9 replies to this topic

[SparkyJonesMom]

Sparky uses Revolution each month, but since we moved and he now has a yard, I have found a couple of tick on him. Not the big dog ticks, but the little brown ones (although I'm pretty sure they aren't deer ticks). I read somewhere that Revolution only proteects against dog ticks, so what do I do about the other kind? Is there another medicine that can be used safely in conjuction with Revolution? Does anyone have any similar experiences?

[cairnrescueleague]

You can use Frontline INSTEAD of Revolution, and then something like Heartguard or Interceptor as a heartworm preventive. Knock on wood, I don't tend to have a problem with fleas, but I use Frontline as soon as I see the first ticks in the spring and fall.

[Cairnmania]

I use Advantix because it repels both ticks and fleas as well as kills any that are already on the dog, or land on them after application. It repels fleas a bit longer than ticks - but in researching this I don't believe Frontline repels ticks at all, although it will kill them once on the dog.

[Jessica H]

I live in the deep woods and I have been using Frontline Plus for 5 years. I have found a total of 4 ticksbetween the both of them in this time and never a flea.

I have been thinking about it a lot lately though and I was looking for a more natural (less chemicals) method. I heard a lot of good things about "Bugs Off" but i have not tried or reserached it yet. I also saw something on the news about dogs dying and getting sick from "Bio-Spot" which I know is CHEAP and I have never used but how good can any of them be for the dogs?

[cairnrescueleague]

Frontline won't necessarly keep ticks off, but it's supposed to keep them from remaining attached long enough to cause any problems.

[Terry K]

We have several acres and although we mow and manicure most all of it ticks are pretty abundant as are fleas. Our neighbor who lives about 1/8 mile away raises and trains border collies and always has 12-15 dogs there. Since them moved in about a year ago we've seen a higher incidence of fleas it seems. It's not uncommon for my wife or me to find an occassional tick crawling on our arm or leg after being outside working.

That said, I use Advantage for flea control on Lizzy. Carins are supposed to be more prone to flea bite allergies than many other breeds and more susceptible to skin rashes and problems from flea bites. In studying the flea medicines Advantage seems to have the fastest kill time for fleas. When fleas hop on your dog they are killed by Advantage in just minutes. When you first apply Advantage 99-100% of leas on your dog are killed within 3-5 minutes. In addition, Advantage contaims a toxin that attacks the nervous system of fleas and paralyzes them. Fleas are unable to bite your dog once they are on the animal. This gives the Cairn the maximum protection from the discomfort of biting fleas and the issues they cause with rashes and allergies. Advantage also kills flea larvae which stops the lifecycle. Advantage has the highest customer satisfactiion rating of all flea medicines that 1-800 PetMeds sells.

Frontline on the other hand kills fleas in a different manner. The toxin is slower acting and Frontline states it can take up to 18 hours to kill the fleas on your pet. Any new fleas that hitch a ride while the dog is outside similarly take longer to die and during that several hour period are busy biting the pet. One other issue with Frontline is the way the toxin works. Fleas exposed to Frontline often go on a biting frenzy while they are dieing causing more discomfort.

However, Advantage doesn't kill ticks and Frontline does. It can take up to two days to kill ticks but it does kill them.

What we do is I bought a flea collar from PetMeds called Preventic. In fact, it even prevents them from attaching. It also protects against other parasites like lice. In the summer months when Lizzy is outside quite a bit we put the collar on her. Occassionally if we are going someplace or she is staying in for a couple days we take the collar off and seal it in a plastic bag.

I know this sounds like a commercial for Advantage and everyone has their own opinion on flea remedies but I think this provides the best protection for Lizzy and us and the most comfort.

[SparkyJonesMom]

I've never seen a flea on Sparky, so I trust Revolution in that aspect. And I've only found 2 ticks on him so far, so maybe it's just one of those things where a tick will occasionaly find its way onto him. I still have 6 more months worth of Revolution, so I'll keep using it until then. I might look into switching him to Advantage or something if it seems like the tick situation is getting worse. Thanks for all the suggestions!

[Karen]

I was reading the Revolution box while applying it recently and I don't remember seeing any comments that it kills, prevents, or does anything to ticks. I think it's only effective for heartworm and fleas.

Karen

[SparkyJonesMom]

No, it controls the Dermacentor variabilis tick, which is the American dog tick. I just pulled out my box. But now I see that it says "controls" and not "prevents." So that explains why I have found one or two on Sparky. I'll ask my vet if I should switch to something else once Sparky's Revolution runs out.

[brin145]

We have always used Frontline and have no problems with it. I have maybe found 2-5 ticks between Crunch and Gus in all the years we've had them.