[Fred Poe]

Hello,
I use K9 Advantix. Ticks are ignoring it. My dog doesn't even really get out much. Just walks on the leash. He has something like doggy dandruff so we don't bathe him to often, about monthly with oatmeal shampoo from Hartz. Whats best to keep ticks off? He's like 75lbs and not big on getting ticks pulled off him. Also I put fish oil on his food for doggy dandruff as per the vets advice. Any input on doggy dandruff (big scales sometimes) would be greatly appreciated.
Tnx
Fred

 

[middleofnowhere]

Frontline + is what we need to go to now to keep the ticks at bay. (Advantage in winter to knock off the fleas better.) So far the only two I've found have been on me! I'm not real pleased about having to resort to this stuff but otherwise it is just absolutely awful pulling them off.

 

[CMorton]

I use Frontline plus as well, although our clinic has just started carrying Promeris. I have a ton of free stuff from that, a little nervous to apply it to my guys though, so I haven't.
Have seen 1 tick on one of my guys, but it wasn't attached, just crawling <yuck!!> On the other hand, I have found about 4 or 5 on me!!!
This is going to be a bad year for us I can tell, we usually don't have a problem with ticks at all.

 

[AbbyK9]

This year seems to be a bad year for ticks. Even with a topical applied once a month and a natural spray applied every so often, we are still getting ticks. We normally don't get any. I've already had one on me, too. Yuck.

 

[Mandalay]

I cannot offer any suggestion on the ticks, but the dandruff.....

My Doberman had dandruff really bad. It actually would start with allergies and the vet recommended that I give her Benadryl, but that made her SO hyper that it was not worth it (Benadryl did the same thing with my Bearded Collie, too, strangely enough). In any case, it was recommended to me to bathe the dog with an oatmeal shampoo and then add some Murphy Oil Soap to her and let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing it off.

It sounds odd and I thought the guy who told me to do this was off his rocker, but I asked the vet and he said he had heard of this as well. I did it and the oil in the soap got rid of the dandruff and she stopped being so itchy.

The downside....it takes FOREVER for the fur to dry. A Doberman with short hair took a long time, so I cannot imagine how long it would take a Shepherd with an undercoat. If you have the patience to let it dry, I say give it a shot.

 

[Rosie]

It might depend on the food you feed too. Some dogs are like kids and have allergies to wheat so you may want to think about trying different brands and formulas of dog food. Try one with no grains, no wheat, all natural, etc. My doggie daycare says one particular all-natural with meat as the primary ingredient has helped a number of their clients - but I won't mention brand names here.

And for sure don't use 'OLD ROY'

 

[GSDgirlAL]

I agree that the diet plays a role. Also, stay away from Promeris - I tried it and it was not a good experience, not only from the smell (very, very strong) and it didn't work.

Since you are having a hard time finding something to help with the ticks you might want to check this out, it's called Bug Off Garlic by Springtime, Inc. I haven't used it before but I just got there catalog in the mail yesterday and the testimonials in it were impressive to say the least. I would definitely look into that.

Have you tried doing a medicated bath? Such as Nusal-T? You will have to get it from your Vet, I use this shampoo on Cooper and Ava and it's great. Just be careful don't get it in their eyes.

Good luck and I hope you find some stuff that works!