|
Welcome to the YorkieTalk.com Forums Community - the community for Yorkshire Terriers. You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. You will be able to chat with over 35,000 YorkieTalk members, read over 2,000,000 posted discussions, and view more than 15,000 Yorkie photos in the YorkieTalk Photo Gallery after you register. We would love to have you as a member! Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today! If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please click here to contact us. |
|
| LinkBack | Thread Tools |
09-11-2008, 02:18 PM | #1 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Tallahassee, Florida
Posts: 723
| Best Flea Preventative? Hello all! After our vet visit yesterday I've been trying to decide what to do for Zoe as far as a flea preventative goes. I've got her on Interceptor for heart worm. The vet wanted her on Sentinel, but I went with my gut and went with Interceptor. I didn't want the always added flea control. It's the heat of the summer and as of yet she hasn't had an issue (*knock on wood*), I figure I'd give her a separate flea preventative when needed/summer time. At the worst I thought that I could switch to Sentinel if she ever had a huge flea issue. That said, I do want her on a flea preventative, just in case! Especially since this is Florida, I don't know who may walk their dog on my front yard, and I'd rather be safe than sorry. The vet recommended Advantage, but I don't know what other options are out there, let alone what's the best. So, knowledgeable ones of YT, what are your opinions of flea preventatives? |
Welcome Guest! | |
09-12-2008, 10:53 AM | #2 |
♥ love my girls!! ♥ Donating Member | It is my understanding (could be wrong here, so double check me) but I think Sentinel and the other pill form medications that control fleas, work by killing the flea after it BITES your dog, which also means it only controls the adult stage fleas. Products like Frontline and Advantage (drops or sprays) kill all the life cycles of the flea and they work on contact rather than the poor baby having to be bitten first. I use Frontline spray because it costs me $28 for a bottle of it at a store here in town (I've seen it online for $35), and it will last well over a year, probably closer to two years, applying it once a month. The recommended dosing is # of sprays per # of lbs. body weight, but the vet told me just to spray Bella untill her body and legs were good and damp (I usually do 5-6 sprays--she's 3 lbs.) It seems to be working pretty well, and it's much more cost-effective than the Frontline or Advantage drops. It also works on ticks--we visited my dad on his farm a couple of weeks ago and were sitting in the living room with Bella on my lap. I picked her up and there was a tick squirming (it didn't look so good) on my leg right under where she'd been laying. I guess it got on her, but it obviously didn't stay!! I used a flea comb just to be sure she didn't have any other "friends", but she was flea and tick free! Anyway, just a thought. Might be a way to save some money, and then if you don't want to treat her monthly you could just keep the bottle handy for when you do. Just remember not to bathe her 2 days before or 2 days after you treat her with the spray OR drops either one or they won't work (or at least won't work as well!) Hope that helps!! |
09-13-2008, 09:29 AM | #3 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Tallahassee, Florida
Posts: 723
| Thanks bellasmomok for your suggestion! I may just go with that, as it does seem cost effective. I may ask the vet, but seeing as she recommended Advantage (the liquid form) I'd assume she'd recommend the spray form too. I'll look around town but I never seem to find the things I need here. Would you by any chance know of the best places it's online? I'm eager to start Zoe on something. I want to take her to the dog park but my boyfriend said "she'll get fleas if she goes" and I'm petrified of that happening so I'm ready to find the right option for Zoe and get her started on it! (So if anyone had any other suggestions I'm all open to them!) |
09-13-2008, 10:12 AM | #4 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Parker, Az in the Winter
Posts: 168
| Seems to work ok....no fleas Widget is bathed with Mane n Tail with several drops of 100% eucalyptus oil, besides smelling great she hasn't had a flea in 2 years....and we are snowbirds so travel alot. I went to the local health food store and for about $5 the bottle has lasted over 2 years now....hope this helps, its worth trying at least, no chemicals on your furbaby this way either. |
09-13-2008, 10:56 AM | #5 |
My hairy-legged girls Donating Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: lompoc, ca.
