Hi everyone I wondered what you use for your flea/tick and worm prevention? We have been using Advocate and Droncit combination because it covers basically everything about from ticks! However my dog came home with a tick recently and I didn't spot it until it looked like it had been there a while so I'm feeling terribly guilty and looking to change to something which prevents ticks too. My vet suggested Bravecto and Milbemax combination however I am wary of flea and tick tablets after looking them up. Making your dogs blood essentially poisonous doesn't seem healthy and online there are plenty of people saying it has caused seizures in there dogs and either death! But why would vets prescribe this if it was so dangerous? Would it be safer as a spot on? (As it is available as one). My thought is yes because it works as a preventative then, doesn't it? Not actually going into the dogs system. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Many thanks!
My dog had two grand mal seizures after taking Bravecto. Before that I used Advantix, which he hated having applied, ran away when I opened the tube. I’ve not used any tick or flea pesticides for two years and he has no fleas (I use a flea comb from time to time). If I see a tick, I remove it. If I go to a biliary area, I use a tick spray repellent on his fur - it’s not a pesticide, not toxic, just repels the ticks. We don’t have biliary where we live, so I’m not worried if I find a tick on him (but they’re only around in spring anyway). There is no such thing as a worm preventative. Dewormers kill existing worms. So you can take your dog’s poo to the vet to test for worms. If worms or eggs are present, then you could deworm. Obviously you need to know your surroundings and what diseases are prevalent in your area. Your vet will be able to guide you on what is needed for your area. But why they recommend the oral chews...
The spot ons are definitely absorbed into the system - how else would they work if, say, a flea or tick bites a dog on his leg after the spot on was applied at the back of the neck?
Yup, for sure. I didn't like how long they took to stop leaving a greasy mark on Lilly's neck. I happily use Bravecto and find it very effective for a moderate tick area. I understand other people's concerns about it though, and @MF I know isn't the only one to have a suspect seizure after using it.
I was also very weary of many products for heartworm/tick prevention and was dead set against Bravecto after reading about it online. The past couple of years, ticks that carry lyme disease have been increasing in our area (or at least that's what the media is leading us to believe). When Quinn was a puppy, I refused Bravecto and stuck with Revolution (a spot on), which is not effective against all the species of ticks in our area and no longer recommended at our vet practice for areas with ticks. Quinn despises it and runs when she sees it (we suspect it irritates her), so after several conversations with our vet, going over my concerns with oral tick medications (namely, Bravecto), I decided to go with Bravecto this year (she is 2). She took her first dose a couple of months ago - I would say talk to your vet about your concerns, specific ticks and risks in your area and make your decision based on that. It is very odd to me that ticks carry risk to humans but there is nothing to protect us...
We use tick repellent spray daily. It's easy to find, usually a combo mosquito spray Ankles only in spring when we are in the forests, daily in summer even when in our garden (short well kept lawn). My son has been vaccinated against FSME but my husband and I havent. We all check ourselves over daily. In case of bites, antibiotics are prescribed pretty immediately here as both FSME and Lyme are high.
Cassie is 2, and hasn't had any flea treatment at all, because I've never seen it necessary, Occasionally I see her scratching herself for a short time, and think I'd better keep my eye out for fleas but the scratching has not persisted. Surprisingly, and luckily, we live in a low tick area. Last year I found 2 on her, on separate occasions, each time I went back to her to deal with them they'd disappeared, to my astonishment! One time, I'd seen her scratching her neck, where it was, and can only presume she must have flicked it out with her claw -- never known that before. Our poor cat on the otherhand gets severely afflicted by fleas, and I have now to use Bravecto as nothing else gives her any relief, and I have to use Indorex where she sleeps. I worm Cassie when I can tell she needs it, I think it's important to keep on top of that, deworming medication is undoubtedly strong stuff but worms do need to be kept at bay for our dogs health. So I guess like many things it's a question of balance.
We don't have a huge tick problem here, thankfully. I use a spot on every month (advantage) for fleas (Coco has picked up fleas from other dogs, but it's usually OH who gets bitten! maybe I'm treating the wrong one) and drontal tabs for worms (every 3 months). Coco has had one tick, so far, which I removed asap. I examine him daily, and am careful not to go in ex-sheep areas - the most likely place for ticks here - I HATE ticks. I don't think we have a heartworm here either.
