FLEAS...

[SirVixofVixHall]

Found two fleas on Vix dog. My old doggie only very rarely picked up fleas and things have probably moved on, so what is the least toxic option? The dds pet her all the time, as do i, and I don't want her covered in poisonous stuff , but clearly she needs de-fleaing. Will pop in to the vet tomorrow as they are closed today, but any advice on the best product? Medium breed, 15 months old.

Billy no mates by csj.
Can't recommend it enough

Does it get rid of them once they are there? it looks as though it is a repellent?

Advocate which you can get from your vet. If you don't get rid of them now you will end up with a much bigger problem.

Can you see fleas?

I second Advocate, not toxic to dogs( mammals), but it does the trick.

We were using advocate but Ddog started getting a nasty reaction (probably to the carrier rather than the drug itself) so we've now got a seresto collar plus monthly milbemax - we live in a tick and lungworm hotspot, oh joy, so Ddog needs triple protection ...

Consider Bravecto it is a tablet and forms a layer beneath the skin so the children can not come in contact with it.

Would my vet have Bravecto lonecat? Is it very safe?
I have found another flea, three in total, I have a wonderful primate ability to find and kill fleas..my friend was like this when she saw me catch and despatch the flea within a second. No sign of any more so she isn't totally infested but she clearly needs treating to avoid it. They look small for dog fleas, they could be cat fleas as we get a tom cat in our garden frequently. She also mixes with lots of dogs on her walks as she is a youngster and so has lots of physical play, so perhaps they are just newly hatched dog fleas.

Bravecto is a vet only product. All products are testing for safety before getting a licence. A very few dogs vomit with it, the company do a money back guarantee for this.
I use it on my own dog.

I worry about the long term effects of any pesticide, but obviously I can't leave my dog with fleas either. My Dad died of Parkinsons. Possibly due to him being gassed with a nerve agent at Porton Down, but also he spent his Summers as a young man on his aunt's arable farm. Pesticide exposure is a known risk factor for Parks and I don't know what he might have been exposed to. The flea sprays my friend's mother coated the entire house with, are now not considered safe (I remember the bitter taste of it, she sprayed it everywhere) so I am cautious. But something has to be done. My chickens need treating for scaley leg too, so off to the vet tomorrow.. We live in an area with lots of sheep, so ticks are around, as is Lymes, so making sure the dog is protected is a necessary evil.

Lonecat why do you prefer Bravecto to Advocate, please? My vet uses Frontline or Advocate and I haven't heard of this.

I worry about pesticides too, especially as I have cats as well as dogs and every month apply Advocate. After having had a flea infestation in the house, though, I'm determined to avoid a repeat!

Billy is a repellant yes.

However, my dog regularly romps through woodland, mud and muck and meets plenty of other dogs and has never had a single flea or tick!
She has been on billy since 9 weeks old, I flea comb her everyday and have never picked up any dirt let alone a flea.
Billy gets amazing reviews from almost everyone that tries it.

Fleas can survive in the environment for up to a year without a host so I would indorex the house, vacuum etc also but billy is entirely non toxic, very effective and gives them a lovely coat aswell

Advocate does not kill ticks Bravecto does.
Advocate you need to apply monthly, Bravecto lasts three months.
Giving a tablet that is tasty to most dogs is far easier than correctly applying a spot on.
If you live in a tick and Lungworm area Bravecto and milbemax is a nice simple combination that covers everything. Plus both drug companies do excellent buy 4 for the price of 3 offers that make it really well priced.

Does bravecto kill ticks only when they bite? We have Lymes here and I have read that ticks in distress will vomit up the stomach contents making Lymes stransmission more likely. (Have read endless stuff on ticks as friend's dd has Lymes disease).

It forms a layer in the sub cutis, yes the tick has to bite, but does not reach the blood supply so transmission of Lyme disease does not occur. The blood supply is much deeper than the sub cutis and the tick has to digest a fair amount of tissue to get to it.

That is interesting re ticks, thank you. DH went to the vet this morning, and after much deliberation he bought a similar product to Bravecto, an oral treatment, but it isn't as long lasting. It lasts for a month, but the incidence of vomiting and diarrhoea is less, so he chose that one as opposed to Bravecto, but I might consider Bravecto next time if she tolerates this one well. I can't remember what it is called and can't see where he's put it, will update later! He forgot to get something for our hens scaley legs, so that still needs sorting out. All i need is for the dds to pick up head lice and we'll all be parasite hosts together...

OK- the one DH bought is called Nexguard. Dog has had the tablet so will have to stick with it for the next month and then think about sticking with it or changing to Bravecto. Maybe I should also try Billy no mates, as I want to avoid her picking up ticks in the first place, because of the risk of Lymes to us as well as Vixdog.

Does the billy no mates stuff deal with worms too?
If not are there any similar products that do??

No, just fleas and ticks.

The only 'natural' wormers I know that seem to be effective are four seasons (which I use) and verm x.

If your going to use a natural wormer though I would get a worm count done to make sure it's working.
You can tell if a dog doesn't have fleas - no scratching, hot spots, no flea dirt, no fleas.
But you can't tell if a dog doesn't have worms as worms only show in the poo when the dog is mega heavily infested and sometimes they can look really healthy despite having a large worm burden.

Not sure I want to know the answer, but worm count??

www.wormcount.co.uk
I think that's the right website.

They need to test ze poo

No.

www.wormcount.com is the correct website.

Not co.uk.

Good lord. My job doesn't seem so bad now!

It's a necessary evil I think if your using a natural wormer as dogs can look astoundingly healthy despite carrying a hell of a lot of worms.

Thanks lonecat