Tick Prevention

[oliviamariana]

This has probably been asked before, but since it's something that does get updated every once in a while I figure a new thread can't hurt...

I'm cool with permethrin and pulling ticks off of myself, but I've heard stories of pulling 90 ticks off a dog in one evening -- my lab may sit still for that long but he'll hate it and so will I. What have y'all found is the best method of tick PREVENTION for your dogs?

[OldTrailDog]

I was going to go the NexGard (afoxolaner) route that my vet recommended. It will be while I am travelling in the high Lyme risk areas and will only be for this trip since it isn't a problem in Montana, so far. Therefore, it won't be a lifetime of chemicals. Having said that, she will also be on HeartGuard for heartworm. Other than that it will be using a permethrin treatment on her pack and perhaps a "sock" collar (made by cutting the top of an insect shield sock to put around her neck (experimental). I figured the sock collar would work better than the permethrin hankies you see for sale on ebay and at pet sites. The sock and pack in conjunction with daily tick checks should work. Unfortunately, my border collie has an extremely dense coat and finding ticks will be challenging. Since you have a ridgeback it should be much simpler to find them.

[Dogwood]

Don't haphazardly expose your loved dog to pet pharmaceuticals or even permethrin. Permethrin isn't the "natural" substance we've been led to believe it is.

Try NEEM spray or NEEM powder using as directed for ticks, fleas, and mange. http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/produc...ay/121022.aspx
http://www.amazon.com/SynergyLabs-Ri...2?pageNumber=2

There is also a herbal based tick and flea repelling shampoo but have not tried it. You could look into making your own tick and flea repelling spray made with citrus and lavender both having a long documented history of repelling biting insects. https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.co...s-tick-season/

[OldTrailDog]

I considered the risk of big pharma side effects vs spending the rest of her life with Lymes and I decided to go with big pharma since it will be a relatively short exposure to the chems. Like I mentioned, finding ticks on a thick coated border collie will be a crap shoot at best.

[nsherry61]

Expensive as heck for a "flea collar", but apparently the best acting and at the same time safest doggy tick preventative out there.

The Seresto Collar

It was recommended by me vet in Oregon when she new we'd be moving to the tick and lyme disease epicenter of north america.
As I've posted previously, when hiking about 12 miles a few months ago with my dog and a friend, my friend picked 11 ticks off his dog which didn't wear a collar. Mine didn't get any wearing her Seresto. Both dogs were similarly active.

[oliviamariana]

thanks everyone -- i think ill probably try out the seresto collar, possibly combined with nexguard

[jcreamer]

Olivia,
there is also a collar called a "Preventic" made by a company called Virbac. It is the only product on the market that will kill the tick before it attaches. It will last about three months and I have found it to be very safe. I am a veterinarian in Georgia - lots of ticks here for an extended season. The other products you mention will also work. But you will find dead tick bodies on your dog periodically.
BTW, I am in no way associated with any of these companies. Good luck!
Jeff

[OldTrailDog]

Olivia,
there is also a collar called a "Preventic" made by a company called Virbac. It is the only product on the market that will kill the tick before it attaches. It will last about three months and I have found it to be very safe. I am a veterinarian in Georgia - lots of ticks here for an extended season. The other products you mention will also work. But you will find dead tick bodies on your dog periodically.
BTW, I am in no way associated with any of these companies. Good luck!
Jeff

Thanks Jeff for the input regarding the Preventic collars. I have used them previously on some of my border collies. I can't really say anything about their effectiveness, but Lymes disease wasn't a big concern in the areas we were at.

The Preventic is quite a bit less expensive than the Seresto collars. From what I've read on the internet, It is my understanding that permethrin will also kill ticks on contact with treated materials. I will discuss the Preventic option with my vet when we are updating our vaccinations next week prior to our departure. I would definitely prefer an effective non-IPO option especially since she will already be on HeartGuard, rattlesnake vaccination (for our rattlers in this part of the world), plus other annual vaccinations she will be needing.

[orthofingers]

I live in an area with lots of Lyme disease. (In fact, my town was selected as one of the sites where the phase III clinical trials of the Smith-Kline Lyme vaccine was tested maybe 20 years ago).

I use K9 advantix II on my dogs. It seems to work and I can't notice any downside to it.

[nsherry61]

Actually, my do got a Lyme disease vaccine last week. Apparently they aren't available for people yet, but you can protect your dog.

[orthofingers]

Actually, my do got a Lyme disease vaccine last week. Apparently they aren't available for people yet, but you can protect your dog.

