Comment

Comment by Bonny on April 29, 2008 at 3:21pm

We just moved away from one of the most tick-dense areas in the US, eastern Long Island, and let me tell you, Advantix and Frontline would not prevent tick attachment. Normally, the ticks were found soon after they hitched a ride on Junebug, sometimes attached. My husband and I are entomologists, and he specifically worked on controlling tick populations for human health reasons. Any product that contains permethrin (an insecticide/tickicide derived from chyrsanthemums) should control ticks, and it primarily kills by contact. Frontline and Advantix do contain this ingredient, and may kill some ticks, but hand removal seems to be the best control option. I am not aware of anything that can be done to repel or prevent ticks from hitching a ride other than avoiding areas with tall grasses. If you live in an area with lots of deer, you'll probably have more ticks, since they are the primary host of most tick species. Some people feel that the risk of tick- and mosquito-born disease transmission is not high enough to justify the use of strong pesticides on your animals. I don't know if there is any published data on this....I'm sure there is, but its a thought to consider. Unfortunately, many organisms make their living at the expense of others (human beings and dogs are not excuded in this!).

Comment by Kitty's Corner on April 29, 2008 at 12:58pm

We live at the top of a ridge, in the woods and there are plenty of ticks up here. All of our animals get ticks on them,so, we treat everybody with Frontline, once a month, and have little problems,ever.>Bethany

Comment by Twinky on April 29, 2008 at 11:20am

I agree with Charlie, the odds of the dog getting any disease from one tick is not likely...but doesn't hurt to get the shot if you will be camping quite a bit this summer. Definately invest in some spot on treatments, advantage or frontline are great. Biospot is not the best, it tends to lose it's potency before the month is up and will wash off. Yes. it gets absorbed into the skin, bloodstream, but so do the other topical treatments. Advantage and frontline seem to work better especially if your dog likes to jump in water like my corgi does.

Comment by Charlie on April 29, 2008 at 10:54am

A phone call to the vet couldn't hurt, as well as familiarizing yourself with the symptoms of tick-borne diseases to watch for over the next few weeks.

Your post is valuable to all as a caution, now that flea and tick season is upon us. After any walk, a thorough inspection or run through the coat with a flea/tick comb is a good idea for any of us who take our dogs on nature walks. Normally a tick has to be attached to the body for several hours before it will inject any disease into the system.

Comment by Susan on April 29, 2008 at 10:08am

http://www.apnm.org/publications/resources/fleachemfin.pdf
Here is a review of all of the flea/tick products.

Comment by Erica on April 29, 2008 at 9:38am

They are so gross, I have picked out 5 from Wyatt's fur, non broke the skin yet but they were looking to! I went to the pet store and the guy talked me into buying the Biospot stuff that has not even worked. I talked to my vet and he recommends Frontline advatage. The reason why is because it puts the medicine into the dogs oils of his fur, unlike the biospot which puts the medicine in the dogs bloodstream which is unhealthy. I will be picking up the frontline when its safe to apply it to Wyatt asap. Also I just got him on heartworm meds which are highly recommended because heartworm is contracted from misquitoes which is bad. Best luck. I hate ticks too

Comment by James on April 29, 2008 at 9:23am

My brother-in-law's dog is more of a hunting dog, and she gets the lyme vax. I noticed it's not covered in most typical "vaccination plans" but it only cost's a couple of dollars. I suppose most house-pets dont come in contact with too many ticks. If you live near wooded areas with beds of leaves I would get it definately.

Comment by Susan on April 29, 2008 at 8:54am

Be sure she has a Lyme vaccination.
We use BioSpot and have not had a tick attach for years.

Comment by Sam on April 29, 2008 at 6:53am

We have also found the preventic collars work quite well. I would also recommend checking her over very well after an outing such as camping. What a grand activity for a dog but one must be most mindful of the little critters that can get them when playing in the woods.

Comment by Kim on April 29, 2008 at 1:32am

You should take her to get a heartworm test at the vet. The 3DX snap tests not only test for heartworm, but also E.canis and lyme disease, which are both carried by ticks. If you take her camping a lot I would recommend getting her vaccinated with the lyme vax yearly and using Advantix or Frontline instead of Sentinel because they both kill ticks.