My dog is a wriggler and doesn’t like to stay still. She’s due for her flea and tick treatment next week (I asked my vet to help last time!) and I’m worried about spilling some on a part of her fur where she might be able to lick it up. If this does happen, what should I do?
Mike, by email
May issue
May issue
Showing posts with label fleas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fleas. Show all posts
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Thursday, 29 November 2012
Year-round risk
Is there the same risk of my dog getting fleas in the winter as there is in the summer? I didn’t think there was but a friend said I should be giving my Bulldog a flea treatment all year round.
Thank you,
Linda Small, by email
Thank you,
Linda Small, by email
Monday, 27 June 2011
Which treatments tick your boxes?
Hello
Can you help please ?
I want to protect my Collie-Spaniel cross rescue dog, who is approx six-years-old, from both fleas and ticks in a safe way. At the moment I use Advocate obtained from my vet which is costing about £35 for three months treatment and, having spotted a couple of ticks following a country walk, I was surprised to learn that this product does not kill ticks, only fleas and certain other things.
Having looked at other products on the market I see that Frontline have a spot on treatment which is claimed to kill both fleas and ticks, it would also seem to be cheaper to buy.
At the same time I have seen products in my local pet store from both "Bob Martin" and "Johnson" manufacturers, both claiming to deal with fleas and ticks yet costing about a third of what I am paying for Advocate.
Being aware that often you only get what you pay for, I am looking for some unbiased advice regarding the suitability of using an alternative product.
In fairness my dog has not suffered from fleas or had any reaction to the use of Advocate and I have removed any ticks using one of the implements sold by pet stores, but I am wondering if it would be better to have her protected with a spot on treatment for both fleas and ticks.
If so, does the fact that some other products are cheaper, mean that there is more risk of an allergic reaction, or that they are not as good. Also, if I do think about changing product, would you think it safe, once the effective time lapse from the previous spot on treatment is over, to start with the new one, or should I wait much longer.
Any comments would be very welcome and I realise that you may not be able to endorse any particular product.
Thank you.
Peter Purnell, by email
Can you help please ?
I want to protect my Collie-Spaniel cross rescue dog, who is approx six-years-old, from both fleas and ticks in a safe way. At the moment I use Advocate obtained from my vet which is costing about £35 for three months treatment and, having spotted a couple of ticks following a country walk, I was surprised to learn that this product does not kill ticks, only fleas and certain other things.
Having looked at other products on the market I see that Frontline have a spot on treatment which is claimed to kill both fleas and ticks, it would also seem to be cheaper to buy.
At the same time I have seen products in my local pet store from both "Bob Martin" and "Johnson" manufacturers, both claiming to deal with fleas and ticks yet costing about a third of what I am paying for Advocate.
Being aware that often you only get what you pay for, I am looking for some unbiased advice regarding the suitability of using an alternative product.
In fairness my dog has not suffered from fleas or had any reaction to the use of Advocate and I have removed any ticks using one of the implements sold by pet stores, but I am wondering if it would be better to have her protected with a spot on treatment for both fleas and ticks.
If so, does the fact that some other products are cheaper, mean that there is more risk of an allergic reaction, or that they are not as good. Also, if I do think about changing product, would you think it safe, once the effective time lapse from the previous spot on treatment is over, to start with the new one, or should I wait much longer.
Any comments would be very welcome and I realise that you may not be able to endorse any particular product.
Thank you.
Peter Purnell, by email
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
How can I be flea free?
I have just taken on a three-year-old Cocker Spaniel whose previous owners couldn't look after her any longer. However, over the past few days she has been scratching constantly and I am worried she may have fleas. How do I know if she has been infested and can anyone recommend a product to get rid of them? Her previous owners had two cats. Could she have picked them up from them and how do I prevent them from returning?
Claire Tolliver
You will need to use a spot-on treatment from your vet to clear the initial infestation from your dog, but once she is clear you should prevent the fleas from returning. We give each of our dogs a 2mg garlic capsule every day and haven't seen a flea for 14 years. Garlic also keeps ticks at bay and is good for the heart.
