Anyone with experience using Trifexis

[Max, Sunny Girl and Jeanine]

Found a first flea on Max recently.  Can dogs build immunity to topical protection?  My vet is pushing Trifexis, newly approved by FDA for Fleas, Heartworm and intestinal parasites - anyone else with experience using this drug?  Thanks, Jeanine and Max

[Minga & Malu & Costa]

The fleas build the immunity to the chemical, not the dogs. And yes it happens, we used to use pyrethrins in vet clinics to kill fleas, now that barely works. I use Advantage II, haven't tried any of the newest flea stuff, because the Advantage products are still working for us. 

 

What are you using now for flea treatment?

[Dixie Moore]

I have had some luck with brewers yeast and garlic added to their food. You can buy it in a powder form and mix with food, or you can buy it in tablets. I have 2 dogs that don't like the tablets. I give them to the others a couple of times a day as treats.

 

I think the garlic in the brewers yeast makes them taste bad to the fleas. Garlic in large quantities is toxic to dogs, and I don't know exactly what the toxic amount would be, so that's why I don't just add some garlic to their food.

The tablets seem to cause my dogs to get some tartar on their teeth. It may not be tartar, just some buildup, but I don't like that.

There are times when they still get fleas, and I have to use something, so I use Advantix. The patent for Frontline recently expired, and stores are offering generic brands of it, but Frontline doesn't work. Don't waste your money on that.

I get my Advantix from CanPharm: www.canpharm.com. 

I also keep some Capstar on hand, which kills all the fleas on a dog in 30 minutes. It doesn't keep fleas off for more than a day though. I get that from CanPharm too.

A lot of people use herbal concoctions. I have tried neem oil and haven't had much luck. It might work better for only one dog. Also, fleas drown in water, so bathing a dog kills fleas. Doesn't keep them from coming back. A lot of people say to bathe with Dawn, but I think water does the trick just as well. 

One thing I have used successfully on nursing dogs and small puppies is diatomaceous earth. I try to rub it in carefully so that they (and I) don't breathe any of the fine powder in. It is completely non-toxic though and works great. It is much harder to get it on a dog with a full coat. I have used it to get fleas off, and it seems to keep them off for a while. Be sure to buy the kind you get at a nursery and not the kind you use in a pool. I bought mine from an online nursery, can't remember the name. I also sprinkle it in my puppy yard. You can sprinkle it on ant mounds too, to get rid of ants. It will kill any tiny insects, as the small pieces of powder are very sharp, not to us, but to them. People actually eat DE for parasites. I also mix it in my dogs' food for parasite control.

Products like Dawn and diatomaceous earth are very drying to their skin, so use sparingly.

If you get them in your yard you can use beneficial nematodes to get rid of them. Seems like nematodes require water in order to live, so the drought may be an issue. 

I haven't tried Trifexis. 

[Christine & Shelby]

Dixie,

Does the DE work to kill fire ants?   I've been wondering how to control them in the back yard where Shelby has full access, but she is also a grass eater and I don't want to risk her eating any poison that I put on the mound.  Ideas?

Christine