Posts: 12,228
| Seems I'm always posting this site........but here goes again. Chinaroad Lowchens of Australia - Ticks, fleas, bees, flies, snakes and other gremlins! And how to deal with them!
__________________ AZRAEL RAZAEL JILLI ANN |
09-13-2008, 11:29 AM | #6 |
♥ love my girls!! ♥ Donating Member | I was getting on here to reply about where to find the Frontline spray and am reading about the herbal treatments.....I was thinking "what a great idea!", but from what I'm reading it seems they're all once a day or twice a week type of things . *WundrWmn*, exactly how do you apply the eucalyptus oil?? Do you think you'd have to use Mane 'N Tail shampoo, or could I use something else? I'd be interested in trying this out even though I've already purchased the Frontline spray bottle, especially if it isn't a daily or biweekly thing. Sometimes Bella doesn't get a bath for 2 weeks or so, though, so maybe this wouldn't be for us?? Still, might be worth a try. I would say your bf is right, though, about not taking her to the dog park until she's treated with something. Fleas are no fun, for her or you, but they can lead to tapeworms too....yuck-o! If you're still thinking about doing the Frontline, this online store has it pretty inexpensive: Frontline flea Spray Kills Fleas & Ticks . You still have to pay shipping, but that's a couple dollars cheaper than I paid, and I had to pay tax, so it probably evens out. I don't think Advantage makes a spray product, and it's possible if your vet likes Advantage he may not know about the Frontline spray...I'd never heard of it until my vet suggested it since Bella is so small and will stay that way. Interesting fact: he said that it was originally marketed to use on children with head lice, so it's pretty safe! In fact, he sprayed his finger and then licked it to show us how safe it is!!....weirdo! |
09-13-2008, 02:11 PM | #7 |
My hairy-legged girls Donating Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: lompoc, ca.
Posts: 12,228
| You can add 20 drops of either eucalyptus, lavender, or rosemary (and there are other fragrances that keep insects off) to 16 oz. of shampoo and even in the conditioner. Anyway, I don't see any problem with misting a dog even if it's every day, especially since we have to brush them every day anyway.
__________________ AZRAEL RAZAEL JILLI ANN |
09-17-2008, 09:58 AM | #8 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Tallahassee, Florida
Posts: 723
| Well we went to the vet's today to get weighed. Zoe gained weight!!! Anyway, when I asked about the flea preventatives they offer I found out that they're now doing Comfortis. But Comfortis and their recommended Advantage only cover fleas. I got the notion (don't know where) that ticks may also be an issue (especially if I ever want to take her to a dog park)! What's a flea preventative good for if I need tick coverage too? Frontline covers both, so I'm leaning towards that. Does anyone have any resources that'd let me know if ticks are enough of an issue in my area? |
09-17-2008, 02:45 PM | #9 |
♥ love my girls!! ♥ Donating Member | I found this map of established and reported incidences of Lyme disease in the U.S.--it's by the CDC. DVBID: Tick Map | CDC Lyme Disease It looks like Florida is covered up. I think I'd want something that keeps ticks from even biting after seeing that!! Also, I looked up Comfortis, and personally I think it would be a waste of money if you're already doing Frontline or something like that. It's a chewable tablet (similar to Interceptor's flavor tab that I think you said you were going to do for heartworms?) that kills Adult fleas only, and only after it's bitten your dog. They say "kills fleas before they can lay eggs". How products like this work is that once they bite the dog, the medicine that is secreted in the dog's natural oils sterilizes the flea. Eventually that particular flea will die without having reproduced, but any other fleas out there (not in the adult stage yet) will be fine until they mature into an adult and bite your dog. I think if you're using a product consistently that kills fleas (without them having to bite your dog first!) then there is no reason to spend money on what I consider to be an inferior product. If all the fleas are dead in my house, and all the fleas that get on my dog die, why would I need to be double protected with another medication that only does half of what the first one did? Maybe I'm wrong, but that's just my thoughts. I know your vet is making that recommendation to you, but I'd pass if I were you. I know a lot of people use a product similar to Comfortis, but to me it doesn't replace the need for the spray/drops since I don't want all of those fleas biting my dog in order for them to die, and like you mentioned, it doesn't do anything for ticks anyway. If anyone else has any thoughts, I'd love to hear them....maybe I'm missing something?? |