Bill Knight, Dogs Today Advisor
Hopefully, you will have treated your dog by the time you read this and all will be well. The only advice I would like to add is to ensure that the flea product you have used will also break the life-cycle of the flea in the environment. Otherwise, you will find that your dog may well become re-infested from your own home, even after the short time she has spent in it. A flea only spends 5% of its life on a dog! If there is not a claim on the product you have used for being effective in the environment (by which I mean the house, car, caravan, garage, shed, tree-house, and so on, if there is a real problem!), then you will need to treat the environment separately, and do ensure that what you use will kill all stages of the flea’s life cycle and not just the adults. If you are not sure, then do ask at your veterinary practice for advice.
It is also worth remembering that your dog is not the only way for fleas to be introduced into a house, and I am not just thinking of cats! I have to confess that I have often inadvertently brought fleas home with me after seeing a dog or cat with fleas at the practice. We can carry the eggs under our shoes as well. Estate agents are the commonly cited example: on walking into a house which has been empty for a long time, apparently the fleas can be heard hatching out! Some form of routine flea control is therefore often needed, although the risks are greatly reduced if you do not have a cat.
Owners with house cats, ie the cats never leave the house, will often not treat for fleas in the mistaken belief that there is no way their cat can pick up fleas. It takes some explaining when a routine run through the fur with a flea comb yields live fleas, or flea dirts. Unless the household is a truly closed community, with none of the inhabitants (two- and four-legged) having any contact at all with the outside world, then flea control will still be needed, albeit less stringently than if the cats were roaming at will outside. After all, the human occupants will still be going about their daily business, visiting friends, going to work, and so on.
If your dog is still scratching after thorough flea treatment, it would be worth running a flea comb through her coat. Flea dirts look like black commas, and dissolve in water leaving a tell-tale red trace. If there are none, then she may simply be going through a heavy moult, or the temperature of your house may be warmer than in her previous home.
If she is still scratching for no reason you can fathom, then a visit to your veterinary surgeon is warranted. It will be useful for your dog to have a health check anyway, having just taken her in, to ensure that she is fit and well.
Alison Logan, vet
Claire Tolliver
You will need to use a spot-on treatment from your vet to clear the initial infestation from your dog, but once she is clear you should prevent the fleas from returning. We give each of our dogs a 2mg garlic capsule every day and haven't seen a flea for 14 years. Garlic also keeps ticks at bay and is good for the heart.
Bill Knight, Dogs Today Advisor
Hopefully, you will have treated your dog by the time you read this and all will be well. The only advice I would like to add is to ensure that the flea product you have used will also break the life-cycle of the flea in the environment. Otherwise, you will find that your dog may well become re-infested from your own home, even after the short time she has spent in it. A flea only spends 5% of its life on a dog! If there is not a claim on the product you have used for being effective in the environment (by which I mean the house, car, caravan, garage, shed, tree-house, and so on, if there is a real problem!), then you will need to treat the environment separately, and do ensure that what you use will kill all stages of the flea’s life cycle and not just the adults. If you are not sure, then do ask at your veterinary practice for advice.
It is also worth remembering that your dog is not the only way for fleas to be introduced into a house, and I am not just thinking of cats! I have to confess that I have often inadvertently brought fleas home with me after seeing a dog or cat with fleas at the practice. We can carry the eggs under our shoes as well. Estate agents are the commonly cited example: on walking into a house which has been empty for a long time, apparently the fleas can be heard hatching out! Some form of routine flea control is therefore often needed, although the risks are greatly reduced if you do not have a cat.
Owners with house cats, ie the cats never leave the house, will often not treat for fleas in the mistaken belief that there is no way their cat can pick up fleas. It takes some explaining when a routine run through the fur with a flea comb yields live fleas, or flea dirts. Unless the household is a truly closed community, with none of the inhabitants (two- and four-legged) having any contact at all with the outside world, then flea control will still be needed, albeit less stringently than if the cats were roaming at will outside. After all, the human occupants will still be going about their daily business, visiting friends, going to work, and so on.
If your dog is still scratching after thorough flea treatment, it would be worth running a flea comb through her coat. Flea dirts look like black commas, and dissolve in water leaving a tell-tale red trace. If there are none, then she may simply be going through a heavy moult, or the temperature of your house may be warmer than in her previous home.
If she is still scratching for no reason you can fathom, then a visit to your veterinary surgeon is warranted. It will be useful for your dog to have a health check anyway, having just taken her in, to ensure that she is fit and well.
Alison Logan, vet
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