FDA - Common flea and tick warning

[Josh Adams]

I know there’s been a lot of discussions on this forum over the years regarding oral flea and tick medication. Today, the FDA came out with their own warning. Most of the information has already been out there:

https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm62093...

Our vet still stands by Nexgard and Interceptor Plus, which we give our 8-month-year-old each month. He hasn't had any adverse effects.

We all need to make own decisions based on available research and information, but I’m wondering what other owners are using/are there any new experiences or thoughts to share?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I never had any problems with Frontline, and I used it on two dogs; a purebred Poodle and then Jack, who had a very fine, thin, straight coat. I wouldn't say it is messy really, but on Jack's coat, there was a place that stayed a bit greasy for a few days after application. With my Poodle, it absorbed right into all that dense wool pretty quick and wasn't noticeable. Neither dog ever had a reaction, and as you know, JD had some fairly severe health issues including allergies.. 

Heartgard for HW prevention is about as safe as it gets. It's just plain Ivermectin, which is a dewormer used even in small puppies. I used that combination without incident for many years, and I may go back to it with Jasper. 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

We used Interceptor (I think) for our Bichon Frise for 18 years (but she passed about 8 years ago, I'm sure formula has changed).  Never had any issues.

For Luna we used Revolution and it always served us well.  

Riley I'm not sure what they're recommending - we just need one dose for this Fall (frost warning for today already) so we will revisit the idea in the Spring.  I'd like to start her on Revolution since it worked so well for us with Luna but unsure if she will be too young still.  Question to ask our vet at her 10 wk booster this week!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jack's dermatologist had once told me that Revolution is the safest of the flea/tick products. It protects against HW too. The reason we didn't use it for JD was that she felt that Revolution didn't protect against fleas as well as Frontline, and due to his health issues, it was imperative that he not get fleas. I may talk to Jasper's vet about it in the Spring as well. 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

If it's any consolation Luna never got fleas :)  I don't know if they're as common here because of our harsh winter (keeps the population of a lot of stuff under control!) but we most certainly have LOTS of ticks and she never got one of those either.

I do like that it does heartworm too it simplifies things - just a little squeeze from one vial each month.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We have horrendous winters here in the Chicago area, too, but my last Poodle got a flea infestation once that took 2 months and $4000 to eradicate. We had to replace our mattresses!!!

I know that ticks carry all kinds of awful diseases, but there is nothing worse than a flea infestation. Until you've lived through it, you can't imagine how horrible it is. Never again, lol. 

[Stacy]

*knock on wood. I've never had a flea issue. Way back when Teddy had a few, but I didn't have any trouble getting rid of them. I feel like fleas usually aren't as bad as say, bedbugs. I'm curious, what happened? Why couldn't you get those little buggers to die? I'm sure that was a horribly traumatic experience. I am grateful for good flea meds.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I was not using any flea preventatives and the dog was 14.5 years old. (So much for all the people who claim they never use prevents and never have a problem. Um, neither did I...until I did.). I never even thought about fleas. And the dog had them apparently for some time before I noticed (she was black)...long enough for the eggs to get into the rugs and into every crack and crevice in the house. Once that happens, you're in big trouble. First, I noticed the "salt & pepper" on my bedspread, but I thought that was just dirt from the yard. (Google it. It's not dirt.) Then, I noticed the dog scratching around her face, which she didn;t normally do. And then, I started getting little intensely itchy bites on my feet. Finally, a co-worker mentioned that she'd found a flea on her dog, and a lightbulb went off. I ran home and looked through her fur and sure enough, she was crawling with fleas.  The cat too. I took them to the vet immediately, where I learned that the fleas were unusually bad that year. Stores were sold out of every kind of flea product for home as well as pet. Flea baths, prevents, house bombed three times, borax, vaccuming twice a day...it took forever and a fortune to get rid of them. Once they get a foothold, they are almost impossible to get rid of. The larva can live dormant in an empty house for year. One of the worst experiences of my life. There is no risk from any flea preventative that comes close to how bad it is to have your house infested with fleas. 

[Stacy]

Wow. That sounds just miserable. I'm glad you were able to get it under control eventually. I think the idea that people don't have a problem until they do is so important. At the very least they need to be doing very frequent flea checks on their dogs so they can catch any problem early before things turn into a disaster!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, that was my bad. Black dog, black cat, busy mom working two jobs and not paying enough attention. 

[Stacy]

It could happen to anyone. Sharing that might keep it from happening to someone else. 

It's funny how there are pros and cons to different colored animals. Black hides everything. Katie always looks clean. I can't take a photo with her eyes to save my life. Fleas would hide forever, but she doesn't look like a dirty dog. Maggie could probably use a weekly bath. She gets dingy really fast (especially from digging this hole I keep telling her not to dig!) But she's easier to photo and it would be easier to find fleas. Let's not ever need to find fleas though!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

https://www.puppyleaks.com/eliminating-fleas/

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

My family's bichon had fleas growing up.. it was horrible!  My parents used a flea collar and I think they let it lapse or something.. poor thing was 16 years old at the time.  She didn't need that!