I Hate Ticks

[kjwarnold]

After about 7 vet visits over a couple of weeks, our vets believe that Phinney has a tick-borne disease.  He started with loose stool.  Not a big deal but after 4 days of me treating it, we took him in to check.  A follow-up visit showed his platelets were very low.  He had no other symptoms, was eating and drinking normally and aside from some lethargy now and then, he hasn't been too bad.  I'm assuming it was caught fairly early and am hoping that quick treatment will get him back to his always energetic self, with lots of tail wagging.  

Yes, he's been on Frontline Plus constantly and what's weird is that I've never found a tick on him.  I've found a few on Kirby and even more on myself!  We are switching over to Nexgard now.  Friends who use it think it works better and all of our vets prefer it.

As a side note, one of the things we did was a DNA test for macrothrombocytopenia.  Apparently Cairns can have this genetic disorder that is benign.  It's more well-known in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and their article is attached if you're interested.  The results of Phinney's DNA test won't be back for a couple of weeks. 

http://cavalierhealth.org/platelets.htm

[pkcrossley]

ugh. poor baby phinney. actually i never had a lot of luck with any flea or tick treatments before seresto. i never thought i would get some dorky collar but the thing is the bomb. i never hound a flea or tick even near teddy once he had it. expensive, but works. 

redmon had thrombocytopenia. it is completely benign but it can interfere with procedures that require a blood test before (they have to check off anything else that could cause abnormalities), and because of the bleeding issues it can be a contraindication for some optional surgeries. it can all be worked out or worked around. 

he is growing into an exceptionally handsome boy. 

[kjwarnold]

We tried Ceresto collars last year with Packy and Kirby but they didn't seem to work any better for us than Frontline Plus.  I switched back to Frontline this year because I really hated those extra collars hanging on them and didn't like all the warnings about us coming in contact with them.  By the way, they need Nexgard for people, too!  The ticks have been horrible this year!

[Hillscreek]

Big tick country here. Frontline  and collars never worked for Angus. Bravecto did the trick. One tablet with a meal= 3 months protection. No side effects, no ticks.

 

[Lynn in TN]

Nothing works here and the one thing that might have worked Kelly and Prissy both had a bad reaction to it. So I use lavender, and cedar oils and pray for the best.

I have found 3 on them total between the two dogs, this year. Thats been the going rate wether or not we use anything.

[beccadiane374]

In our neck of Missouri, K9 Advantix is what seems to work.  I try to do a check every morning, but sometimes fail.  I did get a set of tick twisters from a previous vet back when Tanner was new, and they've come in quite handy (although, I think I've used them more on myself than the dog.)

 

https://www.amazon.com/Tick-Twister-Remover-Small-Large/dp/B00X7072HY

[kjwarnold]

Becky, I bought the same tick twister, just haven't tried it since it came right before we left MO and came up to our farm in IL.  So far, no ticks on the dogs up here but I did find one crawling on me after weeding gardens all day today.  ?  

[pkcrossley]

beccadiane374 wrote: "In our neck of Missouri, K9 Advantix is what seems to work." I never thought of that but it makes perfect sense. Ticks in some areas might well develop resistance to some treatments and not others. Be nice if we had a map to see who is having luck with what treatments where. What a great thread.

[sanford]

 Deer Ticks! Friends and their dogs in northwestern Connecticut have been bitten, as have their surrounding neighbors, some of whom have unfortunately been diagnosed with Lyme Disease. It seems to be a fact of life and most folks just accept it and take it in stride, as they do re car and deer collisions during the winter. 

I was deluded, thinking I was safe from all that, living as I do, in the city, until a few weeks ago when I came back from a once-a-year visit to CT, with a tick firmly attached to my belly!  At the risk of sounding alarmist, tick bites and Lyme disease seem to be an epidemic and I wish there were more effective measures/vaccines for protection.

 

[kjwarnold]

On one of our vet visits last week, we talked with a soldier from the local base (Ft. Leonard Wood) who was in with his dog.  He told us he was diagnosed with Lyme disease a month and a half ago and just that day, they diagnosed his dog with Erlicchiosis.  ?  He's doing fine but the dog could barely get up and walk around.  I keep thinking of them, wondering how they're doing.

Phinney has perked up a bit but does get tired more easily.  He doesn't play yet like he used to, but I caught him starting to do a little play dance with Kirby this morning when we got up.  

[Lynn in TN]

K9 Advantix is what was said by the vet to work in our area.  Then I put it on my girls and immediately they started rolling on the floor trying to scratch. I gave them a bath within 20 minutes of putting it on them. They were both in complete misery. They had what looked like blisters on the areas I put it on. Frontline didn't work at all. With that kind of reaction, I didn't want to try a pill. So we are going without. I know people that are using Frontline and Flee collars and they have pulled more ticks off their dogs than I have. 

[JoJo]

I agree - why hasn't some genius chemist invented a anti-tick pill for humans!  Pepper has used Nexgard and now switched to the generic Bravecto.  I found a couple of ticks on her fur in the first month, but haven't seen any since.  Yay, cause I find them on myself and my DH all the time.  Yuck!

