Flea and tick prevention

    • Gold Top Dog

    Flea and tick prevention

    It's getting to that time of year.  I need help trying to figure out what to do.
     
    Our dog is about 8 1/2 years old, although we've only had him since last fall.  So, we've not had to deal with this in the past.  If it matters, our guy is a lab/shepard mix, and he loves to be outside sniffing, especially now that there are new spring smells outside (birds, rabbits, other doggies, etc)
     
    So - what do you use and why?  What have you used and not liked.  What works best for you?
     
    Thanks,
    stacysmom
    • Gold Top Dog
    • Puppy
    i´ve always used frontline. i think is the one that works the best. of course i´m here in chile, so i don´t know if maybe where you are there´s something even better.
    [:)][:)]
    • Silver
    We us Revolution. [sm=happy.gif]
    • Gold Top Dog
    • Bronze
    I suggest you search the net for natural alternatives also. I have two dogs that cannot handle chemicals. I know garlic is a great help. Ticks don't transmit disease until hours after their first hold on you. When you eat garlic they let go due to the garlic in the blood long before diseases can spread to you. There are rumors that garlic is poisonous to dogs, not true, I've known people who have used it in their dogs for years & years. I'm sure there are dogs out there that are allergic to garlic, that sounds like where the rumor started. I use one teaspoon of minced garlic in one meal a day (for an 80 pound dog) Start garlic slowly & wean into it though or it can cause stomach upset. Stop if you see any negative reactions. Keep an eye on the stools too.
    We have eucalyptus trees that keep away fleas & ticks (thankfully) we also make up a water, eucalyptus (five drops per ounce), tea tree oil (one drop per ounce) & lavender (five drops per ounce) mix in a spray bottle. I spray them lightly & brush in before leaving the house. Be sure to cover there eyes. Rub in to the ears rather than spray them. Another good tip is to avoid being out in peek mosquito hours (dawn & dusk)
    • Gold Top Dog
    I've heard some pretty nasty stuff about Revolution and some vets even refuse to carry it. It's what I used on my dog until I started reading up on it, now to be safe I use Frontline and Heartguard.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Willow is going to get Frontline Plus today.  She hasn't gotten it since the first week of December.  This year I didn't use it once the weather got to be at the freezing point.  And, that was late this year!  But, now it's getting warmer and we have been hiking a few times a week so it's necessary especially for ticks.
    • Puppy
    I use Revolution. Could someone please post some links of the problems with it? My searches aren't turning up anything specific. Thanks!
    • Gold Top Dog
    • Gold Top Dog
    I rotate between Advantix and Frontline plus with my pups each month.  We had a problem a while back where Frontline seemed to stop working against fleas and since I have been alternating between the 2 I have had no problems.  I appears to me that Frontline works better with ticks and Advantix works better against fleas.  We live in Florida so fleas and ticks are a year round concern and my pups go many places where they are exposed to both fleas and ticks.  I also buy the next larger size and spilt to dose between the 2.  Saves me 50% each month.
     
     
    • Gold Top Dog
    My vet no longer carries Revolution because of the high number of his clients dogs who came down with heartworms while on it.  I hae also seen it posted here and on other forums where vets stoppec carrying it for the same reason.
     
    Also, it it is the #2 reported killer of flea/tick meds, only behind proheart6 which only stayed on the market 3 years--it was pulled 10 months after it killed my 4 year old golden retriever, hunter.  This information can be found at [linkhttp://www.dogsadversreactions.com]www.dogsadversreactions.com[/link].  you have to scout around and found the FDA chart there that shows each flea/tick med, reported reactions and deaths.
    • Gold Top Dog
    All of our dogs are on the Frontline Plus.  None of the dogs had any problems with reactions to the produce nor did I get any flea bites. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    Frontline Plus for us also, and no fleas or reactions.