flea/tick war

[threedogjeep]

And how do you fight it??

I have used Frontline Plus for a couple of years with great success. I give it a little less frequently than every 4 weeks though.

What do you use for heartworm protection? Anything besides heartgard?

[willowchow]

Willow gets Interceptor. I prefer it because it kills I think one extra kind of worm that Heartgard does not. I give Frontline Plus monthy during the warm seasons and then skip when it's cold enough to freeze. I'm planning on giving it to her again soon but she hasn't had it since December. We had a pretty warm winter so she needed it right up to January.

[Dogdad]

We do heart guard and Also frontline. It is important if you have ticks to have your dogs vaccinated for lymes. Our horrible neighbor had 2 3 year old golden retrievers die last summer a few days apart because they were too cheap to pay for vaccines, They just replaced it with a 500.00 retriever, makes sense, not

David

[threedogjeep]

NOT is right Dogdad. We had a lab that had lyme...I'm not real sure my husband had kept his shots up before I came along. He lived a long full life though. Maybe he just carried it.

Where we live we can also get ticks in the winter. It really bites....but oh well what you gonna do? The whole family loves to run amuck in the woods

Is interceptor taken orally?? Do you have to have a prescription?

[Jeff&Peks]

threedogjeep. I've taken Pekoe into some heavy tick area's, You can use a tick/flee collar, I use those for quick and temporary use, I don't think they are any good for everyday use, Drops like Frontline or Advandage, My preferred method, Forget the popular one I forget the name, sold over the counter at Pet stores. (worthless) or you can get a shot or maybe pills now at the vets that's just for Ticks and flees, I've thought about it but its to new and I don't like stuff Pekoe has to take internally.

If you are around ticks all the time or frequent tick area's you should get the lyme vaccine, I do for Pekoe and I think Victory does also.

[threedogjeep]

I used to use Biospot but heard some really bad stories about side effects from it. I don't like the idea of pesticides in my dogs belly...heartworm would be the only one unless something incredible comes out.

And yes, I have had my dogs on lyme vaccine for years...wouldn't do without it!

[willowchow]

Yes, Interceptor is taken orally. It's not a soft chewy treat though like Heartgard is. It's a chewable but not soft, and they made it fruit flavored--what they were thinking there I don't know. And, yes you do need to get a prescription for it.

[threedogjeep]

Thanks Willow. Wonder if there is much difference between that and Heartgard? I think I'll do a Google on it.

[Jeff&Vicki]

Interceptor is taken orally, it prevents heartworm and controls adult hookworm infection, and removes and controls adult roundworms and whipworms. It can also be used for cats. My Vet told me we are the only ones he has that gives there cat heartworm preventative.
Same pill treats dogs 51-100 lbs and cats 12.1-25 lbs.
The box says "Federal law restricts this drug to use by, or on the order of, a licensed veterinarian."

Jeff

[cfsbendr]

I was recently told that instead of Heartgard, you can buy invermectin (it's main ingredient) in a feed store for a much cheaper price. I have also seen invermectin sold as a "generic Heartgard". Has anyone else investigated trading in their Heartgard for this? I would never switch unless absolutely sure it was safe for Samson!

[Jeff&Vicki]

On drsfostersmith.com "Doctors Foster and Smith Vet Supplies" you can buy heartworm meds but you have to have a prescription from a vet. They also explain the differences in different brands and generic.

Jeff

[threedogjeep]

Hey guess what Jeff and Vicki...I know where Tell City is...even BEEN there...Yep. I am from Kentucky and a best bud of mine is from Evansville. And we both lived in Louisville (she still does)

[Jeff&Vicki]

We lived in Florida for 7 years and I had a hard time getting some of the southerners to understand that although I was from Indiana, I was further south than Louisville. They tried to tell me I was a northerner and people from Louisville were southerners. Go Figure??

Did you blink when you went thru TC and miss it?


Jeff

[Jeff&Vicki]

We lived in Florida for 7 years and I had a hard time getting some of the southerners to understand that although I was from Indiana, I was further south than Louisville. They tried to tell me I was a northerner and people from Louisville were southerners. Go Figure??

Did you blink when you went thru TC and miss it?


