Scared of Flea/Tick Preventative

[MaryellenK]

Hi All,

My vet is highly recommending that we start our 2 year old Cairns on a preventative (high risk for ticks).  I am scared to death however about putting pesticides/chemicals on or in our dogs based on all the reading I've been doing. 

Id like to know what others in the group are using and if there have been any negative reactions. I was leaning a bit towards Soresto collars and only using them for part of the day.  I know that will cut down on the effectiveness but it might be bette than nothing when we go out.

I do use Lemongrass and Rose Geranium essential oils to help ward off the critters and comb daily with a flea comb.

 

Thanks much!

[kieiras mom]

Im not overly fond of  using chemicals either, but here we have to worry about ticks the whole year. The deaths due to heartworms is great so we use Trifexis, Keira is 7 and we have used it since she was a puppy with no problems.   

 

 

 

 

[Corn Niblet]

I used Bravecto  (not sure of exact spelling) last summer. .  It is a three month flea and tick oral pill preventative. But later I saw the news say that some people claim there dogs died after using it!  So this year when I found a tick on Rocky I used Frontline gold.  It is a topical good for one month. I only used it for the month of June after I found a tick and will not use it again unless I see another tick. Maybe not the safest way to go but I too am worried about using toxic chemicals .

[Hillscreek]

If you look around the forum you'll find lots of discussion on this topic. Prevention methods seems to depend quite a bit on where you live. Lyme disease can be a serious problem in deer tick country. You have to ask yourself whether it is worth the risk not to give preventative care. Lyme disease can be very serious - even life threatening

There is often a feeling that 'chemical' is a word denoting bad things. Hydrogen and oxygen are chemicals and without them we would not have water. We  ingest chemicals every day. Many of us take medications that have an incredible number of scary side effects including death. It is the same for dogs. One just has to balance one thing against another and check claims as best one can. Many chemicals could be toxic if not used correctly.

I have found the collars pretty useless. They helped round the shoulder area but not much else. Frontline did not keep my dogs tick free either. Angus used to have Advantx 11 which worked but was very messy and irritated him somewhat when first put on. I switched to Bravecto when that became available.. No messy stuff on his coat. A pill taken with a meal protects for 3 months. No problem for him. Problems I did hear of were from pill not given with food.

Hope you find the right stuff to keep your furry ones safe and healthy.

What about a recent pic to share?

 

 

[kjwarnold]

We have a big problem with ticks where we live in Missouri and keep our dogs on preventative all year long. I've seen ticks in January!  We used to use Frontline Plus.  Putting the liquid on them didn't bother me or the dogs, not a big deal.  Last year I tried the Seresto collars but saw no difference in their effectiveness and disliked the extra collar hanging on them all the time.  I just switched to Nexguard, recommended by both vet clinics we use, as well as a friend.  So far, so good.  

I agree with Hillscreek, the risk of some chemicals is necessary to avoid a worse risk of a tick-borne disease.

[kieiras mom]

as added note, we also battle mosquitoes  of the year, hence the problem with heart worms.

[Hillscreek]

Diito here re mosquitoes. Use Sentinel used for heartworm treatment. I had a dog with heartworm years ago. A dreadful experience. In those days they treated with arsenic which nearly killed him. Was weeks at the vet and months in recovery at home.Wouldn't want to go through that agin

[kieiras mom]

Hate mosquitos for the problems they cause our beloved pets,but they are  seem to love me me also. They just seem to find me no matter what i do 

[beccadiane374]

I'm another Missourian, and we also use year round protection.  Even with it, we've encountered a few ticks.  We use K-9 Advantix & have never had a problem with it.  

[Di&Dubh]

Hi.  I'm new and haven't introduced myself yet, but I'm in MA and part time Maine and I have had Lyme.  I know many people that have also. Because of that, I do year round for Dugal (Nexgard.  It's what the breeder used, so I'm sticking with that for now).  I know it's not for everyone but we have found ticks in February here.  I don't want to take a chance with my pup.  He also got his first Lyme vaccination the other day.  The second one in a few weeks.  He'll be 18 weeks old on Saturday.