Ticks on dogs appear as small, grey-brown or brown, egg-shaped bumps on their skin. They have spider-like characteristics with six or eight legs depending on their life stage. At first, ticks can be very tiny, about 1mm and may look like little dark spots, but they grow larger and darker as they fill with blood, sometimes reaching about 1cm in size. Ticks tend to attach themselves around a dog's head, neck, ears, and feet, and the surrounding skin may sometimes be red or swollen due to irritation from the tick bite. Fully embedded ticks burrow their heads under the dog's skin, leaving only their bodies visible as bumps that may be mistaken for skin tags or scabs but can be distinguished because ticks stick out more from the skin. Ticks can be difficult to spot because they don't fly or jump but latch on when the dog brushes past ticks in grass or wooded areas. They range in color from greyish to brown, and when engorged with blood, their bodies become noticeably larger. Careful inspection and tactile checks of the dog's skin, especially in favored tick attachment areas, are essential to detect them early. In summary, ticks on dogs look like small to moderately sized, brown or grey bumps with visible legs, sometimes surrounded by red, irritated skin, and can vary in size based on how much blood they have consumed.