Jeff

[janet]

i use frontline plus, too. unfortunately i have triple the expense right now. have to buy three different sizes until mr bigz catches up.lol. i have not used any heartworm meds yet. i guess i will speak to my vet when we go next week.
friendas of mine say they never use it. they tell me that heartworms are not common this far northeast.

[Jeff&Vicki]

Janet,
The nice thing about using heartworm medicine is that it controls or prevents most of the other worms your pets are susceptible to. They can pickup worms from walking them in areas where other dogs have done there business.

Jeff

[janet]

thanks jeff. i will surely ask the vet for some when we go.

[Red Dragon]

The Ivermectin drops will kill heartworm, a lot of breeders use it with no problems, of course you don't want to give that unless you have tested the dog for heart worm first. The only thing is it will not kill some of the other worms that Heartgard Plus will. I use Heartgard Plus and Frontline Plus.

[Dogdad]

Janet, they need a blood test first to determine if they are infected with heartworm first. If not then they get th heartguard. I hear you on the expense. I have 6 now that have bloodtests and 2 different sizes of heartguard. I am gonna see if they can take it all year and avoid the yearly blood test.

David

[Victory]

I use heartgard plus, and nothing else. No frontline or anything like that...because guess what, my chows don't have fleas or ticks or anything like that. I'm cautious about giving what are essentially pesticides to my pets, that really isn't good for anyone. But Heartworm disease or lymes disease is horrible. So they get those.

Heartworm disease is more common in areas that have huge mosquito problems, like the south, southwest, all the midwest etc. The pacific northwest doesn't have such a problem, and the northeast coastal region may be the same. I would ask the vet though, or take a look at a heartworm incident chart...here's one from 2005

http://www.heartwormsociety.org/GeneralInfo.htm

Scroll down the page to get to the incidence chart.

there is also some good info there on treatment and prevention etc.

I personally wouldn't use a generic brand of Ivermytcin, (sp?), because you may dose to little or too much.

I know that the medication is expensive especially for the over 50lb dogs, but I split my purchase up, I get the first four months May-Aug, then the second four months, Sep -Dec. This way is especially helpful when you have multiple canines, and/or felines...the disease has now been found in Cats as well.

[Jeff&Vicki]

Revolution is a topical heartworm treatment that kills adult fleas, prevents flea eggs from hatching, is used for treatment & control of ear mites and mange and controlls brown dog ticks. 6 pack on internet is $60.99

Frontline plus [flea & tick only] for 45-88 lbs, 6 pack for $70.99
This is from Foster and Smith site.
It's cheaper to buy revolution with heartworm & flea control than flea control only??
Now I am confusing myself!!

I need to look at this a little closer.

Jeff

[bama]

Thanks Willow. Wonder if there is much difference between that and Heartgard? I think I'll do a Google on it.

Interceptor kills heartworms, hook worms, tape worms, and whip worms.

Heart guard has a better guarantee, but Heart Guard does not kill Whip worms. The guarantee is that Heart Guard will pay the cost of medication, not the doctor's visit, if your dog has worms (accept whip worms) and you can prove that you have dosed your dog properly. Not worth the paper it is written on!

Interceptor is the brand that seems to work best, IMO.
Princess Buttercup had a serious case of two kinds of worms when we adopted her. Hook worms being the most severe.
It was a real challenge getting her parasites under control.
Because, I live in the woods, we have lots of fleas and ticks. Plus, living on the water, we have mosquitoes.
Only K-9 Advantix repel these parasites. It is the only one that actually works in my challenging area.
No, I don't like putting chemicals on my furkids, but whadda ya do, huh?

[Red Dragon]

I buy my Frontline Plus from Pet Solutions, they are the cheapest I have found, 6 pak is $66.99, that is for a 45-88lb. dog. I do skip a few months when it gets cold, usually four months off of the Frontline, Heartgard is year around though.

[Red Dragon]

When you get a new dog in the home, the best thing I have found to do is just give them a dose of Drontal Plus, there is nothing better than that and it kills everything, we don't even bother running the tests except heartworm, we just give them a dose Drontal Plus and we are done.

[TJordan]

I came to the same conclusion as Jeff & Vicki, We use revolution. It seems to work, We had some tick problems when he was younger, but not any sense.