I use Advantix every four weeks and find it very effective. We have a very high density of ticks here. I used Bravecto a couple of years back and was appalled at how many ticks I found on them each day; those that had bitten were all dead, but they also brought live ticks into the house on their coats. I would estimate that I would remove ten to twenty ticks per day from the dogs. It is very effective at killing those that attach but has absolutely no repellent properties at all. With Advantix and now four dogs, I have removed two ticks and have been in tick country for well over a month. I use Drontal for worming every three months and Advocate every four weeks to complete the panel. I don’t use either the Advocate or the Advantix in the winter months.
I'm lucky that the only nasty I have to worry about here are fleas. I didn't have to de-flea Xena at all for her first 18 months, but we had a stinking hot Spring/Summer so I finally had to. I did Bravecto first, but like clockwork 3 months later she was itching again, so I bought a Seresto collar instead. I'll probably stick with the collar from now on, it's been great. I worm every 3 months with Endogard, she eats far too much suspicious "food" to play fast and loose with worming.
Ticks are a major problem where I live and carry Lyme disease. We use a 30 day oral prevention. It is also flea prevention but focuses primarily on Ticks. From my vet and my own research I’ve noticed they all claim tick and flea and or worm or a combination of sorts but usually have a focus on one of the three. We picked the one that was best suited for ticks. Side note, the pill was huge and a lot of dogs won’t eat it..... Labs are the exception. Lol.
I found this summary on a New Forest web site (for UK) - and yes, heartworm spread by mozzies. Summary French heartworm/Lungworm – spread by slugs and snails, uncommon but increasing, causes a variety of conditions including cough, haemorrhage and nervous signs Typical Lungworm – spread directly or indirectly between foxes and dogs, relatively uncommon in the New Forest, causes chest problems and coughing. Heartworm – not present in the UK, causes heart problems Please try not to worry too much about these parasites as they are still uncommon, but if you have any concerns please ask your veterinary surgeon.
On the advice of our vet, we use Prinovox monthly to prevent fleas and Endogard (every 3 months) for worming for Red. Never seen a flea on her but do check. Sky has never had any flea treatment and never had fleas and she is 11 years old so reckon we have been lucky in that respect. We worm her every 3 months using beaphar one dose wormer which we get from our local pet shop
Fleas don’t, in the main, live on dogs. They hop on for a blood meal and lay eggs around the dog’s anus and base of the tail (close to the food source for the hatching larvae!). If you see a flea on your dog, you can be sure that the dog’s bed, the carpet, the house, is full of fleas, unless a one-time flea hopped on your dog outside your house. The advice is, if you have a flea problem, to treat the environment to rid it of fleas. We wash Snowie’s bedding regularly and leave it in the sun - fleas don’t like sun. We vacuum often to pick up flea eggs in case there are any. This regime is good for the humans, too. As I said earlier, we haven’t used any pesticides on Snowie, and he doesn’t have fleas thankfully.
Fortunately I don't live in a tick area (yet!) and do not use flea prevention as I see no reason to put chemicals into my dog's body unless it is necessary. I worm him once a year with Milbemax.
I wouldn't use tick prevention if it were feasible, but we live in an area that at this time of year is heavily tick-infested, and they can carry FSME and Lyme Disease. In the past I used spot on treatments, but they really were not perfect. I then moved to Bravecto, but Poppy reacts badly to it and had a series of seizures while I was using it. I now use Scalibor or Seresto flea/tick collars, which are excellent. They work as a repellent, and honestly I have hardly seen any ticks on either dog this year. Our specialist vet recommended using the collars rather than tablets or spot on treatment for sensitive dogs like Poppy, as the collar can be removed if there is an adverse reaction. I have to say though, that Pops had a couple of relatively minor seizures a few weeks ago. It could be that the collar was one of the triggers that lead to this. Nonetheless, I have to use something, otherwise we would be knee high in ticks! I only use the collars for a few months in the year, from April to around June. I don't bother with flea prevention - if they were to pick up fleas I would just treat them.
I use Effipro for ticks and fleas, Hattie & Charlie have never had fleas but ticks are a bit of a problem during the warmer months, so I only treat from about April to October. I use Drontal every 3 months for worms.
