Flea and tick protection

Silaria · May 20, 2016

I am using Seresto, which is showing to be the only product that has truly WORKED in my area for the tick population we have. Even with the research I'm hesitant to change, and this coming from a person who had, and nearly lost, a dog (Edan) with gallbladder mucocele completely unrelated to the flea/tick preventative I was using (Frontline at the time).

While there may be a connection, I'm much more concerned about the ticks and Lyme. There have been times I've pulled 4 and 5 ticks off my dogs just walking them around the place we do agility regularly. Basically I have to pick which health issue I potentially have to deal with GBM or Lyme. Honestly, it seems like every tick preventative out there has some sort of downside - potential medical issues, not very effective, needs to be reapplied frequently, etc. Like all of us, I'm trying to do what's best for my dogs. Sometimes what's best means choosing between which "evil" is the better option.

Cubby2014 · May 21, 2016

I do know Brad (with Tripp, Fletcher, Jenny, & Spirit) uses Bravecto and has had no problems with it. I am fortunate I live in a crazy dry place and not a high flea/tick area. I probably would look into Bravecto if I had a lot of need.

The Quahog · May 21, 2016

Bravecto is very similar to Nexgard, except that it is good for 3 months rather than one.
I have to say , and this is purely a 'spider sense tingles' reaction, not one based on medical evidence, that I am not entirely comfortable putting anything with a 3 month residual action, that can not be removed, into a patient's system. (Remember the gone but not lamented Proheart 6?)
To me there would always be some concerns of what if, because of some idiosyncratic reaction, a dog does not tolerate the drug well. Even if this did not happen, owners very often THINK such reactions occur, which can also be problematic to deal with.
It just doesn't seem to be that difficult to give a tablet once a month, and my gut feeling is that the improved control would outweigh the inconvenience.

Mignarda · May 22, 2016

I'm reminded of a line from Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn: "Well, I'd been selling an article to take the tartar off the teeth—and it does take it off, too, and generly the enamel along with it ...." The sad fact of the matter is that there is no wonder drug so perfectly innocuous that it won't produce side effects, some of which can't be anticipated and don't show up until the drug has been in use for some time.

ClantyreSheltie · May 22, 2016

I think lots of people would find that their dogs are not attractive to fleas, and that the pesticide has nothing to do with it. I haven't used anything in many, many years, and my dogs have never had fleas on their own (they did get them from another infested dog in the environment, and it wasn't a topical that fixed that problem). My guys still get heart worm preventative, but no flea or tick preventative in years.

Things my vet won't sell: Any flea/tick pesticide mixed with a heart worm preventative, Advantix of any variety. He's a fan of the oldie but goodie Heartguard and Interceptor varieties.

Calliesmom · May 22, 2016

Cubby2014 said:
I do know Brad (with Tripp, Fletcher, Jenny, & Spirit) uses Bravecto and has had no problems with it. I am fortunate I live in a crazy dry place and not a high flea/tick area. I probably would look into Bravecto if I had a lot of need.

The Quahog said:
Bravecto is very similar to Nexgard, except that it is good for 3 months rather than one.
I have to say , and this is purely a 'spider sense tingles' reaction, not one based on medical evidence, that I am not entirely comfortable putting anything with a 3 month residual action, that can not be removed, into a patient's system. (Remember the gone but not lamented Proheart 6?)
To me there would always be some concerns of what if, because of some idiosyncratic reaction, a dog does not tolerate the drug well. Even if this did not happen, owners very often THINK such reactions occur, which can also be problematic to deal with.
It just doesn't seem to be that difficult to give a tablet once a month, and my gut feeling is that the improved control would outweigh the inconvenience.

thanks for the info- haven't really looked into Bravecto but have been seeing commercials repeatedly for it. I definitely would prefer something that is not a 3 month take your chances thing......
we'll probably stick with what we've been using :yes:

Mignarda · May 22, 2016

ClantyreSheltie said:
I think lots of people would find that their dogs are not attractive to fleas, and that the pesticide has nothing to do with it. I haven't used anything in many, many years, and my dogs have never had fleas on their own (they did get them from another infested dog in the environment, and it wasn't a topical that fixed that problem). My guys still get heart worm preventative, but no flea or tick preventative in years.

Things my vet won't sell: Any flea/tick pesticide mixed with a heart worm preventative, Advantix of any variety. He's a fan of the oldie but goodie Heartguard and Interceptor varieties.

In nearly four years I've never seen a flea on Dickens, but I'm not sure if that's just because fleas don't like him or the Advantage Multi. Maybe a combination of both. Or, perhaps it's just because my house is flea-free. If I may use a completely unrelated analogy, it's like homebrewing. Some people, neophytes and practiced brewers alike, go to the most absurd ends to see that their beer and everything touching it is perfectly sterile before going to the fermentation stage, as if a stray bacterium is going to contaminate the whole batch. I'm not so paranoid. I see five gallons of a liquid that has just been boiled for 90 minutes, full of hop acids, which within a few hours is going to be bubbling like a witch's cauldron with carbon dioxide. If a bacterium can get in that mess and cause an infection, more power to him: he can have the entire batch and raise a family!

I wonder if your vet is just old-school and naturally suspicious of anything newfangled? It's frustrating for the layman when the professionals don't give consistent advice.

Cubby2014 · May 22, 2016

My dogs, drinking Flea Free in the water, using Vet's Best Flea/Tick in grooming water, and also getting spritzed with that lovely lemongrass stuff from Canada, may or may not have ever run into a flea or tick in reality. I want to hear from all the bushwhackers out there in those locations where fleas are hideous. California Coast (my husband tells me) and all those states that have things like Kudzu and swamps and . . . grass. Does the "wondercide" cedar work? I heard that is really bad if cats lick it (I have cats). I used to do a lot of walking in the forest but after I got chased by a deer and then I tore my knee a month later, not so much.

tesslynn · May 22, 2016

Cubby2014 said:
My dogs, drinking Flea Free in the water, using Vet's Best Flea/Tick in grooming water, and also getting spritzed with that lovely lemongrass stuff from Canada, may or may not have ever run into a flea or tick in reality. I want to hear from all the bushwhackers out there in those locations where fleas are hideous. California Coast (my husband tells me) and all those states that have things like Kudzu and swamps and . . . grass. Does the "wondercide" cedar work? I heard that is really bad if cats lick it (I have cats). I used to do a lot of walking in the forest but after I got chased by a deer and then I tore my knee a month later, not so much.

Sorry you got chased, hope the knees heal, but better than Bigfoot, right?

this is cool but is it true-

We stayed the summers in Sierra Nevada area at my grandparents cabin. If we found a tick on us kids, my grandma would get out the PineSol...the true undiluted kind. Dab it with that it would back out immediately, and then it got thrown in the fire or woodstove. Back then they bathed their dogs in polytar shampoo. Never found a tick on their dogs and they ran all through the woods daily. I don't think they make that stuff anymore. They had hounds that loved to chase the ground squirrels. Everyone hated ground squirrels and chipmunks because they were carriers of the fleas that had bubonic plague.

Cubby2014 · May 23, 2016

That was 4 years ago. My knee has never healed. Recently I found a supplement that got it back to about 90% in like a week. They have a dog version and my shepherd who had slipped and had was limping took that and he got back to 90% of normal in like a week. He is back to 99.9% normal these days, but since the whole area we hiked around burned last summer, there's no hiking available. On the upside, there probably are no fleas/ticks around there either since it pretty much is blackened dirt.