How to keep a CT calm and one real question

[Dogband1]

Reilly RedSky thankfully came thru his neutering fine.  He had one testical that had not dropped, but it was found very easily in the groin area, and only a tiny 1/4" incision.  The vet used glue on the incisions and wants us to keep him calm for 4-5 days, and only light walking till 10 days.  Wow!! I was so anxious about the surgery, and doing this the our baby. I so wanted to be able to tell him it was for the best.  Now I have to keep him quiet, which again ....... leads to anxiety.  He feels fine and does not understand why we cannot romp in the backyard.

Real question:  I have been delaying using the poisons to control fleas, but finally did put on some Advantage.  Our prior two CTs did fine with this.  Now after a tick infested trip to Central Va, and discovering several ticks on Reilly, we will probably go to Advantix in 3 weeks, after the Advantage is gone.  Has anyone had any bad experiences with Advantix?  

[We still use oral heartguard for heartworms]

BTW, we kept the ticks and did our best to confirm that they are not deer ticks, the carriers of Lyme disease, and we indeed do not think they are deer ticks.

Dang, this stinks having to use these thing on our boy. Hope you and your babies are well. 

 

 

 

Edited May 7, 2016 by Dogband1

[Sam I Am]

Living in an area that doesn't have ticks I never used anything on our Cairn, Jock. However last year we were off to another province for holidays with Rosie, our Scottie, and used Advantix for the first time. I am totally against any toxic meds but felt pressured to use it. Well is was a disaster! After applying it, Rosie went nuts. It obviously was irritating her skin to the point she was frantic to try to get it off her.After 12 hrs I put her in the tub and gave her the shampoo of her life.  Never again. We are going away again this time and plan on using a natural product. After reading thousand of issues associated with these toxic Chemicals, I will never again subject her to any of these products. I know this will being on lots of controversy , but that's ok. We all do what we feel is best for our animals. I myself refuse to use things like Deet also on my skin. 

[Lupinegirl]

I had the opposite problem. I tried a natural, orange based tick and flea repellent on Nikki (since I am in deer tick central, living near woods and farmland with mice, deer, and all sorts of critters in my yard all the time).  The orange stuff bothered him. He was itchy and exasperated.  I don't remember what brand it was or how exactly he reacted to it since it was years ago, but I remember it smelled strongly of citrus and seemed to bother my allergies too. 

I used to use Frontline but after Nikki got the antibodies for Lymes disease, I switched to K9 Advantix 2. It does not seem to bother him, but I bathe him within twenty hours after applying it. It's very runny and drips down his side and it stays oily for hours, so I definitely would not put it on before bed.  It needs time to dry, and I only put it on his withers, not his whole back.   It leaves a greasy spot in his fur until I wash it out.  Still it seems to work, and it's supposed to repel mosquitos, too, which are also active right now. My grass is very tall right now since it's been raining too much to mow, and I have not found a tick on Nikki since March. So I'm putting up with K9 Advantix for now. I would not mind changing to something else if it is guaranteed to keep ticks off.  I just need to make sure I have time to supervise and bathe Nikki if it bothers him. 

Edited May 7, 2016 by Lupinegirl

[hheldorfer]

We use Advantix and have had no problems with it.  I agree with Lupinegirl that it takes a while to dry, but I haven't noticed that the spots where I apply it (back of neck, middle of back and base of tail) are greasy afterwards.  We usually apply it in the early evening and it's mostly dry by bedtime; by the next day I can't even tell where it was applied.  Just be careful to follow directions and don't let any of the liquid touch your skin.

I would love to be able to use something non-toxic but we take the dogs for walks in the woods fairly regularly and, with that thick Cairn coat, a tick could easily hide on Buffy for days without us finding it.

[Lynn in TN]

I am with Terrier Lover on this one. It is rare I take drugs and I don't use them on my girls, but I felt pressured into it. The vets were saying it was a bad year for ticks in our area. (Kingsport at the time) So I used Advantix 3. Kelly had a really bad reaction, she went nuts and we gave her a bath. It burned blisters on her skin. I won't ever use anything like that again. We didn't have Prissy at the time.

I am very cautious when it comes to doctors, vets, and drugs and with good reason, I've had a few bad experiences with them.

I don't use anything for my girls, except baby shampoo or dawn and water. I haven't had any problem with flees or ticks. I get about the same amount off ticks off my dogs as others who use that stuff get off their dogs. and our backyard is loaded with trees. 

[beccadiane374]

We've tried a few different varieties, including a natural one, but the K9 Advantix is what works the best.  Tanner has never had any reaction to it.  I would, of course, prefer to not use the chemicals, but the abundance of ticks in our wooded areas make it the lesser of two evils.

[LindaMC]

I use Frontline Plus on Maisie and hate having to do so but unfortunately we live in an area where there are a lot of ticks.  My German Shepherd Tess tested positive for Anaplasmosis (tick born disease) before she went to live with her trainer so I am very afraid not to use it on Maisie.  I try to wait 45 days between uses, using an all natural solution on the 15 days between applications.  So far I haven't had any problems with the Frontline but I don't like it and hate to be in the damned if you do, damned if you don't position.

[lindasue]

I frequently find ticks on Pegi, so do use the K9 Advantix 2.  I will still find a couple of them on her each year.  Thankfully, she doesn't have any reaction.  I do  alternate tick meds w/heartworm; never giving them less than 2 weeks apart.