Topical flea/tick medicine

[Christine]

Hi,
I was wondering how many of you use a topical flea/tick treatment on your dog? I have been using one, but after reading and speaking to a few dog owners, have become worried that it will do her more harm than good. Also, as we head into the colder months, I wonder if I can just skip it? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Christine & Miss Nala

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

I use Frontline Plus on Haley all year. If you take your dog (or cat) anywhere there are other dog, cats or other flea host (including the vet's office) there is a chance that it could catch fleas. I have had a flea infestation in my house and it is not pleasant and very hard to get rid of much less having you dog bitten by these nasty little creatures.

[Lynda Kamrath]

I give my dogs Nexguard when it is flea and tick season and we have never had a problem with them.  However, when it is cooler I stop with the Nexguard.  My vet said that was fine to just use it when it is needed.  

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I think it depends on where you live.  I live in CT which is the "tick capitol of the world" and the place where Lyme Disease originated, so I use both Frontline Plus and Revolution all year.  Even with that I did have one experience with a tick borne illness and almost lost my Doodle. 

[Christine]

Thanks so much for your replies. I certainly understand the need for prevention, but have to admit I feel unnerved at some things I have read regarding the toxicity of the meds and the effects of that on some dogs. Nala seems fine with the applications, but I just keep meeting more and more dog owners who have had such negative effects of the meds. Ugh.

[Lynda Kamrath]

Well, I think (in my humble opinion) that the topical applications can be quite toxic to both dogs and the people handling the meds and the dogs.  They warn to use gloves when applying on the neck area.  But, we have the dogs in our beds frequently and are always petting them on the heads, so that is our problem.  Because of that, we use the internal meds.  They have their own problems, but I think are less toxic.  They are quite expensive and require a prescription from the vet to get them.

[Ginny Nightingale]

Many of us here in the northeast have switched to the Seresto collar and have had good luck with it--and I also live in Lyme disease country (all the people here have had it at least once and the dogs would too if they were not protected). It lasts 7-8 months.

Let me add that the two times my dogs got Lyme it was in February when we had a warm few days--that is all it takes...I keep the collar on year round.

[Joani, Skadi & Elli]

I didn't dose Skadi in January here in Michigan one year...and ended up with a big outbreak of fleas.  The Vet had recommended I only use the medication in the warm months...yes, I have switched Vets...haha...it wasn't all that funny!  Anyway, I am quitting the frontline plus.  Every time I take the package out of the drawer, and before even opening the package, Elli heads for the hills!  she absolutely hates it!  So, I am switching to Simparica which my current Vet recommends.  She went to a conference and learned how well it works.  This is not a prescription and I wasn't aware that any of the flea and tick meds were prescription.

I had used frontline successfully, this year we had 2 ticks on the girls.  The frontline will kill the ticks, but it take too long now that I know the new medication kills them faster.  It's an oral chew and I bought them from a Canadian Drugstore.

[Christine]

I never hear of Simparica. I will look it up. I use Vectrs 3D on Nala. And am on my way to the vet to pick it up. Nala hates the application too and she is so smart. Even when I hide it she just knows! And runs. But she seems to have no ill effects from the application. But what worries me is that it gets into her bloodstream and who knows over time what that can do. We had a dog growing up. This dog never got shots or meds. He did wear those white flea collars. We never worried about him and he lived a long healthy life. Lol.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

It seems to be regional as to which preventive works best in your area. We use Frontline Plus or I guess it is now Gold or whatever.  I think it is more important to guard your dog against fleas and ticks than not.  In our specific area fleas and ticks seem to go dormant during the winter, so I don't apply it monthly.  

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Guess I didn't click on ADD.  

Which preventives work best is quite regional.  Personally, I don't feel internal meds are any safer for your dog than a topical - chemicals are chemicals.  However, I'd rather protect my dogs than not, and I tend to prefer the older tried and true ones (let others be guinnea pigs with their dogs).  We use Frontline and in our area, the fleas and ticks tend to go dormant in winter (even though it is southern California) so I don't apply it monthly during the winter.

[Lori watts]

We use the monthly dog chew called nexguard. Works great!

[Cathy, Josie and Piper]

I used the  K9 Advantix II topical flea and tick on my doodle and she hated it. She went crazy for a couple of days, slithering into corners, not eating or drinking normally and acted crazy. I only used it 2 times, then returned it and replaced it with an oral Treatment(sorry can't remember the name), which she loves. We live in South Western Ontario, so we only give them flea/tick treatments May to October.