I hope I'm posting my question in the right section of the forum. What kind of anti fleas product/medication do you recommend using on an almost 4 month old puppy? I asked my vet at the last check up as I was interested in giving her the pill for once a month but vet said she's still too young for that. He told me to use an over the counter one but didn't indicate a specific one. Which one do you use?
If your dog is at risk of getting fleas (e.g. goes to daycare) or you have actually seen fleas then you can use a flea medication. The easiest thing to use these days are edible chewy tablets like Nexguard and Bravecto. They taste nice so a Labrador should chow them right down. We use Nexguard when there is a risk of ticks - both these products protect against ticks too. If there is no risk of fleas though and you don't see any fleas then there isn't any need to use a flea product. They are very safe but they are not cheap.
I always thought you had too, just to be on the safe side? Rather than have to deal with it after. Learn something new each day...
Honestly I'd prefer to prevent fleas than treat them, but that's just my opinion. We use a monthly wormer (monthly due to heartworm prevention) and it has flea prevention included. We picked our wormer under advice from our vet and that's what I'd recommend for others. Your vet should know what's a risk in your area and what is best for your dog
Yes we use a monthly one for fleas as we use the yearly injection for Heartworm. I would rather prevent...
I actually found a couple on her just the other day. We have a small yard and a pet door so she can go in and out as she pleases when we are home. I'll tell my husband to check on her again to see if he sees more. I looked and didn't see any other ones but since I saw a couple on her, it makes me wanna be proactive and get treatment.
If you've seen fleas then I would definitely treat her for fleas. I have lived in the same place for many years with dogs and never had a flea problem, and we don't have a tick problem either, so I do not routinely treat for fleas. That is because from experience I know that it's safe to do that and it won't cause a problem for my dog. But if you are not sure whether fleas will be an issue then by all means play it safe and treat. If you actually see fleas or know that your dog has come into contact with fleas then DEFINITELY treat and continue treating. The regime you choose or need very much depends on your area/climate and your doggie's lifestyle.
You need to treat the environment for fleas. I'd do some research if I were you about how you can get rid of fleas where your dog goes in and around your house if you think she's getting them that way. I disagree with the above advice on the chewable tablets. I am reading too many stories and there have been tv shows about dogs dying painful deaths after taking Bravecto and other chewable tablets. Definitely NOT for a puppy - your vet is right. The number of reported deaths and adverse effects after taking Bravecto is growing worldwide and Labradors are the most reported of big dogs. I'll try to find the link to the official report and post here. Treating for worms is different to treating for fleas even though both are parasites. Your vet must advise you on a deworming schedule. For us personally we don't treat for fleas and we don't see any. Snowie had fleas as a puppy which we treated for. He's five now and hasn't had fleas for at least four years. He had adverse effects to the flea meds (two seizures after taking Bravecto). We vacuum regularly and wash his bedding often and put it out in the sun - all good for keeping fleas away. Our vet said a flea comb should catch any fleas if a dog has any, or at least show the flea dirt (specs of black/red), and we find neither when using a flea comb on him.
I've just been researching for my summer plan for my dogs. I have decided to go with Advocate, Advantix and Drontal to cover everything I need. I don't know where you are, but it's worth talking to your vet about the local threats. We have a very high density of ticks where we are in the summer, and I need to protect against heartworm and leishmaniasis as well. The advice to "do nothing unless there's a problem" could be potentially very dangerous for my dogs, so definitely take advice.
I have had dogs since 1984 and apart from one flea on one dog, have never had a flea problem, I think I bought that flea home from working for a vet!
I go with the advice of my vet, I need to treat Mabel as I use Holidays4Dogs while I'm away and they won't take her if she hasn't been treated for fleas etc.
I've used Bravecto (the chewable tablet) in the past, but will never use it again, because Poppy has had several epileptic fits, and the German Veterinary Association have changed their stance to say that these fluraner tablets should not be used for pets with seizures. The epilepsy expert at our animal clinic advised me to use the scalibor collar, since if there is a problem it is easy to remove the collar - this is not possible with the tablet or spot-on preparations. I am very unhappy at having to use any medication at all, but our woods crawl with ticks from April to September, and they can carry diseases that can be very dangerous to both animals and humans (I personally had six tick bites last summer ), so really there is no choice.
Oh wow! I've not been bitten yet, but it's just a matter of time. They're awful things! A friend of mine was hospitalised with chronic Lyme's a few months ago, and was unable to walk for many weeks. It's scary.
Yup..I contracted Lymes disease a couple of years ago...horrible, and I am now completely paranoid about them!
I use Nexguard for Saba, but being a fussy Lab, he won't take it unless I wrap it in cheese, ham, or something else equally yummy! I'm more concerned about ticks than fleas, and now I'm a bit worried about lungworm as there have been a couple of cases locally.
In Texas I'd guess you are treating for heartworm year round and many, if not most, also hit fleas. Ask your Vet about when to start heartworm and what he/she recommends. It's not a good idea to double dose any med, even for fleas, by treating them with the heartworm stuff and then again with something just for fleas. Oh, sorry, maybe the pill you asked your VEt about WAS for heartworm?
Any of the chewables - incl Nexguard - are increasingly being found to be unsafe. Do your research and start reading up on all the reported cases of adverse effects and deaths after dogs ingest Bravecto, Nexguard, and Simparica. Look for alternatives for keeping away ticks and fleas. Scalibor collar is an alternative - reason given in post above. Keeping the environment at home free of fleas is important. When you say "rather be safe", you really need to question how safe ingesting a chemical like fluralaner (in Bravecto) really is.
Can you link to clinical studies to back this up? I used Bravecto once for my dogs, but won't use it again because I don't like the fact that they could (and did) still bring live ticks into the house.
