Preventative treatment for ticks

[WeAllHaveWings]

I've never managed to find a tick on our black lab which has a quite thick wiry coat, but it looks like ds(12) might have a very nasty infection on his arm which might be from a tick so the dog is being eyed up suspiciously.

What is the current best preventative treatment for ticks (For the dog not ds!)?

Ticks will only bite one end host either a human or a dog, but both humans and dogs can pick them up in the same way.
For the dog Bravecto, Seresto collar and advantix are all very good, but you should always check yourselves after a walk for ticks. Prevention such as socks tucked into trousers and long sleeved tops are also good.
Your DS has a tick because he walked in an infected environment not from the dog.

Thanks Lonecat good to know.

It's the usual story, ds was desperate for a dog but novelty wore off and while he loves his dog he never walks him (dog still get lots of walks with dh). Ds does play with his friends through some areas (local fields/burns) where he could have maybe picked one up.

Seresto collar is good because the ticks are repelled and killed before they bite.

thanks LEM. Any idea what the chances are of a tick coming in on the dogs, not attached, falling off when the dog is getting a dry/rub down then attaching to ds. I'm now wondering if its worth getting the collar if I've never found one on the dog if transfer is unlikely.

well i had a tick in my back once!! cue me jumping around the bedroom screeching for DP to pull it out. Although to be fair i was working at the vets at the time but having worked there for nearly 20 years it only happened once and i probably got it from one of the hedgehogs

I think it very much depends on where you live, do you walk your dog in long grass, do YOU walk in long grass?

The seresto collar (and i think the others mentioned) also kill fleas so you are going to be having some sort of flea control anyway i would imagine. They are pricey but last for up to 8 months so it works out on par with other flea control methods such as advocate. They also tolerate the dog going for a swim or having a bath which many others don't.

The only caveat is that it is not recommended (in the very small print) for dogs who sleep with their owners as mine do especially in the child's bed.

I've had two on me this week. One on my thigh, under my tights - yuk so it must have been there when I got dressed, boak. And one on the back of my neck.

Once I had one in my eyelashes. Double boak

It's quite rural around us and the cats pick them up even though they are treated regularly.

We got a tablet from the vet. It was expensive but they didn't get a single tick all summer. Can't remember what it was called though

We use Bravecto too, my vet gave me a loyalty card and for every 4 doses I buy, I get a 5th one free so works out pretty good.

Maybe you should buy the collar and put it on your DS

I know what you mean, Princesspeach, but please NEVER NEVER NEVER USE TICK/FLEA TREATMENT on humans! It can result in death and is spectacularly dangerous. We had special tick collars for when we were travelling in Europe with the dogs. Apparently they don't do well in water. One of our dogs is a super-surfer. We used to use Frontline and Drontal and I used to get it online. Because the situation is changing so fast and so much I now take advice from the vet. I don't really feel in control any more.

Another vote for Bravecto for ticks. They are rife where we live (lots of deer in the local woods) and poor dog picks them up pretty much daily from Spring through to Autum, however since vet changed her to Bravecto last Spring we haven't found a single live one attached (one half dead attached and a dead one in our bed but that's it), and I've pulled a few off crawling on top of her fur so they don't seem to be so keen to latch on either. As for me, wellies all year round to keep the little buggers at bay!

Facebook campaigns against bravecto pop up on my feed quite often - for killing dogs. Anyone know anything about this? It worried me so i got a collar instead - scalibor. We are abroad this summer so needed something anyway

Scalibor collars are very good. Dogs must not go into the water wearing them. Ticks are a growing issue, and we were advised to use Bravecto nearly 10 years ago for travelling in Southern Europe. Well from Austria to the Baltic.