We used to give our dogs Frontline but we were having issues with them still getting fleas and so we switched to Comfortis and it has worked great. The only issue is now we do not have a tick prevention for them. I never thought much of it until I found a tick on my leg today and I haven't even been in the woods or tall grass. My only guess is I got it during our move from our house in Carrboro since there were a lot of woods around. We just moved into a neighborhood in Cary where the houses are packed in so I am even wondering if I need to worry about ticks here.

Are there any good and safe products that are just tick only? Also, do I really even need to worry very much living in a relatively crowded neighborhood?

Thanks.

6/14/2010 3:59:22 PM

my dogs use vectra

http://www.drugs.com/vet/vectra-3d.html

cheaper than frontline and does flea and tick. been using it for a while without any issues.

[Edited on June 14, 2010 at 4:03 PM. Reason : ]

6/14/2010 4:02:05 PM

you could always spray them down with biteblocker bioud whenever you go somewhere ticks might be an issue (or for when they'll be outside for an extended period of time)

6/14/2010 4:02:09 PM

we have the same issue. frontline, advantix, & advantage stopped working well enough. my dog is highly highly allergic to fleas so this was a huge problem. comfortis is like a miracle in terms of fleas.

my only real concern w/ ticks is when we go out to my parents' house in the country. i was just diagnosed w/ lyme disease and they found an old infection of RMSF...so now i'm concerned about the dogs. plus, last weekend i found 9 ticks crawling around in mia's fur after running around outside. none got to the skin thankfully.

i guess the spray thing is an option. they're not out there all the time.

6/14/2010 4:28:20 PM

Quote :

"frontline, advantix, & advantage stopped working well enough"

Does the effectiveness wear off after using it for a while? I use advantix on mine and I've never had any problems

*knocks on wood*

6/14/2010 4:36:56 PM

in our case it did. advantix and advantage never worked as well as frontline to start with anyway.

6/14/2010 4:54:15 PM

Frontline and Advantage/Advantix can only work so well--these products aren't forcefields, unfortunately. The fleas have to jump onto the dog to die. If you are having problems with fleas, you need to treat your outside area as well.

The effectiveness does not wear off, nor is there a resistance to the products, regardless of what you find on the internet.

[Edited on June 14, 2010 at 5:13 PM. Reason : ]

6/14/2010 5:12:45 PM

my dog isn't on anything, stays outside, and doesn't have any fleas or ticks

6/14/2010 6:07:41 PM

Here is the only tick prevention I use (although I guess it can't really be considered prevention):

6/14/2010 6:20:13 PM

You forgot to add
for excessive overkill yet oddly exciting fun.

My father gives my dogs frontline on a normal schedule and they've never had any infestation or flea issues. The ticks do get on them still but they generally fall off after a day or so (not long enough to get fat on the blood and fall off naturally) after getting in touch with the frontline. We live literally in the woods so the dogs are always out in them playing or pooping and never really had flea issues. Just keep the outdoor doghouses disinfected and clean every once in a while.

6/14/2010 7:17:55 PM

shave your dogs bald and the ticks have nowhere to hide (just check the ears and butt regularly)

Just kidding

6/14/2010 10:25:56 PM

i shave my golden retriever down in the summer time because of the heat. its also a LOT easier to check for ticks. She already has Lyme though, i just dont want any more ticks on her

6/21/2010 12:05:57 PM