Author Topic: Tick preventative products  (Read 6463 times)

jesday

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Tick preventative products
« on: June 03, 2008, 11:29:52 am »
I wondered if anyone has any thoughts on which tick products are better than others. We live in a heavily infested deer tick region. I swear the ticks just pop out of thin air the second my guys are out. I use Advantix on all of them because Chili our Chihuahua had a severe reaction to Frontline. Almost killed the little guy.
Even with the product on, I have found ticks on both Sophie and Syrus. Ugghh nasty disgusting critters. I thought the product was supposed to repel them and kill them, but not working. Chili will barely walk on grass, yet alone go into the brush so I can continue to use the Advantix on him but wondered if there was something better for the big guys.

A neighbor with Great Danes says she uses some kind of natural oil that seems to work. She couldn't remember the name of the oil but will get back to me. Of course her Danes are short haired and mostly white so ticks are easy to detect. I have to do a full body rub down to detect them on my babies. They love this dearly, but occasionally I do have a few other things to do besides be a personal dog massage therapist. Thanks for any opinions.

Offline Winslow 151

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Re: Tick preventative products
« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2008, 11:44:21 am »
Hi,

I am in Massachusetts, I use Frontline, and the playdead collar + i sprinkle winslow with Diamatious earth and spray with natrapel before walking the woods (or wahtever spray i use on myself). Since starting this ritual he has been tick free.

Buy 2 small playdead collars and attach them together to fit our Giant breeds!!

http://www.castorpolluxpet.com/store/castor_and_pollux/play_dead_herbal_collar/
« Last Edit: June 03, 2008, 11:45:00 am by Winslow 151 »
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marypyrs

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Re: Tick preventative products
« Reply #2 on: June 03, 2008, 05:01:51 pm »
I use Frontline Plus too. I still buy it from my Vet as I'm a bit leery these days with all the counterfeit Pet Meds. The few extra dollars are worth it to have peace of mind. And I ordered a BUNCH of the Play Dead Collars from Pet Food Diner. (Thanks to our very own People Whisperer.)

I have to say that on a scale of 1 to 10, these people are an eleven! They've been GREAT!

Offline ZooCrew

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Re: Tick preventative products
« Reply #3 on: June 03, 2008, 06:53:59 pm »
I also use Frontline (the Plus version).  So far so good this year, although they haven't gone anywhere ticks frequent.

In all of the topical treatments, they do not repel ticks (or fleas, I believe).  They work only after the tick has bitten the dog, and it can take a few days for the toxin to take effect and kill the tick.

I have not heard of the Playdead collars.  What is their point exactly?  It sounds like they just make the dog smell better.  It didn't say anything about repelling insects.

marypyrs

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Re: Tick preventative products
« Reply #4 on: June 03, 2008, 07:45:35 pm »
The natural oils do smell good - but they are natural and a chemical free repellent to ticks and other insects.

Offline People Whisperer

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Re: Tick preventative products
« Reply #5 on: June 03, 2008, 07:50:17 pm »
I have heard that geranium oil is the best tick repellent but to be honest I have tried EVERYTHING; herbal collars, oils, Frontline, DE...and still find plenty of ticks on Lily :( I think there is a breeding factory in my neighborhood  ::) :P
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Offline shangrila

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Re: Tick preventative products
« Reply #6 on: June 03, 2008, 07:55:08 pm »
I always used frontline before, but since Zoey got it religiously and was checked for ticks daily but still ended up with Lyme I am leery of frontline.

I am trying advantix on Penny. The vet told me that she likes advantix better because it repels ticks before the bite, where frontline they need to latch on to be affected.

I very curious about this playdead collar. Do you only wear it when you go on walks or all the time? Do you wear it in addition to a regular collar or in leui of one?
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marypyrs

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Re: Tick preventative products
« Reply #7 on: June 03, 2008, 08:11:39 pm »
I've opted for the Play Dead as an additional safeguard for my Guys. I keep them on all the time. They only have their regular collars on when outside. I'm actually wearing the small ones around my ankles when I'm out and about in the yard and woods too.

In this area, (knock on wood) the Frontline + remains quite effective. I will no longer give the Lyme Vac after Quanah became so ill, and Rain and Whisper get the HW/Lymes/Ehrlichia Canis/Anaplasma every 6 mos when they have their Wellness Exams.

I hate those nasty - evil - wicked - blood sucking critters! They're one of the few things that give me the creeps!

Offline shangrila

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Re: Tick preventative products
« Reply #8 on: June 03, 2008, 08:35:41 pm »
So the play dead is safe for people to? I bet Dan would wear one around his ankle when he's mowing the lawn and stuff (he's terrified of ticks). Can you get them at petsmart or especially for pets, or will I need to order it from the internet?
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Offline Winslow 151

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Re: Tick preventative products
« Reply #9 on: June 04, 2008, 06:44:20 am »
Hi,

Either Pet Smart or Petco carries them, if you go to the link I posted above there is a store locator so you can see who in your area carries them!
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jesday

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Re: Tick preventative products
« Reply #10 on: June 04, 2008, 08:13:16 am »
I have not heard of the play dead collars either. ??? I will look into it. And you are right, the natural oil is called Neem oil. Our vet recommends the Frontline + and like Mary mentioned I think I will get it from the vet. I ordered the Advantix on line so that may be part of the problem. Plus the dosage only went up to 50lbs and above,where the Frontline has a catagory for 100lbs plus.

The Neem oil sounds good if it works, but not sure how I could spread it evenly enough through their double coats.

My vet is not worried about Lyme out here, I guess it's not prevalent in Eastern Washington, but honestly what nasty things. >:( Almost makes me wish for the days when we lived on military bases and every spring big trucks would roll through housing spraying huge clouds of DDT. Can you believe we used to play hide and seek in that stuff??

Thanks for all the ideas.