Yeah, that's a story itself. Smith-Kline had a human Lyme vaccine on the market and then withdrew it maybe ten or so years ago. I believe they said the reason was that there wasn't a large enough market to make it profitable. That reason always sounded fishy to me because it seems a big pharma company would have figured out if there was enough of a market for a particular product before they invested millions in bringing it out.
Anyway, I've heard many different theories about why Smith-Kline really pulled the vaccine off the market but who really knows?

[rocketsocks]

Yeah, that's a story itself. Smith-Kline had a human Lyme vaccine on the market and then withdrew it maybe ten or so years ago. I believe they said the reason was that there wasn't a large enough market to make it profitable. That reason always sounded fishy to me because it seems a big pharma company would have figured out if there was enough of a market for a particular product before they invested millions in bringing it out.
Anyway, I've heard many different theories about why Smith-Kline really pulled the vaccine off the market but who really knows?

Yup...and now look at all the treatment that has taken place to mom at strange ails, somethin' stinks!

[rocketsocks]

Combat not mom...ugh!

[orthofingers]

Yup...and now look at all the treatment that has taken place to mom at strange ails, somethin' stinks!

Lyme disease is a weird one, that's for sure. Unless you get the bullseye "target" lesion (and only 30% do get it), you're never quite sure what you've got. Diagnosis is problematic because of false positives, and even if you get both the Western Blot and the ELISA test, different testing labs have different interpretations of the results.

if you get treatment early, it's just a minor annoyance but if you don't, it can really be a bear to treat. (I've had it three times over the last 15 years. Each time, I started antibiotics early and was feeling better within a short time whereas, my sister-in-law ignored the initial lousy feeling and she was walking around the house for 6 months with an IV pole.)

The disease is caused by a spirochete similar to the organism that causes syphilis (but thankfully, you don't get syphilis from hiking) and the symptoms, primary, secondary and tertiary, are similar to syphilis.

One last point, and this is controversial. There is disagreement in the medical community if there is such a thing as Chronic Lyme disease. Some previously treated people seem to have long lingering symptoms even when the presence of the Lyme causing organism can not be detected. These are the difficult cases to treat and, out of desperation, the people often end up seeing medical providers "on the fringe" with whacky sounding treatment regimens.

[Postmark]

My dogs have been treated with Frontline plus for years and last year started getting fleas on them. Even after being treated. Vet has them on Comforts now which is an oral flea and tick repellent. Says it doesn't prevent but they bite and drop off and die...

[Water Rat]

I used to live in an area where fleas were more common than ticks. Now I live in an area where we have lots of ticks, but I have yet to see a flea. For those who are unfamiliar with dealing with ticks, the best place to start the search is on your your dog's head and neck. Your pooch will follow its nose right on in to the bushes/grasses where the ticks wait. From there it is an easy hops-skip-and-a-jump for the tick to hitch a ride on your dog's neck. My dogs are both treated against fleas & ticks and they do receive their annual Lyme vaccination.

Even with preventative measures my dogs still pick up ticks every now and then. We do daily tick checks on a normal day, a few tick checks a day when the ticks are particularly obnoxious. I found approximately 90% of the ticks on their face, or just behind their ears. One of my dogs has short hair, the other has the long hair of a golden. However, they are both black in color. This makes finding ticks hard, but not impossible. It doesn't take long for you to become an expert in checking your furry buddy for ticks. It will become just another camp chore before long.

[Ohnothatkid]

Bravecto. It is a 3 month flea/tick pill. I use it on mine and never have any issue nor have I ever found any on my dogs after a hike.

[Engine]

...rattlesnake vaccination (for our rattlers in this part of the world)...

Definitely have this done for your beloved pets, it's inexpensive and effective. I lost a great friend when my American Bulldog was bitten by a large Eastern Diamondback a few years ago. Very tough to take when a $25 shot could have made all the difference...

[saltysack]

Definitely have this done for your beloved pets, it's inexpensive and effective. I lost a great friend when my American Bulldog was bitten by a large Eastern Diamondback a few years ago. Very tough to take when a $25 shot could have made all the difference...

Damn...I didn't realize there was such a thing? I'll have to check with my vet....years of hiking and only SEEN one rattler...no telling how many I've past...


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[Old_Man]

I was using the OTC stuff you get at Wally World but my dog was still being ravaged by fleas. She's short hair so ticks aren't as big of a problem, plus she's fastidious so she usually bites the ones off her body at some point. I started using Bravecto a few months ago and she hasn't had any fleas on her since. The ticks I've found were attached but dead. It's not cheap but it works, at least in my experience.