German Shepherds Forum banner

New owner looking into flea, tick and HW meds

2K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  SpookyShepherd 
#1 ·
Hey everyone,

This is my first dog and I was hoping to get some advice to help simplify all the options now a days for flea/tick and also heart worm meds.

I've heard topical flea and tick is best. Is that true?

I'm looking for a decent price point, effectiveness and of course convenience. What have you found to work best for the cost and effort?

Jerry Lee thanks you!
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#2 ·
I don't do topicals, just me, I don't like putting anymore into them than I have to.

If you dont have a flea issue, don't treat is my feeling, kinda like if it ain't broke dont fix it? Ticks, not sure of your area, but again, I don't treat topically..if I go for a hike in the woods, I spray them down with a little Natural Defense..

HW, my gsd is on heartguard plus, my aussie is on interceptor monthly...Since my aussie is 14 yrs old, and interceptor is basically non existent, don't know what I will do for her next year..I have a few left, not sure it will get me thru the season..I do HW from april 1 thru Dec 1.. Jerry Lee is a LOOKER!!!
 
#5 ·
I agree with Jakoda.

One should read up on the toxicity of the mass produced flea and tick products. I try to use as few applications as possible during the summer/fall months in MN...and I wouldn't use it at all if we didn't have to deal with deer ticks ( Lymes ) up here. I know my vet wants me putting the crap on her from March through November .....and now some are advocating it all year...not for me however. You should investigate the disadvantages of topicals and the other ways to deal with ticks and fleas...in a less toxic method.

I use Heartguard Plus as well due to the mosquito being the Minnesota state bird.


SuperG
 
#8 ·
#10 ·
We always used Revolution (HW, flea, and tick) but I'm reconsidering doing something akin to what Jakoda is recommending. I have heard that dogs that are very healthy are less susceptible to flea infestations. However, my dog has had tapeworms which means she ate infected flea larvae...She's also had giardia (or something similar). So, if she's not that healthy, how can I risk taking her off the heavy-duty meds?

I definitely don't mess with dog ticks. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is a bad, bad thing.

Jerry Lee is one handsome boy!
 
#11 · (Edited)
Our local woods are infested with dog ticks. Its all the deer, no hunting, plus a local elk herd in a pen that is a tick breeding ground. If I go fishing spring through July Ill come home with multiple ticks. Apache was on frontline and theyd walk onto her and shed bring them home and I was finding up to 7 per day on the floor walking or on me. Also I put her crate out while I flew my rc toy and there was over ten ticks on her empty crate in just a few minutes!!!
The ticks stopped midsummer, but I stopped the frontline and then in the fall the ticks hit again and she had some embedded before I found them.
So around here in Chicago im doing frontline from when it warms up till it cools this year.
 
#12 ·
My area doesn't have deer tics or mosquito's so it is easy for me to say that i don't use any chemical meds to protect my dogs.

But I do use neem oil and they don't get regular tics or fleas. I believe in good health through good food, exercise and natural medicine.

I've had flea invested dogs and a cat come into my house and i treat them with the neem and spay around with a neem spray and none of my other dogs gets it. Neem stops eggs hatching, fleas from eating and reproducing and kills them so it is a win win. It is a veg oil so is good for the dog.

Neem is successfully used in Asia and Africa as a mosquito repellent. So I would think it will prevent any dog from getting heart worm if applied regularly. Research the conditions for hearth worm to infest a dog. It is dependent on the temperature and whether or not there are infected animals and mosquitoes in your area.

Basically Neem works as a hormone and small parasites want to get away from the smell(sulphur+many more chemicals) as soon as possible as it will intoxicate them and they won't be able to reproduce and will die.
 
#13 ·
Thanks for all the comments. As much as I would like to keep things all natural, Jerry Lee has already had heartworms and like we said, there are plenty of ticks (various types) around Maryland so I have to be 100% sure he would never have to go through anything like this again. It was tough on us both (4 weeks and he's free to be a pup again!)

I think I may just go with Frontline Plus for flea and tick and then stick to the tried and true Heartgard Plus for HW and other worm types like round, hook and whip.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App
 
#14 ·
Thanks for all the comments. As much as I would like to keep things all natural, Jerry Lee has already had heartworms and like we said, there are plenty of ticks (various types) around Maryland so I have to be 100% sure he would never have to go through anything like this again. It was tough on us both (4 weeks and he's free to be a pup again!)

I think I may just go with Frontline Plus for flea and tick and then stick to the tried and true Heartgard Plus for HW and other worm types like round, hook and whip.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App
Both are the same that I use....reluctantly ( Frontline Plus )...The season in MN is probably shorter than MD for HW and fleas and ticks...I'm curious..what do "they" recommend for the months to use those products in MD ? All year or just spring/summer/fall ?

SuperG
 
#16 ·
I'm looking into the cedar oil. I have deer in my front yard and I did find one tick on the golden puppy. I would like to use mostly the cedar oil and maybe a topical every 45-60 days if I can get away with it. They also have a service that sprays the perimeters of the property to keep Mosquitos, ticks etc out. I've talked to people in the area and they said it works but it's expensive. I did get a yard to enjoy it , so I might do that to.
 
#17 ·
We had a lawn care service because The Mate was disabled and I could only do so much (I mowed and so on, they did all the fertilizing and treatments), and we went ahead with all their topical anti-flea and tick stuff, and it worked REALLY well. In fact, I could often get away with not treating the animals at all for fleas, even in the summer, and I don't recall ever finding a tick on any of us (in a fairly high-tick area, and we had a fair amount of trees and brush around us). It was well worth the couple hundred a year we spent for it.
 
#18 ·
I use a Seresto collar on mine and have no problems with fleas or ticks on them..Monthly Heartguard too of course. Both dogs spend a LOT of time outside at the park, in the woods, and at the farm (herding dogs). So good flea/tick control is a must. I replace the collars every six months instead of the maximum of eight months since they do swim with the collars on.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top