Flea med

I haven't heard of this one, it must be new. My vet is recommending another new spot-on this year called Vectra 3D which is hugely expensive. I was just reading about another pill called Flea Away that uses vitamins somehow. http://www.fleaaway.com/home-fleaaway.html

It's hard to know what to use these days. I don't like to use the new ones until they've been on the market for a while. You never know what side effects you'll get.
 
Nexgard is something called afoxolaner. It is produced and distributed by Merial and Frontline Vet Labs. The most common adverse side effects are vomiting and diarrhea. Relatively low seizure rates (3/417). The way it works is as with most flea medications that are oral. It is a poison (this one is a poison produced by certain oceanic sponges) that is low enough in dose not to kill the dog, but it poisons their bloodstream so if a flea bites, it quickly dies. It is only functional after attachment by the flea or tick.

It seems to be better than products with the pesticide fipronil, which is known to cause long term health problems in humans and pets, although the long term effects of afoxolaner have not been studied.
 
I personally, don't like giving my dogs an oral flea/tick med. After all, they are ingesting a poison and I don't feel comfortable with that.

I have had very good luck with Scalibor bands, but I live in suburbia with few trees. I love the convenience of putting on a band and it lasts for 6 months. The downside is that the bands get quite dirty.
 
I must admit that I also do not like the idea of giving a dog a pill to prevent fleas or worms but I wonder how much better it is to put a systemic preparation on either. I use Revolution and Advantix. Last year it was Advantix because of the increase in likelihood of ticks - it was a really bad year here. Prior to that, if we were going to camp it would be Advantix for that month because of the tick issue and Revolution the rest of the time but then there was the worry about heartworm. I bought Heartguard but then was afraid to use it. I wouldn't used DE because I can't believe that feeding little grains of fossilized algae is not likely to cause some internal damage especially when you realize that you have to be sooooo careful not to breathe it in as it can cause lung damage. I guess there is no really safe solution that doesn't have some side effect to worry about.
 
Tagg said:
... I wouldn't used DE because I can't believe that feeding little grains of fossilized algae is not likely to cause some internal damage especially when you realize that you have to be sooooo careful not to breathe it in as it can cause lung damage...
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I'm glad that you brought DE into the discussion. I had never heard of DE until a few months back when it came up in another thread about fleas. As is my usual custom, I went to the internet for info on DE. MAJOR - MAJOR - MAJOR red flags went off on my head. (More on that later). I will not try to contest the claims of those who say that DE works (and even works well) in the situations where it is employed. There has been sufficient anecdotal evidence offered in SN that makes that case clearly. My issue is that it works, but "at what cost"? If my assumptions about DE are correct, (and assuming a certain level of similarity between canine and human physiology), the concerns I have for the health effects on our dogs may take most (if not all) of a Sheltie's lifespan to manifest in our dog's activities.

Now to the red flags: Like I said, I have no specific knowledge of DE, but I have some background dealing with similar substances (some similar in chemical structure, some in physical properties). The major concern I have with a pet's exposure to DE is the fact that the particle size involved creates the opportunity for the pet to aspirate the material. Since DE is basically silica, those particles are insoluble. Insoluble particles too large to pass through the walls of the lungs with other waste streams remain in the lungs. At some point, the net physical effect on the organism is not good. I understand that DE has proven to work in some circumstances, but for me, as I said earlier, "at what cost"?
 
Jeff, I'm curious....are your concerns based on feeding a dog DE or spreading it on the ground outside, which I've done with some success (although I have not found it effective on ants, which is curious).

I've never fed it...I have also read the warnings on the bag about breathing it in and wondered....but I'm interested in your thoughts on outdoor use.
 
Ann said:
Jeff, I'm curious....are your concerns based on feeding a dog DE or spreading it on the ground outside, which I've done with some success (although I have not found it effective on ants, which is curious).

I've never fed it...I have also read the warnings on the bag about breathing it in and wondered....but I'm interested in your thoughts on outdoor use.
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That's a great question! No, I wasn't considering feeding it because I was assuming that spreading it around various areas was the way it was used (remember, I didn't know anything about it until recently). Oddly enough, it would seem (to me) that feeding would be less of a potential long term problem for the dog than aspirating the particles. My guess would be that particles consumed orally would be more easily (and thoroughly) eliminated than the particles trapped in the lungs. I'll have to keep mulling this one over.

What I was really thinking about was something that I remembered being said in an earlier thread. The conversation centered on DE being sprinkled in areas of the interior of a house that had flea issues. Even after vacuuming and cleanup, I would be worried that residual quantities would remain such that I would be continually worried about the long termed effect on my companion. Outside, I would have fewer concerns (not no concerns, just fewer) because various environmental issues (dew, rain, temp changes) would seem to make DE adhere to outside surfaces. As such, Rover (Spot or Brutus) would be less likely to inhale the particles and more likely to ingest particles while eating (grass - poop or the occasional low flying moth) from the ground. Like I said, I think I am less worried about ingestion than inhalation. I might possibly be moved to treat exterior areas because I could more easily isolate my pup from those areas.

Bear in mind, I do not paint myself as a expert on DE and this type of thing. What happens occasionally is that something that comes up here, links up with knowledge from my formal life and I find myself going :gaah. It a former life occupational hazard.
 
Ugh, I'm with Jeff, we had bugs infesting our basement last year and sprinkled DE all over the perimeter of the it and on the windowsills. It was super effective, but I stopped letting honey go down there, it was bothering my lungs and I'm four feet further away from the stuff.

Outside where it'd get wetted down a bit from dew and rain, and it can disperse is probably a different subject.

We're using Vectra now, just because Honey is allergic to the flea bites and it at least stops most of the bugs from getting that far. Last year was really bad, I'm hoping with the negative degrees we got down to this winter it'll be better.
 
I am curious why so many vets seems to be pushing the 'kill the flea on bite' pill. When we got our new Sheltie they were pushing a combination heartworm flea prevention and after doing some research I found out it had comforts in it so I ran away from it fast.

After having a flea infestation with our collie three years ago, we are hypersensitive to any thought of fleas. Everything we tried naturally there didn't work so had to get out the big guns( exterminator, comforts). Once that was done we were flea clear, unfortunately he passed six months after that.

I am now using Sentinel for heartworm and whipworm; Cody had whipworms a few months ago so we went this. It has something in it that makes the eggs sterile if the flea bites. I know, I just said I don't like the pill for flea control so if anyone knows of something else, I am all for it.

We tried flea busters powder when we had the infestation but I think it is designed as a preventative, not when you have an infestation. I am giving Cody a garlic powder, Frontline, and the Sentinel.

Anyone have any experience with other options?
 
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