Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on April 27, 2011 at 1:57pm

ic, if the yard is infested, the only way to fix that is fog the yard, but that means the dogs can't be there for a while.

 

If frontline plus is working out for you, you can continue, but when it stop working, you'll need something stronger.

 

Garlic works on fleas, not so much ticks :(

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rachael & Waffle on April 26, 2011 at 12:44pm

I don't give Waffle anything!  I have a problem with topical flea medicines.  It's a dangerous chemical that you're putting directly above your dog's spine.  That just doesn't jive with me.  Yes, it keeps fleas away, and maybe ticks, but those problems pale in comparison to the long-term health of my animal.  Lyme disease takes 24+ hours to transmit, so I check my dog thoroughly after ever woodsy session.  We've only had problems with fleas once (in Virginia Beach), and it was barely a problem.  I gave him a Capstar tablet and vaccuumed my room/washed my sheets, that was that.  He contracted them from a friend's dog, not from outside.  I found one tick on Waffle, and he got it on a school tennis court somehow in Virginia Beach, not in the woods.  I have since bought a "natural repellent" made of citronella oil and other oils that I'm supposed to rub all over his fur, thought I kind of question how well that works.  I now live in Western VA where there are too many deer, and there should be too many ticks, but in all of my time I've only found one tick here.  My boyfriend's dogs have either contracted or died of lyme disease, but they are out most of the day in the deep woods.  :\  Until I start seeing a real flea/tick problem, though, he isn't getting anything beyond that citronella stuff.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Beth on April 26, 2011 at 1:00pm

Hi Rachael.  I can understand your concern with the flea and tick stuff, and believe me I'm not trying to convince you to use it.  Just a friendly heads-up that the nymph stage of the deer tick causes most infections and is nearly impossible to spot, so please don't use tick-checks as your only precaution.

 

Here's a pic of one next to a dime, for comparison. 

 

 

Here's an adult on the right and a nymph on the left:

 

 

Most humans who get Lyme don't even recall every being bitten, it's that small.

 

You can get your dog tested each year.  My parents' Chessie just came up positive even though she is on Advantix year-round.   The treatment is a 28-day course of a broad-spectrum antibiotic (usually Doxycycline). 

 

Tick checks are good and will help find adult dog ticks and probably even adult deer ticks, but chances are you won't find the nymph, especially if it's attached in an armpit or around the dog's nether regions or other favorite haunts. 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by John Wolff on April 26, 2011 at 1:25pm

Long ago, Seattle, we had 1 cat, wall-to-wall shag carpet, lots of fleas.  A company called FleaBusters dusted our carpets and upholstery with sodium polyborate (essentially borax, a dessicant, not a neurotoxin).  They guaranteed results for 1 year; it worked so well we never called them back.  YMMV.  May work differently in other climates.  Perhaps this stuff can be purchased directly.

We use Advantix on an as-needed basis (spring/early summer on east side of the Cascade mountains).

If you wash the dog, wait at least 3 days for skin oils to be replaced; they spread the topical applications around the dog.

I wear nitrile gloves for application.  Remember that chemists and chemical vendors have a long notorious history of underestimating the toxicities and problems of chemicals.

The tick stuff in Advantix is toxic to cats; if your cat grooms your dog, keep them separate for a few days after application.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on April 26, 2011 at 4:44pm

My family and I use Frontline and have never had problems with ticks or fleas. I live in California so we have to use the product year round because where I live there really isn't a heavy frost/snow season and fleas are around all the time. Ticks however are usually only around from spring to mid-late fall so I use advantage in the winter months and frontline during the other times. My brother recently switched to Advantix because he just moved to a house that has a backyard infested with ticks. He has had a lot of luck with Advantix and where he used to pick 10+ ticks off his dogs before, after applying advantix he didn't see any....not sure how long it lasts though because this was just a few days after its first application.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Vee Luther on April 26, 2011 at 5:02pm

As I posted before, my 3 guys are on comfortis and we've had no problems with fleas or ticks.  It's a monthly pill and I like it very much.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ollie & Prie Misra on April 27, 2011 at 8:55pm

Comfortis is our preference and definitely worked out better for Ollie... my vet explained that a topical med is better for owners who prefer to bathe less frequently. Well, Ollie is a city dog and his mom a neatfreak so he gets a bath every 1.5 weeks or so... if you choose to use a topical med, you need to make sure the products you use to shampoo, wipe, etc are not washing away the medication.

Also, I order my comfortis online and it ended up being cheaper than frontline so we're set with it :)

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page