide on a Dog
This is the part that surprises a lot of owners: ticks don't sit out in the open where you'd spot them walking by. They tuck into warm, protected folds of skin and hide down in the coat, which is exactly why they're so often missed at home and so often found once we part the coat on the table.
The spots we check most carefully on every dog:
- Behind and inside the ears
- Around the eyes and lips
- Under the collar line
- The armpits and groin
- Between the toes and around the feet
- Near the tail and around the anus
Blue, our Dachshund, is a good example of why this matters — he's low to the ground and pushes through underbrush that a taller dog would clear easily, so he's the one we're extra thorough with after he's been out in the yard on a summer evening.
Why a Well-Maintained Coat Makes a Real Difference
Here's the grooming connection: a dog with a long, thick, or matted coat gives a tick a lot more places to hide, and it gives you a lot less chance of finding one at home. A mat sitting against the skin is dark, warm, and undisturbed — everything a tick wants, and everything that keeps it hidden from a quick hands-on check. A dog who's on a regular grooming schedule, with the coat kept at a manageable length and free of mats, is simply easier to check — for us and for you, between visits.
If your dog's coat tends to trap debris and moisture in summer, our summer grooming guide covers how to keep the coat in the kind of shape that makes these checks easier all season.
What We Do When We Find a Tick During a Groom
When we find a tick on a dog at the salon, we remove it using the standard safe method — fine-tipped tweezers, grasping as close to the skin as possible, and pulling straight up in one steady motion rather than twisting or yanking, which can leave the mouthparts behind. We clean the area afterward and let you know exactly where we found it and what it looked like.
We're not able to tell you whether a bite will make your dog sick, and we don't want to guess. If a tick looks like it's been attached for a while, if the skin around it looks irritated, or if you're just not sure, that's a call to your vet, not a wait-and-see at home. According to the American Kennel Club, ticks can begin transmitting disease within about 36 hours of attaching, so the sooner one comes off, the better — which is a big part of why we check every dog, every time, regardless of what the appointment is for.
Checking Your Dog for Ticks Between Grooms
You don't need to wait for your next appointment to check. After any time outdoors this summer — a walk on the Katy Trail, an evening in the backyard, a trip to a local park — run your hands slowly over your dog, feeling for small bumps, and part the coat wherever you feel one. A flea comb is a useful second pass; it won't remove a tick, but it can help you find one buried deeper in the coat than your fingers alone will catch.
Make checking a habit rather than a one-time thing after a big hike. A dog who spends any real time in grass or brush during a Missouri summer should get a quick check most days, not just after the occasional trail outing.
Lowering the Risk This Summer
- Ask your vet about tick prevention. A year-round or seasonal preventive is the single most effective thing most owners can do, and your vet can recommend the right product for your dog.
- Keep the coat trimmed and mat-free. Fewer hiding spots means faster checks and fewer ticks that go unnoticed.
- Check after every outing in grass, brush, or trails — not just after long hikes.
- Stay on a regular grooming schedule. Every visit is another set of hands going through the coat looking for exactly this.
Between a good prevention routine at home and a thorough check every time your dog is on our table, tick season doesn't have to be something you're managing alone. If it's been a while since your dog's last groom, book an appointment here — we're at American Puppy in St. Charles, and we'll be checking closely all season long.