Hi all, I have a problem with my lab pup. Thought shes not really a pup any more going on 16 months. However, i have used various flea/tick preventives on her and with all she reacts very badly. She didn't have seizures, thank God, but she did become extremely anxious, pacing, really weird. I did speak to vet who gave me yet another brand (these are all the ones that apply on the back), which was no better. I feel i have to use something since we spend a lot of time in the country so there is a fear of picking up a lyme tick, not to mention regular ticks or fleas. Does anyone have any suggestions, for either a brand that might be helpful, or even better a non insecticide prevention.
Have you looked at Seresto collars? Some users have reported allergic reactions, but VERY few in comparison to other forms of treatment. They may appear expensive at first, but each collar is effective against fleas and ticks for 7 to 8 months. I've used them on both dogs and cats for the past 4 years or so and wouldn't use anything else.
This is a tricky problem There is an article on the main site about flea prevention I'm not greatly taken with the "Spot On" treatments and I have successfully used Bravecto, but there seems there may be increasing evidence of link to seizures, and although I am happy to use it (just use it twice a year so "under-dose") I wouldn't recommend it for a dog like your's @Pennys mom. There really isn't any evidence for other treatments like Billy-no-mates and "drenching with apple cider vinegar" and I know Pippa is quite strict about needing "evidence" rather than perpetuating homely remedies. I think the best defence against ticks in the absence of a good safe treatment is to be scrupulous about checking your dog after every walk, avoiding long grass and areas with a high density of deer. Not always easy. Sorry not to be of any more help. jac
Actually you were a help. I was looking into Brevecto because it was oral and not topical, but my vet doesn't prescribe it. (I think cause they carry Frontline) I've used fronline gold, petmed, and some other type and all have had varying degrees of reaction from her. I have been reading up on the Seresto, i may give that a try as it is a collar. I'm pretty much done with the topicals, i cannot watch her suffer like that and there is a very real fear that her reaction might get worse to the point of seizure. She does take the heartworm med monthly and that has no reaction on her at all. Again thank you all suggestions are helpful.
I use heartgard+nexgard combination. I used frontline+nexgard a couple years ago but switched to this combination because frontline didn't seem to work and bravecto was so notorious for its bad reactions. My brothers are using seresto for their dogs and it seems working, too.
A vet I met a few weeks ago, who practices near an area fraught with biliary (we don't have Lymes here, thankfully!), recommended the Seresto collar or the Frontline spray (not spot-on) -- the spray is a repellent. I have used neither so I can't vouch for them. His reasoning was it was best to repel the ticks before they take hold, and also to store the repellent outside the dog's body (ie collar or a spray on the coat), not inside (ie absorbed spot-on or oral chews). I have successfully used a repellent spray (it's called No-Tick!). We spent a week in a biliary area. I picked off lots of ticks crawling on Snowie's fur and I did remove some that had already attached. I also found about 5 ticks after coming home from the holiday. It is now two weeks since we left that area so I am relieved that Snowie did not get biliary (am assuming he'd have got it cos it would show up within 10 days of being bitten, although of course there might be a tick lurking that I can't see... he has such thick fur. Although I expect it would fall off after eating its full?). The repellent had citronella oil and neem oil. It was not a pleasant smell. The vet said to be careful of toxicity with neem oil, so I didn't spray it liberally and only sprayed on his back and back of his neck where I saw ticks crawling -- they generally hang around long grass/reeds waiting for an animal to rub past. Although I did find two on his legs, one on his stomach, and one on his testicle. A friend uses Quadrapel (a repellent spray for dogs and horses). She sprayed her dog; her sister didn't spray hers. They went for the same walk. Came back and found one tick on the sprayed dog and about 30 on the unsprayed dog! Snowie gets seizures, and had two after taking Bravecto, so I have to be careful what I use on him. The vet I met also said a dog must have a good immune system -- a really important thing, warding off all the ills that can affect them.
Our dog Ella has had similar reactions to the spot on treatments (a couple of different brands). However, we have found that, after advice from the vet of course, Sentinel Spectrum monthly chews are working well for Ella and cover everything we need at the moment. Hope you find something that suits
Thank you all, I got the Seresto and so far am very pleased. There was no adverse reaction. I haven't seen any activity and we take her to the country and the park on a regular basis. I will update as time goes on.
I think I'm going to give the Seresto collars a try. My only worry is - how poisonous are they? If we get a puppy, doubtless that pup will constantly be hanging off Poppy and any collar she is wearing...
This is one of the reasons why I don't use them on mine. When they play, they like grabbing each other's collars, when they're wearing them.
I went back to using Advantix, which I found the most effective of everything I tried. I'm already thinking about what combination I want to use this year once spring comes. I'm still concerned about sand flies, so need to investigate that some more.
Thanks, I'll look into that. On the German website it says Advantix is effective against sandflies, btw.
You have to read the paperwork, I believe it said not to get in dogs mouth and you cannot use on puppies under 7 mos. So far I am happy with it she doesn't try to eat it and her brother who is with her all the time and they do rough house doesn't grab it. As i said, i couldn't use the topical s any more and i wanted to avoid having her swallow more chemicals. i will post as time goes on to let you know how it goes.
Hi All, I read that cumin oil is not only good for joints, but it keeps their skin healthy and repels unwanted insects. Any experience with this?
Poor Willow gets attacked by the sand flies. They ignore Shadow. It's peculiar. They're horrible things, though. We avoid the river at the times they're out. If the dogs are standing next to each other, you can see them targeting Willow. They go underneath her and burrow into the thin fur on her tummy and inner thighs. If it happens, I rub her vigorously to kill them all, but her entire underneath will be a mess of bites The first time it happened, I hadn't seen the flies and assumed she'd sat on an ant nest!
Oh my god that's horrible! What time of the day do they come out, is it evening, I seem to remember? And they can carry leishmaniasis or similar?