09-17-2008, 02:50 PM | #10 |
Donating YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: North Carolina
Posts: 8,317
| I love Frontline spray. I've used it for years on Lady and my cats. I like the fact that I can customize the dose. Less is more when it comes to chemicals IMO. I only use half and it works great on both fleas and ticks. I get it from Entirely Pets. Frontline flea Spray Kills Fleas & Ticks |
09-17-2008, 02:56 PM | #11 |
♥ love my girls!! ♥ Donating Member | I just looked at Advantage to see if it was for fleas only because for some reason I thought it was for ticks too, but it's not. And, Advantage says that it kills adult and larvae stages, whereas Frontline kills adult, larvae, and eggs as well as ticks. I just looked them both up to be sure...you were so right! I did not know that!! I always thought Frontline was better than Advantage and had a bad experience with Advantage (fleas came INSIDE because we'd had so much rain and I didn't have access to Frontline right away, so I tried Advantage on my cats, but I still had a serious flea problem....used Frontline and all was well again), but I really thought they were more similar than that. Good to know... |
09-18-2008, 05:31 AM | #12 | |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Tallahassee, Florida
Posts: 723
| Quote:
| |
09-18-2008, 06:11 AM | #13 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Albany New York USA
Posts: 151
| Okay, I only know what I've been told and it came from two separate vets. My first experience: I used ADVANTIX - it is the flea and tick treatment from Bayer (maker of Advantage too). I have a dog that just happened to be allergic to the tick prevention chemical in it. I was told to switch to Advantage because it didn't have the tick preventor in it, it's just for fleas. I chose this product because my girl didn't really go outside so I wasn't as concerned about ticks then. It was explained to me that the fleas/ticks only have to come in contact with the dog treated by Advantage or Advantix, they don't have to be bitten. Unlike Frontline, where they have to be actually bitten to die . It was my belief that if a tick was found on my dog and was biting, I would be encouraged to treat for lyme anyway, or at least I think I would want to. So what good would it be to use Frontline? I felt it was better to kill fleas before they came inside since if they jumped on Dezi, they would be affected immediately. Now, to make things more complicated, I have another puppy that is very active and I think I'd better reconsider the tick subject since it has gotten worse in the last 6 years. And I have a new vet as well. They don't even carry Advantage, since it doesn't have tick prevention. They are recommending Frontline since it controls both fleas and ticks. Although it has a different chemical that doesn't have the incidence of allergic reactions. Since I don't know anyone who used it, I am in the same predicament since I don't know what to do now. Fall temperatures are upon us in the northeast which is when the fleas start to be uncontrollable. So I need to decide! I chose to not use Frontline so now I feel like I would be making a choice base on the fact that nothing else has been recommended.
__________________ Lisa Desiree Cassidy |
09-20-2008, 06:39 PM | #14 |
Donating Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: MN
Posts: 7,575
| I personally do not like putting chemicals on my dogs cause they go into the bloodstream and can cause very serious problems. I use FleaTreats for flea and tick preventative. It's a natural tablet, given once a day, just like a treat or training aide. No harmful chemicals and we have not had a flea and only one tick since April. The site is flea treats, natural flea control for dogs and cats. Another site is Deer Repellent and other Natural Animal Repellents from Liquid Fence - they sell natural insect repellants for humans and animals and products for the yard that won't hurt the animals. |
09-20-2008, 08:04 PM | #15 | ||
♥ love my girls!! ♥ Donating Member | Quote:
Quote:
| ||
Bookmarks |
|
|
Thread Tools | |
| |
|
|
SHOP NOW: Amazon :: eBay :: Buy.com :: Newegg :: PetStore :: Petco :: PetSmart