Spot on flea treatment

[Sue Jordan]

Hi everyone I just wondered how those with multiple dogs get on with spot on flea treatment. We used to have the tablets for Blu but they gave him diarrhoea so switched but now we have Lola I think it might be a problem . They are all over each other all the time and I'm worried they will lick each other.

 

[Hemlock]

I never use spot-on, any treatment where the flea has to bite the dog and then die, or anything where I have to wear protective clothing or keep a dog out of water after treatment. Please note I am NOT criticising your choices, just raising awareness of other methods. I did use a bravecto collar once during a particularly bad flea outbreak, and it did the job well, but I wouldn't use it again.

I use: flea combing, electric flea zapper and a herbal product - there are several, such as Billy No Mates and Verm-X - they aren't as good as strong chemicals, but they are better for the dog.

 

[Sue Jordan]

Thanks Hemlock I'll look into those ..I don't do my dogs in the winter but as spring is almost here I thought I'd better start thinking about it.

 

[JudyN]

I use a Seresto collar from spring to autumn, which also deters ticks. I know there are some concerns about their safety (which may well be completely unfounded), but in a high-tick area with a grouchy dog it makes life so much easier.

 

[JoanneF]

With modern central heating, fleas are a problem in winter as well as summer now. If you haven't seen any evidence of fleas, including scratching or black gritty dirt (especially around the base of the tail for some reason) I wouldn’t stress too much.

 

[Hemlock]

Now I can't remember if it was Seresto or Bravecto. It was the alleged safer of the two. It's an uneasy balance of toxicity and not letting the dogs get hammered with fleas, and there's no ideal answer yet.

P.S. We don't have central heating! But I think all dogs are centrally heated as far as fleas are concerned.

 

[Grack]

I never use spot-on, any treatment where the flea has to bite the dog and then die, or anything where I have to wear protective clothing or keep a dog out of water after treatment. Please note I am NOT criticising your choices, just raising awareness of other methods. I did use a bravecto collar once during a particularly bad flea outbreak, and it did the job well, but I wouldn't use it again.

I use: flea combing, electric flea zapper and a herbal product - there are several, such as Billy No Mates and Verm-X - they aren't as good as strong chemicals, but they are better for the dog.

I could t agree with you more, Hemlock!! I have natural product which works extremely well with none of the worry for us or our four-legged friends.

 

[CoCo2014]

There a class action being taken in the USA against the makers of Bravecto, due to 100s of dogs that have developed siezures after being given Bravecto, it's definitely not suitable for use with breeds/crossbreeds that have a risk of seizures. My friend has a BSD(Terv) she was given one dose of Bravecto & within hours started to have seizures.
I don't use any non organic flea treatments on my dogs & only treat them if I see evidence of fleas/ticks

 

[Hemlock]

Yes: having checked up, it was Seresto I used, but even so, not happy about having had to. But it was a very severe infestation, and the natural stuff just couldn't handle it.

 

[excuseme]

We have used spot on products in the past and then on our vets recommendation we used the Soresto collars for one season, (not very good with ticks) in our household.
These days we do not use regular treatment but treat when we see. However if one dog has a flea you can be sure that the others will have one or two also.
The treatment that I use is a spot on with tick control (Activyl tick plus) and used only the once for the immediate problem. I see no purpose in covering our girls with chemicals as a precaution when there is nothing to treat! My husband removes any ticks himself. This method works well for us. Our old vet never pushed us to use a monthly treatment!