I HATE TICKS!

[Christina and Cooper plus Benny]

Cooper and I went camping and hiking this weekend and had a great time!  We got home, and I found a tick - only one tick and it wasn't attached and was definitely on it's last leg - unlike the 13 I found after one trip last year.  I attribute the small number of ticks and the fact that the one found wasn't attached and dying to the Preventic Tick Collar (I also used Advantage for fleas.)  This was my first time using the collar, and I will definitely say it works.  However, I could smell it on Cooper all weekend, and I hate the chemical smell and worry about having it on him.  Plus the package says to wash your hands whenever you touch the collar!  I looked up more information this morning on the collar and it contains Amitraz - considered "slightly toxic" by the FDA.  Not good!   I don't want Cooper wearing something that is toxic at all!

So...I have decided to throw away the tick collar and the Advantage (which also had a strong chemical smell) and switch to Frontline Plus, which my sister has been using happily this year, and hasn't had a tick or flea.  Her dogs hike and camp with Cooper so I would hope for similar results!  

I know Frontline has had some bad press lately, but I HAVE to use something.  Having Coop come home with 13 ticks or more every time we hike is not acceptable!  I feel like I have once again wasted a bunch of money on these products and thrown them out.  I have been through Revolution - which is what Cooper was taking when he got the 13 ticks, Advantage and the Preventic Collar and now headed towards Frontline Plus.  Cooper is not yet 2 years old!   

My question is, do you use Frontline, and does it work?  Do any of you have experience with it and TICKS?  I believe it works well for fleas.  I also want to believe it is the safest product that is effective?  I have also tried herbal sprays that stink like cloves and all kinds of stuff with very limited success.  I am frustrated and tired of wasting money.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I had a discussion about Frontline with my vet last week; Jack must have a reliable flea preventative, but I am worried about the safety of these products like everyone else.
My vet's opinion is that of the products known to be effective, Frontline is the safest, and it is the only one his practice recommends or sells. He said that the products which are given orally present more health risks because they get into the bloodstream. He said Revolution is also safer than most of the others but is not as effective for fleas or ticks.
I do not have a tick problem in my area, but have used Frontline for 6 years on two different dogs now, and it has been very effective against fleas and has not harmed my dogs.
So in my vet's opinion, Frontline "is the safest product that is effective".

[Christina and Cooper plus Benny]

Thanks Karen, that's what I came up with too. Have you ever looked in to the magnets? I guess they are called Shootags??? I am thinking of trying one, but I will use it in addition to Frontline Plus.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I researched Shootags after someone asked about it last year, and it is absolute hogwash. Worthless. You would get the same results by attaching your Mastercard to your dog's collar, lol.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I agree, complete hooey!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Does the Frontline Plus cause Jack to itch? I thinkand it is only in the preliminary stages of my brain, but I think that Ned's periodic itching might be caused by the Frontline application. I need to chart this for a long time yet, but something makes Ned periodically scratch and scratch and it just came to me that we periodically apply it. Have you ever heard of itching as a side effect?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

No, but I haven't really looked into the side-effects other than the cautions you're always reading.
It doesn't make Jack itch or scratch, and believe me, I notice every single time Jack scratches, lol.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

From my research on Shootags:

Wikipedia says the premise behind these tags is junk science, and I have to say I agree, based on this:

Apparently it uses "Nature's energetic principles in combination with physics, quantum physics and advanced computer software technology" to "[utilise] the power of the bio-energetic field which surrounds all living things to create a frequency barrier which repels targeted pests for up to four months." Yes, your animal will be using the force to repel insects. Oh, and quantum. Did we mention quantum theory enough?
The Shoo!Tag was "ïnvented" by Energetic Solutions Ltd, a company which initially developed homeopathic creams for stress reduction.[2] The company was founded in 2003 by sisters Melissa Mowrer Rogers and Kathy Heiney[2] of Wimberley, Texas[3] and who worked in the "quantum biofeadback [sic] industry".[4]
Does it work?
Probably not.[7] At least the science as the website explains it is complete and utter crap. There really is no wording that effectively demonstrates how much b******* is contained within those explanations. While electroreception has been observed and has been used to deter animals, this is almost entirely confined to aquatic animals, rather than flies. In addition, fairly high power is needed to deflect animals and the weedy little field produced by a non-powered magnetic strip isn't going to bother anything. However, no trials have really been done on the tag and no RationalWikian has thought about buying enough to launch our own trial (as fun as this would be). However, Santa Fe Sandy, who is quoted above as being quite happy, has made other posts claiming that they're "just not cost effective" and that they "lasted 5 weeks" when they were supposed to last several months.[8][9]

However, there is one very good point raised by a blog commentator:

“ If this thing does all that its manufacturers claim, why isn’t it being shipped in container-loads to the mosquito-ridden equatorial regions across the globe in an effort to wipe out malaria?

Think about it – who is likely to be the most gullible: pet owners who are poor observers and badly trained in critical thinking (as you have just demonstrated of yourself), or scientifically trained doctors who want nothing more than to stamp out the scourge of a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people every year."

Think I'll stick with Frontline.

[Susan, Zeke. Lily & Jasper]

We have used Frontline Plus with both dogs for 2 years. I have never seen a flea on either one and only dead ticks. Both dogs tolerate it well with no noted side effects. This product is what my vet recommends and sells also since we are in a high tick infested area.

[Ann Kendig]

My dogs are currently on Revolution. In the past month I have found 4 ticks. One on the bed, one on the kitchen floor, and one in Sheba's fur. The other night I found one attached to Sheba's side and it was very engorged. I had to remove it...yuck!!!! Today I went to the vet to purchase 2 Preventic Tick Collars. I haven't read the instructions yet, or put the collars on the dogs, but I worry because the dogs play and are always play biting each other on the neck etc. At this time Frontline is not an option for my dogs to be on per specialist's instructions. I don't think I have a choice but to use the tick collars. Vet and specialist said ticks are very bad this year..I believe it. I have never found a tick on any of my dogs while they were on Frontline. So far I haven't noticed any fleas on the dogs since they have been on Revolution...knock on wood! I used Frontline for many years on my GR and had no problems.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I use Fronline year round. I did find one embedded tick on Luca this spring but it was dead or dying. I've had no problems with it.

[Carole (*Koda*Monty*Bindi)]

We use Frontline Plus here as well with all our dogs and the only ticks we've ever found on them are dying. I give it a paws up! :)

[Lee Seidman]

our Vet does not care for Frontline, said fleas are becoming immune to it and said we should use Comfortis, I was told this by another vet friend as well and we switched. I do not believe Comfortis has a Tick prevention tho. Lexi was getting some Fleas on Frontline, but since Comfortis she has had none.