Tick prevention for dogs

In the past I have used the topical type tick stuff for my dogs. I hate the mess it leaves on their fur. I looked into the chewable type (Bravecto) but seen some typical internet scare stories. My wife also seen stories, news articles etc etc and is worried about giving it to our dogs. One is a 14 year old lab and the other is her 6 year old lap dog. Have any of you had good or bad luck with any brand of oral tick prevention for dogs?

We’re on year #3 with Bravecto, and I think it’s fantastic. I have used K9 Advantix in the past, and I hated the greasy mess.

You can read internet horror stories about the topicals, too. Of course, there is a chance your dogs could have a negative reaction, but lots of dogs take it with no issues. Some people are allergic to human meds, too. It’s a risk you take.

I have been using the chewables for two years with no ill effect. I sure hated the topical once per month. What a mess that was. Using NexGard.

I also give both our dogs the chewables

Any type can have adverse effects, if you look for them you’ll find them. I switched from Vectra3D (topical) to Nexgard (oral) last year and haven’t had any issues.

We have a 10 year old boxer and 5 year old lab, and gave them both Bravecto a couple years ago. Boxer had seizure issues temporarily after, the Lab was fine. My FW saw one of the Boxer’s seizures, so we don’t use it anymore.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

We’re on year #3 with Bravecto, and I think it’s fantastic. I have used K9 Advantix in the past, and I hated the greasy mess.

You can read <nobr style=”font-size: inherit”>internet</nobr> horror stories about the topicals, too. Of course, there is a chance your dogs could have a negative reaction, but lots of dogs take it with no <nobr style=”font-size: inherit”>issues</nobr>. Some people are allergic to human meds, too. It’s a risk you take.

what???????????? YOU dont like the new commercials with the dogs around the campfire. the beagle kills me!!!!!!!!

I won’t use NextGard again. I’m not saying it caused kidney failure in our dog, but I refuse to take the chance with the 3 we have now when all our dogs on topical have not had issues.

Any medicine, I believe topicals as well since they are absorbed, are going to be processed by organs.

We’ve been using Nexgard on our GSP for the last 4 years and haven’t had any issues.

Isn’t there a collar now you can put on the dog for tick prevention? Seresto? Anyone use that?

Seresto makes your dog bring the neighor ladies bra or halter top home. ok maybe I watch the toobe to much.

Seriously with your guys opinions I’m taking a serious look at the pills instead of the liquid.

I used topicals for 1 year with horrible luck. Honestly you’d be better off just spraying 50/50 vinegar/water on your dog every time they go out in the woods.

Then I did the seresto collar for 2 years which worked great. The only thing I didn’t like about that was you had to physically have the collar on for it to work. And if your dog frequently went in the water with the collar, the lifespan was reduced significantly. If you could make one collar stretch the entire tick season, it was pretty cheap too. But that means taking the collar off every time the dog goes in the water.

I’m on year 2 of bravecto and have nothing but good things to say about it. It came highly recommended from my vet and breeder. I’ve found zero ticks on my dog since I started with it last spring. There are horror stories on the internet for just about every product known to man if you look in the right places. I’d take the advice of a vet over anyone else, they know your dog the best. Like everything else, what works best for one dog might not be the best for another.

Year 3 using Bravecto.
11 year old lab for 2 years and now on 2nd year with new pup.
Best I’ve used.
Like was said, any dog could have a reaction but even the vet said keep an eye out for a couple days. Then they should be clear.
Occasionally I find a dead one in her bed…dead is good!

Ive had my lab on bravecto for 18 months. Expensive stuff. Took him in for his annual checkup. Tested positive for the tick born disease anaplasmosis. Vet gave him a cycle of doxy. Hasnt shown any symptoms.

2x on the Vectra 3d. Never a flea or tick in three years of use. I also think it repels files and mosquitoes quite well. It you dont mind the slick on the fur it leaves for a day, I think it’s great. For those of you who use orals – do they repel flies and mosquitoes also?

