Flea and tick treatment?

LaLaLand101

Hi everyone, I just wondering if there are spot on treatments/preventatives for both fleas and ticks? My dog is quite big (golden retriever, 5, overweight) and since the weather has gotten better we can go down the woods now. I've noticed that he's gotten a lot more ticks naturally, are there any treatments for this?
I was also wondering if there are differences between the brands of flea spot on, like the ones you get in the supermarket (eg. Gullivers that costs around €4/€5 or the ones from the vets like Frontline)? Are the dearer ones more effective? What are the best ones?
Thanks.

Zapperzy

All spot ons treat for both fleas and ticks. The likes of frontline are more expensive but yes they are better, especially if you are going to be walking in areas where he will be more likely to catch them. In saying that I have always used supermarket brand ones like bob martin and in the 3 years Iv had a dog Iv never found a flea on him and only find ticks during the summer (maybe 3 or 4 a year) if Im a bit lax with treatments, but I rarely walk him through long grass or in the woods, I mostly walk along roads and on the beach, he also wouldn't be in direct contact with very many dogs.
If you know your going to be in areas where he may catch fleas or ticks your better off just going with the better brand (which are only available in the vets), much easier to prevent them than to get rid of fleas once they grab hold of your house!

lorebringer

Most spot on treatments cover both ticks and fleas, some cover lice and mites also - all depends on the brand. Supermarket brands and the stuff you can get in pet stores are not as good as the ones you get from vet practices (which stock prescription spot ons), the price may be better but they are far less effective. The cheaper products are also more likely to cause irritation to your pets skin too (obviously, all products you put on your pets skin can irritate but the prescription products have been rigorously tested to prevent this happening). Some good brands are PracTic, ProMeris, Advocate, Advantage, Stronghold, Advantix, Frontline... there are quite a few! Each vet will stock different brands so ask what parasites it covers when you are buying it.

Spot on treatments are given relative to weight so have this info handy, or bring your dog to the vet when you are buying the spot on to have him weighed. It is best to administer the treatment before going to bed (that is, as long as the dog sleeps separately from any members of the family) because they are not supposed to be touched directly after they have it put onto them and it give the product time to seep in. Your dog cannot be washed or get particularly wet (things like puddles or a bit of rain are fine) for at least 48 hours after administration. Flea/tick treatments will not prevent parasites from getting onto you dog, they will kill them once they do so in an area where there are lots of ticks (like a woods) some may still attach to your dog, but will die and drop off very shortly afterwards. If your dog already has an infestation, it can take (depending on product) up to 48 hours for it to be totally cleared.

planetX

just to warn you - the tick prevention wears off much quicker than for fleas, so you'd have to use the spot on more often. I'd rather pull out a few ticks than do that.o

edited to add - I wouldn't go near any supermarket spot ons, google them for side-effects!

Cherry Blossom

Sorry to highjack the thread OP but . . .

I have a spot-on treatment here that I got for my old lab, would it be safe to use this on my Westie if I tip 2/3 of it out first rather than letting it go to waste? What might happen if I use too much?

lorebringer

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Sorry to highjack the thread OP but . . .

I have a spot-on treatment here that I got for my old lab, would it be safe to use this on my Westie if I tip 2/3 of it out first rather than letting it go to waste? What might happen if I use too much?

You could cause some pretty nasty irritation if you use too much. I wouldn't risk it, esp. because there is such a big difference in the dogs size and weight. Perhaps buy a new one for your Westie at the vet or they may let you exchange it for the correct size if you haven't opened it yet.