FAQ: Do you give flea & tick medication and what do you use?

[Kevikell]

I live in the southeast where it gets warm and muggy - a great breeding ground for fleas. I have pretty much only used K9 Advantix but now I use nothing. We have never had a flea problem (maybe b/c of the Advantix) but when my oldest became ill last year I started worrying about how "all" medications could affect her and stopped using flea and tick meds as I felt they were now unnecessary and I could use natural products if I needed to. Luckily I never saw a flea and didn't need to use a thing on either of my girls this past summer. When I did use these products I only applied them during the summer even though they say fleas live pretty much all year.

 

[Kevikell]

I went to the Vet with Mack today and they gave me Trifexis. It's supposed to take care of Heartworm, Fleas and Intestinal Parasites and infection. We'll see how he takes to it. One pill once a month for three things. Modern advancements.

I used trifexis with no problems for about 2 years but stopped due to all of the negative press about it. My vet approved it but so many have said it made their dogs ill or killed them so I stopped using the product as a precaution. Not to frighten you but you may want to look up Trifexis here and on the internet and see if you want to continue using it. There are lots of complaints about it and it was actually on the news not long ago for causing pet deaths. Many people love Sentinel but my girl had a seizure after taking it so you really just don't know. What works for one may not work for another.

 

[JDLaing]

I used trifexis with no problems for about 2 years but stopped due to all of the negative press about it. My vet approved it but so many have said it made their dogs ill or killed them so I stopped using the product as a precaution. Not to frighten you but you may want to look up Trifexis here and on the internet and see if you want to continue using it. There are lots of complaints about it and it was actually on the news not long ago for causing pet deaths. Many people love Sentinel but my girl had a seizure after taking it so you really just don't know. What works for one may not work for another.

Thanks. I'll do that.

 

[JennyBean]

We used to use Frontline, then Frontline plus for a few years. We stopped because it wasn't effective with keep fleas away anymore. We now use K9 Advantix on our dogs with good results and no side effects. And it is nice the we can get at Petco or Petsmart instead of vet.

 

[harveyspecter]

Frontline Plus.

 

[msericathatcher]

We do not! A lot of people get judgy about this, but every time we have tried one, he loses huge patches of fur! Every single time.

 

[Petra]

Right now I'm using noting I tried Virbac tick and flea collar last year after recommendations from a vet (not our regular one). But one of our females started leaking pee only a couple of hours after I put it on her so needless to say... I'm not using that anymore. Don't like collars anyway, so scared they'll get them off and start chewing them or something.

I did try Frontline a couple of years back and as far as I can remember it worked, will have to buy that again now, saw a flea on Bennie the other day even though I gave him a tick and flea bath recently. It's just so tricky, two of my three has got such sensitive skin

 

[minibull]

We used Nexgard once but my husband noticed Buttercup acted strangely the day she got it and had her first (that we know of) partial seizure a few days later. The vet said we'd need to switch to a topical next year, but I dread giving it to her as she has such sensitive skin. Our vet said it is really hard to get rid of a flea infestation so she doesn't recommend waiting until I see the first flea. I hate using chemicals (for both dogs and people) unless absolutely necessary as they all have side effects. I might try the geranium oil Vikinggirl described in another post.

 

[ChrisRN]

OK, I will be the odd one (imagine that) Vegas is 5.6 years old. He has never, ever had a flea or tick in his life. So I use nothing and never have. KNOCK ON WOOD (as I am pounding my head!)

I firmly believe that if a dog is healthy and there isn't an overabundance of parasites in the areas where the dogs frequent, they won't be bothered by fleas or ticks. For you to live in Florida and not have a problem shows that you are doing something right with Vegas. Once we put our dogs on high-end, good quality foods, we never saw a tick or flea--even when we lived in the woods in east Texas. The vet wants us to use Revolution, and I have a supply, but I hesitate to use harmful chemicals on our little Mabel. The vet said dog ticks are getting bad up here, but we've never seen one on any of our dogs. I do worry about heart worm here because we have mosquitos the size of small birds, but still hate to use the chemicals on her!

 

[brutus77]

i do not use anything either. We have never had a problem. I stopped using any kind of meds like that because I put the topical stuff on my cat and she got the worst chemical burn between her shoulder blades and lost all her hair in that spot. All of my animal only go out to potty, short walks and occasional play date at friends houses. I just think it is risky.

 

[KMARINO]

I firmly believe that if a dog is healthy and there isn't an overabundance of parasites in the areas where the dogs frequent, they won't be bothered by fleas or ticks. For you to live in Florida and not have a problem shows that you are doing something right with Vegas. Once we put our dogs on high-end, good quality foods, we never saw a tick or flea--even when we lived in the woods in east Texas. The vet wants us to use Revolution, and I have a supply, but I hesitate to use harmful chemicals on our little Mabel. The vet said dog ticks are getting bad up here, but we've never seen one on any of our dogs. I do worry about heart worm here because we have mosquitos the size of small birds, but still hate to use the chemicals on her!

I give Vegas HeartGaurd Plus all year round. The mosquitos are like bats here all year long as well. We have a pool in our back yard, then a fence and on the other side of the fence a retention pond. We can't even enjoy our own back yard after around 6 at night, mosquitoes eat us alive!!

 

[My Otis]

I have not put any flea protection on Elmo yet, the Vet said Advantage was good for Elmo, I hope it is ok for him, if anyone knows about Advantage please let me know. Thank You, Susan and Elmo

 

[AceTheBathound]

I had stop giving Ace Heart Gard and Next Gard for about 3 months. I felt guilty and bought them again this week. I live in south Texas, so fleas and ticks here can be bad, as well as mosquitos. Although, I have never seen a flea on Ace. Spidey, our pom, got lost with Ace not to long ago. When we got him back, he had fleas and a few ticks. Of course he was in the middle of nowhere, so who knows where and what he got into. After reading these posts, I'm now I'm thinking of not giving him Nex Gard (flea/tick prevention) unless I start seeing an issue. My vet pushes it year round! $$! I'll keep him on the heart gard though.

Any natural remedies you all use?

 

[1Chumly]

Monty was on Advantage Multi when we got him so we have stayed with that. I really wish it wasn't necessary but living in Texas, you really don't have much choice and of course Heartworms are such a huge threat here. We have sprayed our yard for fleas too but that doesn't help when you go for a walk! I am reluctant to try other things when the Multi seems to agree with him.

 

[OliviaB]

We use frontline plus. We have a lot of woods behind our house so I have to be careful to keep Belle and the cat on something year round.