I bought two of these TIckedOff tick removers at least 10 years ago for our hiking packs, and just now got 3 more so that I would always have one at hand (in house and in cars).
This "spoon-like" tick remover works much better, in my opinion, than the flat "key-like" tick remover that you can buy from others. The reason is that the TickedOff "spoon" can scoop under the tick without your fingers or hand getting in the way. (With the key, if you cannot get your hand, key's hole, and tick ALL aligned nearly in a single straight line, you cannot engage the tick in the tiny end of the key's hole because you hand prevents that linear alignment; thus you cannot trap the tick in that tiny end of the key hole. Holding the key by the edges makes the key too unstable to scoop in the tick, and still your finger tips interfere with the alignment.)
The TickedOff worked well on my poodles and my short-haired dog. The instance I have had where I could use no tick remover except my fingernails was in trying to remove the nearly invisible seed ticks from my short-haired dog's legs. (I could not part the tiny short hairs sufficiently with one hand while scooping with the other. Thus, I used my finger nails for the seed ticks. However, for me the key, which I also have, worked no better, even though I could align my hand, the key, and the tick in a single straight line.)
The TickedOff has a hole in the handle so that you can put it onto a key ring if you like. This is especially useful if you want to hang it on a key board for handy access or put it on the key ring you carry.