[LindaMC]

Scary stuff.  I have been using Frontline Plus on Maisie and have yet to find any ticks on her, not one and her tests always come out negative.  I used the same on Tess when she was here and I found a few ticks on her, although she would go out on trails through woods, mountains, etc, and she developed Anaplasmosis from a tick bite.  Maisie never goes out in the woods, she's either in the yard, or I walk her but try my best to keep her out of tall grass areas, or places with a lot of leaves.  I'm still constantly on guard and check for them every time she comes in from being outside.  Thinking about trying Bravecto but so far the Frontline Plus has been working.  I hope Phinney starts feeling better soon.

[kayharley]

Sorry I haven't been on in awhile...I do pop in occasionally to read what's going on with everyone's Cairns and I'm glad I found this post because I was going to start a thread...this site was a lifesaver for me years ago. Anyway...sorry so long and if I'm in the wrong place, Brad please relocate me.

Remy and all my Cairns were on Frontline Plus from day one and we never had a flea or tick problem. This year around April I started to see some symptoms in him that I thought might be because he was 10, because we had just lost his "sister' Madison in April and we were all sad or if it was just him aging.  Anyone who has a dog knows the term "he/she is just not being themselves".  There were no digestive issues, no lack of appetite or weight loss, no itching/scratching, just a lack of energy, minor lethargy and although he'd play, it was with a lack of enthusiasm and almost like his joints or muscles were sore.  It would last for about a week or so and then seemed to subside.  He had a full workup done at his vet visit in May and other than some elevated liver enzymes that the vet said were minor in his blood work, he was fine. Then again in June we started seeing the same things going on but thought it was the weather. Now we're in July and not only was he acting lethargic, his back legs and tail area seemed to be sore and he would not let me groom him.  I took him back to the vet, I asked to have his back legs and abdomen x-rayed and although there was some normal joint stuff going on for his age, nothing that could explain why he was acting like that. THEN I did some research....seemed every time he got the Frontline Plus these symptoms happened. 4 days after the dose in April, again in  May, June and July..... Because of the overwhelming tick population here in Ct, I was told to give the frontline plus every 3 weeks instead of every month!  His last dosage was July 21st...He got a bath in Dawn liquid on the 26th and he seems 100% better. Anyone care to help me figure this out?  I am totally bewildered. thanks

[pkcrossley]

sort of sounds like you need to try another treatment. this thread has taught me that no one treatment is good for all dogs. some are just not effective, others cause negative side effects in some dogs but not in others. why dawn would be a cure i can't imagine, except that it does do a good job eradicating fleas and ticks if they are there. 

[Dempsy's Mom]

Sorry Phinney (love the pic).  We do Bravecto also - the ticks that attach are dead before I find them.  Seems to be the best  treatment for us.

[MegsMom]

On 7/29/2017 at 7:28 PM, kayharley said:

THEN I did some research....seemed every time he got the Frontline Plus these symptoms happened. 4 days after the dose in April, again in  May, June and July..... Because of the overwhelming tick population here in Ct, I was told to give the frontline plus every 3 weeks instead of every month!  His last dosage was July 21st...He got a bath in Dawn liquid on the 26th and he seems 100% better. Anyone care to help me figure this out?

 

On 7/29/2017 at 9:20 PM, pkcrossley said:

why dawn would be a cure i can't imagine, except that it does do a good job eradicating fleas and ticks if they are there. 

Given that a topical flea/tick repellent generally, is absorbed & distributed throughout the dermal layer in 72 hours, I'm somewhat surprised that 5 days later a "Dawn wash" helped his symptoms.  Although...knowing that cairns are very low-skin-oil dogs, perhaps his absorption rate is lower than 'supposed' normal.  Since Frontline appears to still be working for you, and you seem to want to continue it's use, my suggestion would be to go back to the 'normal' 4wk dosing and see if the longer dissolution time would be better for his older/slower/less efficient system.  You could also try giving a benedryl the 3rd & 4th day after application to see if that may help his system's reaction.  {Other ideas are great, but you'll be checking with your vet first, won't you? :)}

And you might recheck that you're using your "past usual" Frontline variety.  No offense meant, but I've seen people just grab a Frontline off the shelf or accept whatever a vet office personnel hands them without really noting if it's exactly what they've been using.

"Dawn wash" -- why it works

We're talking the basic blue Dawn dish liquid, no additives, skin softeners, fragrances, etc--is deemed 'animal-safe' to a wide range of species and ages, with appropriate rinsing.  [Yep, this is the one they use on oil-spill aquatic mammals pictured on those commercials.]

So, specifically Frontline and Advantage (& their variations, U.S. or other countries) are only absorbed shallowly into the skin and then spread throughout that dermal layer to all areas of the animal.  Dawn's degreasing action can reach enough into the pores of animals to breakdown the oily vehicle of the preventative and have it wash back out of the pores, thus off the animal.  Per the 'insider info' for Frontline & Advantage the application is usually dispersed into the skin layers in 72 hrs that washing should be an ineffective removal process.  But..... cairns are such a low-skin-oil dog anyway that I suspect the absorption/dispersion rate is a bit slower than "usual".  You might want to keep in mind that with Dawn's degreasing abilities, that it likely makes for a dry-skinned cairn, maybe even itchy.

[No, Revolution, although a topical, works differently.]