Dog Community

Ticks!

Posted : 11/6/2007 9:51:02 AM

We are having a problem with ticks lately which makes me a little mad because Salem is on frontline. We never seem to have trouble with fleas but the frontline isn't killing ticks.

We found one tick on him Sunday and then 2 more today. They were little and not engorged. I'm not sure if they were deer ticks or not, but they were really hard to pull off. We ended up breaking all of them in half trying to pull them off. What has me worried is that the tick we pulled off on Saturday. When it was on him it was very red around the tick, and it is still very red and swollen around were we pulled it off. Salem might be biting at the area but I'm not sure.

I called the vet this morning and they said they have had a lot of cases of local insects being immune to frontline. They are going to give me a new product to try. I can't remember the name of it but it was a topical that starts with a p. I'm going to get it and then research a bit before I try it on him.

I wanted to bring him in but the vet tech said just to keep an eye on the spots for now and treat with hydrogen peroxide. He is vaccinated against lyme disease so I doubt he has that. I still kind of want to bring him in, because he has never been so red with a bite before. I'm thinking about bringing him with me when I go get the new product and seeing if they will take a look. I'm a little worried about the bite. Crying

Jewlieee

Posted : 11/6/2007 9:57:25 AM

Is he on Frontline or Frontline Plus? Regular Frontline does not protect against ticks. Frontline plus does though.

SalemsMom

Posted : 11/6/2007 10:02:59 AM

He is on frontline plus.

Jewlieee

Posted : 11/6/2007 10:05:05 AM

huh, I've been hearing lots of rumors lately about failing Frontline Plus - with respect to fleas as well. That really stinks if it's not working.

Fleas run rampant at our dog park and several folks have said that their dogs have gotten fleas but have been on Frontline Plus.

SalemsMom

Posted : 11/6/2007 10:08:19 AM

My vet said that they have had the problem a lot lately. She said it's because the product is so poular that the fleas and ticks are becoming immune to it. Thats why she said to switch products.

Nikkiburr

Posted : 11/6/2007 10:31:01 AM

My mom also has been complaining that she's pulling ticks off our dogs even after she just Frontlined them...yikes I hope that doesn't mean they're immune...

luvmyswissy

Posted : 11/6/2007 10:34:13 AM

US TOO!! We have three dogs on Frontline Plus and tick everywhere!! Every year at this time we have a tick problem and yes, they still climb around on the dogs and come into the house but.. this year is the worst! I didn't think about the Froneline not working, just that the ticks are horrible. I find them walking on the dogs and engorged. Between my three dogs we pull 5 - 6 ticks a day off them, combined.

I have to restick the dogs from laying on my beds and furniture and they hate that! I found a tick on the side of my arm yesterday at work, dug in - had to pull it out - it totally sceeved me!! I already have lymes and I am on meds so I guess I don't have to worry about getting it again.

We live in a very woodsey area and the dogs run into the tall grass everyday and bring theses bugs home. The temp is dropping down to freezing tonight, I am keeping my fingers cross it helps a bit.

schleide

Posted : 11/6/2007 10:57:14 AM

We are having the same problem!! Our vet said this was an extraordinarily bad season - but MAN - we are pulling ticks off Wes every day it seems like! It is SO frustrating because I feel badly enough pumping him full of the stuff in frontline plus, but in my mind it is a calculated risk that is worth taking because ticks are so prevalent in my area... If it is not working though, I am not sure what to do!

erica1989

Posted : 11/6/2007 11:33:46 AM

if you put a little tobasco sause on the tick, it is supposed to make it easier to come off. Never tried it myself, but lots of people say it works...

SalemsMom

Posted : 11/6/2007 11:41:23 AM

I'll have to try the trick with the tobasco.

I'm sorry so many people are having this problem too. I feel so bad for Salem. I feel bad putting the pesticides on him, but I don't want him to get sick from the bugs either. The last 3 obviously really hurt him to pull off. They were really stuck on.

I'm really worried about the spot being so red and swollen. The vet didn't seem worried though so maybe I am worrying about nothing. I still think I should take him in and have it looked at. It looks infected or something.

erica1989

Posted : 11/6/2007 11:56:26 AM

is the new stuff your vet is going to have you try called Promeris? It's a new product and supposed to be very affective, all new ingrediants, so they buggies wont be immune to it. We are starting to use it at the shelter now, you can only get it through your vet, not online.

http://www.fortdodge.eu/promeris.asp

SalemsMom

Posted : 11/6/2007 12:07:31 PM

Thats it! Thanks so much for the link. I felt dumb because when I got off the phone I couldn't remember the name. Now I can research before I go pick it up after work.

erica1989

Posted : 11/6/2007 12:10:10 PM

welcome! Our vet seems to be pretty excited about it... and the best part? It doesn't smell BAD! It has a nice smell, for a change! It's supposed to work well.

Jewlieee

Posted : 11/6/2007 12:51:55 PM

hmmm, I'm hesitant to try things that are that new on the market. Let me know how you guys like it.

luvmyswissy

Posted : 11/6/2007 1:15:57 PM

I just found one of the clinical studies. Promeris active ingredient is Metaflumizone + Amitaz and Frontline's active ingredient is Fipronil the results for Promeris were very good - in comparison.

Vet Parasitol. 2007 Oct 9; : 17931785
Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of a novel formulation of metaflumizone plus amitraz in dogs naturally infested with fleas and ticks in Europe.
[My paper] K Hellmann , K Adler , L Parker , K Pfister , R L Delay , D Rugg
The efficacy and safety of a novel spot-on formulation of metaflumizone plus amitraz (ProMeris((R))/ProMeris Duo((R)) for Dogs, Fort Dodge Animal Health, Overland Park, KS) was assessed in dogs naturally infested with ticks and/or fleas in a multiregional, clinical field study. Nineteen veterinary clinics in Germany and 11 clinics in France enrolled patients to the study. One hundred eighty one dogs with tick infestation and 170 dogs with flea infestation (plus three dogs harboring both ticks and fleas) qualified as primary patients and were randomly allocated to one of two treatments in a ratio of approximately 2:1 for metaflumizone plus amitraz (minimum dosage of 20 plus 20mg/kg) or fipronil (at the recommended label rate). Clinical examinations and baseline parasite counts were performed on Day 0 prior to treatment. Tick and/or flea counts and safety evaluations were repeated at intervals of about 2 weeks for 8 weeks. Both products resulted in consistent reductions in tick numbers (>81%) throughout the study, with metaflumizone plus amitraz giving consistently higher reductions in tick numbers. The efficacy against tick count compared with Day 0 was 97.6%, 93.5%, 89% and 94% at Day 14, 28, 42 and 56, respectively, for metaflumizone plus amitraz. The corresponding efficacies for fipronil were 86.3%, 81.1%, 84.8% and 86.1%. Within groups, the tick reduction was highly significant (P<0.0001) compared to baseline at all observation periods. Both treatments resulted in consistent (>89%) and highly significant (P<0.0001) reductions in flea numbers relative to the baseline counts throughout the study, although fipronil resulted in numerically higher reductions on each count day. The efficacy against fleas compared to baseline was 91.8%, 88.7%, 91.5% and 92.0% at Day 14, 28, 42 and 56, respectively, for metaflumizone plus amitraz. The corresponding efficacies for fipronil were 98.2%, 96.3%, 95.9% and 96.7%. Metaflumizone plus amitraz was highly effective in controlling existing infestations of fleas and ticks on dogs and was effective against reinfestation for at least 56 days. Metaflumizone plus amitraz showed a good tolerance profile in dogs.