Ticks

What do you use to repel/kill ticks for your dog? New pup on the way and just want to get prepared as much as I can.

This has been talked about before at length. Before I get into what I use. You all should know what has been told to me by many vets. That is, that almost all dogs will test positive for Lymes. We are in an endemic state. It is sorta like the HIV virus. You may have it, but has not developed into Aids. Still it is best to use a preventative. As with each infected tick bite. The chance of developing Lymes or other tick diseases go up. A few years back I lost a very good dog just under 2 yrs to anaplasmosis. A horrible way for a friend to go! Since then I have declared my own holy war on ticks. I have used many of the products out there. With the exception of the newer ones. With the amount my dogs are in the field all summer long. Nothing lasts anywhere near what the labels indicate. So under the guidance of a vet. I have been using straight 37% permethrin. I apply it like all the rest of the spot-ons. Drawing up 3cc's and going down the back. I then take it a step further, and spray the dogs with a lighter mix every few days as needed. I also spray my entire yard with it. I keep a spray bottle in my truck, and will spray my clothes, and be able to touch up the dogs on days when flies are bad. Most of the time I will buy a qt. It costs about $33 from pestmall. This year I bought the 1.25 gallon size. Much cheaper overall. Either way a qt if doing just the dogs. Will last me all year with 12 dogs. A lot of uses for it though. So a qt don't last long. Does not really matter what you use. But, you should be using something!

Would be nice if the could make an oral med. I use frontline, but with 2 18 month olds that love to harass the dog, we need to keep the kids and the dog separated for a day or two until the frontline is absorbed.

That's one thing I don't like about Certifect, and maybe they are all like this. But my Certifect says 45 to 88 lbs. Well 88 is just about double 45.....that just didn't sound right to me that a Springer and a Shepherd should the same dose.

I have never thought to check the weight of my dog and the dose of the certefect. Thanks for the pointer. In regards to never using a tick repellent, the harm that can come from diseases carried by ticks far outweigh possible damage done by this medicine. If this were not the case, I don't think vets, (my vet is also a family friend), would recommend a product that is harmful to animals. Most vets I know are animal lovers first so the logic that the repellent is bad doesn't make sense to me.

These treatments get into the oil glands in the skin and into the hair. The tick does not get a drink of 'toxic ' blood and die. Does it get in the bloodstream..? Yeah, but not in the sense of having poisonous blood. There are possible side effects associated with a Lymes vaccine....rhuematoid arthritis, acute kidney failure and actually contracting the lymes disease from the vaccine. Ticks carry an array of diseases. Know a dog who got anaplasmosis a few years back (was on frontline), took a bunch of meds and over a year for the blood work to come back clean.....so pick sluggish for a day or pumped full of meds and full of a disease for a year...? What I do with the certifect dose is modify it a bit too. My shepherd is not at the max weight for the dosage so he gets about 3/4 of a dose. Yeah the rest is wasted but he doesn't get as dopey with a smaller dose.

No long term side effects from Frontline here. My Springer died and age 14...4 years after her retirement, and my first shorthair died at age 10...shortly after retirement. Neither from "side effects" from Frontline. Both my dogs are on it, and always will be. And like the previous post, when I do find one on them...it's already dead.

Hog, The side affects from Frontline and others are no doubt possible, but still a better alternative to the diseases that ticks can carry and transmit, not only to dogs but to humans as well. I've used Frontline for years and my dogs have shown no ill affects from it and normally when we find ticks on the dogs they are DEAD!

Think of the side effects to the dog when you put a product on that kills or repels ticks just by bitib the dog. The dog's bloood is so toxic the tick can't take it. The liver damage must be terrible. Remember this with every drug the side effects are there. You won't see it right away but years down the road you will wonder why your dog dies at a young age. You mnetion "he's out of it for a few days" Wow! would never use this product

I've used various products like K-9 Advantix, Frontline, and Bio Spot that are supposed to protect for a month or so for years and still got quite a few ticks on the dogs. They help but don't seem to stop all the ticks. A couple years ago I started spraying the dogs down with Adams Flea and Tick Mist before each hunt in addition to treating with Bio Spot monthly. Since starting this I can't recall finding a single tick that has attached itself and bloated up on the dogs. I do occasionally see a tick crawling on the dogs while in the woods but they never stay on and attach themselves. I hunt some really tick infested areas in Iron, Ashland, Bayfield counties and the Adams really works well. The dogs hate the smell of it and don't like having it sprayed on but it doesn't have any ill effects on them.

I also use Certefect. Seems to work well. My dog is also a bit sluggish for a day after he gets it.

I use frontline when hunting season is over and ticks are dormant (real cold winter months). During hunting season and when ticks are present, I use certefect. Pros and cons with both. My dog has had some travelers with the frontline but they have not attached. With the certefect, I have never had one on him after the field. The only problem I have with the certefect is it is very potent. My dog is completely out of it for two days after application but it works. Good luck.

I use Frontline monthly and also use some Adams tick spray when headed out into the woods/fields.

I use k-9 advantix seem to do the job. You start right at the front shoulders in the middle of its back & then in the middle then right over the butt.just try to get down to the skin otherwise it can rub off & might not protect as good.good luck. .enjoy the new pup