Flea medicine preventative

[JerseyWendy]

Thank you JerseyWendy for sharing your links. As for the Serestor Collars, I am a LVT and have sat through continuing education on Flea control as well as have heard the reps talk about Seresto and their field studies. The rep that visited my hospital said once that the product is safe enough that god forbid a small child were to get ahold of it and chew/ put it in their mouth it would not affect them. The collar doesnt have that annoying nasty powder that the older flea collars do.

Another product I can recommend is called trifexis. My practice used it a lot last year with severe flea infestations and it definitely helped owners get ahead of their flea infestation.It is a once a month tablet.

Any dog can have a reaction to any product. It varies on the dog. I've used Advantix on my German Shepherd for years and never had a problem. Although a client at my job cannot use it on her dog because he is allergic. One of my co-workers/ good friends used Seresto on her German Shepherd last year and her Dalmation and never had a problem with it and was very happy with the results. What I am trying to say that there is always a risk with anything you use. Just be mindful that there is a risk and keep an eye on your dogs. Also, consult with your veterinarian, they see first hand potential reaction and can help you know what to look out for for signs that your dog isnt tolerating the product you use. Most animals that do have a reaction to any product usually get better if you bathe the pet when a reaction happens. This helps get any product off the pet.

Of course the company's rep has to endorse the product. It would be pretty counter productive if they'd sent someone out and they actually had something negative to say about it.

Trifexis "can" also have a large number of side effect according to the manufacturer.
A Review of the Potential Side Effects of Trifexis | Pet Meds News

I agree that one should ALWAYS consult with the vet before potentially poisoning ones beloved pet.

I am certainly not an LVT, however, I've closely worked with my own vet for the past 15 years. He is a conventional vet, however, he is no poison, pill, or vaccine pusher.

 

[thekarens]

I think it's a little unfair to say that a vet that promotes meds and vaccines as something "bad." Vaccines saves lives in both humans and animals and I don't know about there, but here rabies is the law, the others are optional. As someone who has seen a dog die of parvo I'd never not vaccinate and certainly all my children were vaccinated.

As far as "poisons" go chemo is a poison and it's also saved a lot of lives, not to mention radiation. There aren't always "natural" methods that are effective. I agree that they are preferred when they work, but they don't always work, that's a fact.

Until you've tried living in a heavily flea ridden area like the South you have no concept what it's like. I'm from Idaho and up there we didn't have to treat our dogs for fleas or heart worms because those problems just didn't exist there. Down here bugs are doing their best to take over the world.

This thread has gotten way off topic. All I was looking for was people's personal experience of what has actually worked for them, not their opinion on what's right and wrong. I can decide that for myself and everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I've tried every natural method out there and most of the "poisons" as you call them and you can't tell me I should just sit back and let my dogs suffer instead of trying something else. A daily bath would work, but that's not practical and it's not healthy.

I do agree however, that everyone should consult their vet.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Of course rabies is the law here. And my dogs are BOTH vaccinated, but my vet does not push the yearly vaccinations, like many still do, and if you do some research on this, you will quickly see how over-vaccinations can potentially kill our pets.

We lived in Oklahoma for 7 years, on 1 acre of wilderness, so I know a "bit" about fleas and ticks. It was a nightmare! My Golden nearly died from a reaction he had to a flea collar (my vet confirmed it was from the flea collar), so I'm not speculating here. The same Golden HAD parvo when we bought him, and against all the odds he made it.

I've also lost my previous 3 (!!!) dogs to cancer and have done more than just a "bit" of research.

You WERE given opinions, but you dismissed some of them right away by saying you've tried them and they did nothing. I can't sit here with a good conscience and ignore "potentially" harmful suggestions either. Like you said, they were mere opinions, nothing more and nothing less.