I am getting on this post late...but for
what its worth. When we lived in Texas 19+ years ago we really battled
with the tick thing and the dogs. It was constant, every evening for about
a 7 month period we did the pick and squish method. I don't think at that
time we had stuff to use except the powder and normal flea/tick collars. I
swear in Texas the ticks were horrible when we lived there.
In California we really don't seem to have much of
a problem where we live but for about a 6 month period they seem to be a little
more active than the rest of the year. We use Front Line flea and tick top
spot and it seems to work pretty well. I also buy the higher dosage
and dispense accordingly as it is a little cheaper than buying the individual
vials and also do every other month application.
We have 515 acres and although our dogs techincally
have the run of the place, they are always with us, but do go on rides with us
and are in the pond, grasses and brush when we ride. When we aren't riding
they are lazy butts that hang around sleeping at the barn or on the
porch.
I still check them for ticks and once in awhile I
will find a few (back to the pick and squish). When I discussed with our
vet as to why they still got a few ticks when I am using the Front line and the
vet replied, " try not using it and see how many you get".
I use repellant myself when I ride, hike or when we
are cutting wood and brushing. We make sure that our horses are sprayed as
well. To use chemicals has risks, but so does obtaining an illness from
these critters.
I know a trainer who contracted lyme disease years
ago and it has really zapped him. He has to be very careful as he now
seems to be overly sensative to getting run down and getting sick.
To each his own, but I would prefer to use the
chemicals when it comes to the tick thing.
Having about 15 Rat Terriers and living in a place where
nothing dies off in the winter, flea control is pretty important to me. I get
Frontline (not Frontline Plus) in the Great Dane size and then I give it to my
dogs by their weight. It's sold in graduated doses for weight but basically
it's in about 20 lb steps. I have dogs who are at the top of the lowest step
and then a bunch who are at the bottom of the next 20 lb step. So I siphon off
the dosage for dogs up to 20 lbs for the smaller ones and then I use that
amount plus a tiny bit for the ones who are just over 20 lbs. The one time I
got a bad reaction to Frontline was on one of my terriers who is in the just
over 20 lb category and was given an over 20 lb dose by Frontline's reckoning.
When you do the math and use a syringe to draw off exact dosages, I've found
that it works fine. But overdosing on Frontline isn't nice at all. Al (the dog
who reacted) got an immediate bath and had to be watched closely for a day or
so. I don't have a vet that close by so I'm even more careful.
The
other advantage of this is the fact that Frontline is sold for roughly the
same whether it is in the packages for midgets or Great Danes. Since one vial
of Great Dane does about five midgets, the savings are phenomenal. I also
don't do it every month as they say to, but about every two months in the
summer, which is our tick season. Because the dogs live in enclosed areas and
seriously discourage entry to wild cats and dogs, they don't have much contact
with extra fleas and ticks so they stay pretty clean (until the Dalmation
decides to go for a run through the fields behind my house...but that's
usually just mud). So far so good and I've been working this way for about 5
years. Most people are amazed that with all these dogs there are no fleas and
ticks, but it's worked for me.
Maryanne in Cairo where the horses
can get something from ticks (babesiosis sp?) but so far people and dogs
don't.
On Jun 16, 2005, at 3:32 AM, agilbxr@xxxxxxx wrote:
It's unusual to have
dogs react to the advantage or the front line. I've been a vet
tech for 15 years, and the only reaction I've seen was a little
localized swelling on a cat with the frontline.