My neighbor up at the camper used the chewable once and woke up with 40+ dead ticks in his bed. He switched back to the topical. From what my vet has told me the topical kills them when they get on the dog before they bite and they have to bite and draw blood before they are killed with the chewable. I have just always used Vectra 3D which is topical oil and have had very good luck with it. Im interested to hear if anyone else has had the ticks fall of in bed or around the house with the chewable?

Have the seresto collar on my lab, still getting a few ticks. Will be buying bravecto next week.

We have used all three and no problems. This year we went back to a Seresto collar and haven’t had any ticks yet.

85lund wrote:

From what my vet has told me the topical kills them when they get on the dog before they bite and they have to bite and draw blood before they are killed with the chewable.

That depends on which topical you use.

85lund wrote:

Im interested to hear if anyone else has had the ticks fall of in bed or around the house with the chewable?

In the past two seasons, I think I’ve found 2-3 near-dead ticks in the house.

troutbum wrote:

Expensive stuff.

I always cringe when I buy it, but it’s around $55 for 12 weeks of coverage, so around $19/month, which is equal to or cheaper than the common topicals, from what I remember.

dirk-w. wrote:

For those of you who use orals – do they repel flies and mosquitoes also?

Bravecto does not, but my dog is furry enough that he’s pretty well protected from skeeters and biting flies.

7 year old Springer has been on Bravecto for 3 or 4 years now, since it became an option anyway. I have been very happy with it. The price is pretty close to the same as the topical as far as cost for coverage. You google any medication for dogs or humans and you’ll find horror stories. If you’re a numbers guy remember that for every 1 bad review there’s thousands and thousands of positive reviews that didn’t get written

Been using the Seresto collar for a couple years with great results. Not big on the chewables for the reason listed, the tick has to bite to get contact with the dogs treated blood.

sticker wrote:

…the tick has to bite to get contact with the dogs treated blood.

True, but everything I have read supports that a tick needs to be attached and feeding for 36-48 hours to transmit Lyme disease.

Ticks are evil. My dog gets them and I get them. When are they going to come up with more human options? Lyme vac seems plausible since dogs have had it for many years!!

sticker wrote:

Been using the Seresto collar for a couple years with great results. Not big on the chewables for the reason listed, the tick has to bite to get contact with the dogs treated blood.

We just put one on our dog for the 3rd straight spring, best product we’ve ever used.

Thanks everyone. I think I’ll stick with the topical as it has worked. With 2 little kids around, I just thought maybe the oral stuff would be better. Sounds like its a draw.

Gave my dog Bravecto, no side effects. I would also like to add that for the last two years I have added Sawyer permethrin spray for gnats & biting flies to the arsenal. Poor guy would get his belly bit up bad by the flies and gnats while at the camper. First application I followed the directions by wetting him down good with it, and as mentioned by the product, drooling was noticed for about 20 minutes. This year I have just wet a cloth with the spray and rubbed him down with it, no drooling and it is amazing how the gnats and flies stay away!

gimruis wrote:

Isn’t there a collar now you can put on the dog for tick prevention? Seresto? Anyone use that?

I’ve been using Seresto collars for 3-4 years now on both my dogs. They work for 8 months or 5 months if you have a dog that’s in the water a lot.

Found a few dead ticks on my bird dog but no live ones.

Timely post. Unfortunately my dog had a pretty bad reaction to Advantix. Basically blisters all down the poor guys neck and back. Heading to the vet tomorrow. Will be talking to them about Bravecto.

-J.

I tried Bravecto this spring with the hopes the dog wouldn’t have to wear an extra collar all the time, but he reacted badly to it. Not sure that it was seizures or what, but the vet said to stop that right away. Thankfully the dog got over it pretty quickly. Went back to Seresto which I used last year as well. It seams to work really good, and that’s with a dog that normally swims 3-5 days a week.