What flea/tick preventative do you recommend?
I have Asterisk on Heartgard (as Wendel will be on too when he comes here). My breeder said that she uses biospot, due to the volume of dogs that she has in her program, it is the most economical for her. She did say though, that it is water soluble and perhaps not the best option for complete control. What do you use? Any suggestions? |
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Frontline Plus is a good brand and water resistant  [/b] |
| We use Advantage. I have tried Frontline and Biospot.
I think you pretty much have to experiment to see which works best for your dog. |
| We use Frontline Plus as well. We're in the Northern suburbs of Chicago, and our biggest problem is with brown ticks, aka American Dog Ticks, in the nymph stage. (No flea issues at all.) Our house in on a golf course, surrounded by forest preserve property, as well as small farms, so deer and coyote are plentiful. But all I see are the brown ticks on Oscar (and my dad!), never deer ticks.
I found two ticks on Oscar this week, both dead in his fur (legs curled up)from the Frontline Plus. Since they were still flat, and not engorged, I can only assume that they were attached for only a short period of time, if at all, before the Frontline did its thing. Oscar has Immune Mediated Disease, so I have to be hyper aware of everything that touches his skin, and so far, he has had no adverse reactions to the Frontline. (Oscar is soooooo high maintenance for a dude....  ) If you have any concerns about skin sensitivity, I would make sure that you do the flea/tick preventive application by itself, and not in conjunction with her heartworm pills, or any other non-routine things, like vaccinations. This way, if Asterisk has a reaction, you know the likely cause, rather than trying to guess between different potential instigators.
(Love the name Asterisk, BTW.......*********  )
Laurie and Oscar |
| Our vet in Hudson, Wisconsin and a couple vets in Hastings, Minnesota use Vectra-3D...and so we use it. We have had great success with it, as well as our vet and his hunting dogs. Because we live out in the country, we are gong to be putting it on every 3 weeks. It is easily applied and absorbed with almost no indication it was even applied and no greasy residue.
I am not sure if this is with all of the tick brands, but if you use Vectra-3D, you need to use an extremely mild soap when you wash your dog. We applied it to Maggie 4 days before she got groomed, and didn't know that the sodium laurel sulfate in the shampoo that she used deactivates the chemicals. We didn't know that, and pulled 27 ticks off the dog after a walk in the state park! |
| I don't use anything unless there is an indication that it is needed. If I see a flea, I treat everyone with Advantage once, check again by the end of a months time and if I think they need another dose I do.
Occasionally one dog will pick up a flea at a show or handling classes or something, but *touch wood* we've rarely had a problem. |
| i used advintix on duffy and now he has a huge hole sore on his neck it has been a nitemare for the past week !! i wrote to the compan |
| I have used Reg. Frontline for over 12 years now & had very good results with it. We live out in the country but our area of Ohio is considered a "low tick" area. I apply it once every other month starting June thru December. So far have never seen any fleas or ticks on my dogs. I am told this year ticks are exceptionally bad so my vet said to do my normal routine but keep an eye on the dogs & if I notice any scratching or ticks to start appying it once a month. The lady I co-breed with lives in Michigan & for the 1st time last year Frontline quit working for her in her area. This year they are trying Vectra. So you need to see what will work in your area. My vet ALWAYS says "1 thing at a time". Space out the heartworm tablets, flea control & yearly worming meds. Too much at once is too hard on the dogs' systems. |
| My Schip-mix is having liver problems. Her liver tests were slightly elevated in late February. I treated her with a flea product on the 6th of May. We seldom need to use them but I had found a flea so we treated everyone.
We repeated the liver tests a couple of weeks ago and her ALT was over 1,200... about 12x higher than normal. We found out through x-rays last week that she has a smaller than normal liver... it may have always been this way but it was something we didn't know. She has absolutely no outward symptoms at this time. She had a bile acids test done and the results I received tonight indicate there's damage. We retest in 2 weeks to see if the levels have gone down with antibiotics and other meds/supplements or if we need to do a biopsy. I guess all I'm trying to say is just be careful. Remember that these are pesticides. These products have probably saved many a dog from anemia and tick diseases but if you have older dogs or dogs with health problems, consult your vet before using any product. Even over the counter products like these. Quote: Advantage: "...As with any product, consult your veterinarian before using this product on debilitated, aged, pregnant or nursing animals. Individual sensitivities, while rare, may occur after using ANY pesticide product for pets..."
And yes, we retested the entire pack the day we got the blood test results to be certain no on else had been adversely affected. |
| We have always used Frontline plus also.
I am hoping it work because we went for a long walk Tuesday evening and I had a couple of ticks on me. But I did not see any on Kirby. My brother goes fishing in Minnesota and his lab did come down with Lymes Disease. He said he had used something, but I am not sure what he used on his dog. Luckily he caught it early and Blondie is doing well now. |
| Ive always used Frontline too.. |
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