Pet Lovers

[tdog]

I recently switched my two labs from Nexgard to the new flea collar by Seresto that is supposed to be good for 8 months, waterproof, etc. It's a good bit cheaper than the Nexgard and doesn't have to be bought through a vet. Have any of you been using the Seresto and if so, how do you like it? It's only been about 3 weeks for me but it seems to be working and the dogs haven't had any irritation from it that I can see. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

[gardenman]

I've heard good things about Seresto and considered it for my cats, but they are not used to collars and I wasn't thrilled with the idea of trying to get them used to a collar. I found the Advecto drops to be very effective and affordable. It's about $5 a dose and contains the same active ingredients as Advantage II. They make Advecto for dogs also and I could find no real complaints about it, so it's another option for you to consider. I find I get about eight weeks of protection from each dose which cuts the cost to $2.50 per month per cat.

[Clover29]

We're currently on the third Seresto flea/tick collar for our dog.  We really like them.  They work - he hasn't had a single flea or tick since wearing them - and he's not had any reaction to them.  It's almost invisible, under his regular leather collar (and he has a big ruff of fur).  

Our dog doesn't like water, so we get the full eight months' worth of use out of each one.  I like them so much better than greasy drops, and the dog likes them better than having to take tablets.  He's not good at taking meds.

[hoosieroriginal]

Used it for two of my dogs - kept ticks off of them too.  It was much cheaper than having to buy monthly meds for both of them.  My greyhound cannot use it - they are limited to certain flea/tick meds and the collar is not one of them. 

[KingstonsMom]

I use Bravecto, a chewable that lasts for 3 months.

My avatar (Kingston) loves it and no sign of fleas or ticks, even though he goes geo-caching in the woods with his Dad (who HAS come home with ticks!)!

FYI: Geo-caching is kinda like a scavenger hunt, but using GPS (Global Positioning Satellites) to find the 'cache'.

[NickNack]

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@KingstonsMom wrote:

I use Bravecto, a chewable that lasts for 3 months.

My avatar (Kingston) loves it and no sign of fleas or ticks, even though he goes geo-caching in the woods with his Dad (who HAS come home with ticks!)!

FYI: Geo-caching is kinda like a scavenger hunt, but using GPS (Global Positioning Satellites) to find the 'cache'.

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@KingstonsMom  You might want to look up the side effects of Bravecto.  There have been quite a few deaths reported in dogs after taking this.  It can also cause liver and kidney damage as well as other side effects.  Many people have reported this.  I just wanted to make you aware.  I'm not anti flea and tick preventative.  I give my dog Nexguard.  I have just read a lot of bad things about Bravecto.  There's even a Facebook group that discusses this.

[HappyDaze]

@KingstonsMom I always thought geo-caching sounded fun! I metal detect and that is fun as well- lots of interesting finds. I like treasure hunting of any kind!

[Qgirl26]

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@Nicknack wrote:

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@KingstonsMom wrote:

I use Bravecto, a chewable that lasts for 3 months.

My avatar (Kingston) loves it and no sign of fleas or ticks, even though he goes geo-caching in the woods with his Dad (who HAS come home with ticks!)!

FYI: Geo-caching is kinda like a scavenger hunt, but using GPS (Global Positioning Satellites) to find the 'cache'.

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@KingstonsMom  You might want to look up the side effects of Bravecto.  There have been quite a few deaths reported in dogs after taking this.  It can also cause liver and kidney damage as well as other side effects.  Many people have reported this.  I just wanted to make you aware.  I'm not anti flea and tick preventative.  I give my dog Nexguard.  I have just read a lot of bad things about Bravecto.  There's even a Facebook group that discusses this.

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I've given my dog both but prefer Bravecto, because it did a much better job. But I don't like giving him any of those. You might want to look up Nexguard too. There is a Facebook page on that as well. I found it when the vet prescribed my dog some. I didn't have any problems other than my dog didn't like the taste and we had a terrible time getting it down him (same with Bravecto, he's picky) but it is not without it's own side effects, some of them quite serious. Unfortunately, it seems about every flea preventative out there comes with possible side effects or they don't work very well. It's really hard to know what to do. Some think the answer is to clean the environment but how do you keep fleas out of your own backyard? Am I missing something here?

[gardenman]

I have doubts about all of the flea and tick meds taken internally. They're very convenient for the owners, but I have a suspicion they'll ultimately be found to be harmful to the pets. Plus in many (if not every case) the flea has to bite the pet to get the poison, where with the contact poisons applied externally the flea only has to hop on and get exposed to the toxin to kill it. I'm not sure covering the outside of the pet with a toxin is all that much safer but it just seems that way to me.

In a perfect world a better solution would be found, but I've tried all of the organic, natural stuff (literally dusted the house with both diotamaceous earth and Borax) only to see no impact on the flea population. I've even combed out some living fleas in the past and put them in empty pill bottles filled with DE and Borax and the fleas lived for days in the bottles. They also survived in the same bottles with various household insect sprays including many that claimed to be effective against fleas. Yeah, not so much. I've had fleas swimming in bottles of supposed flea killer, and skiing down slopes of borax and DE in old prescription bottles. I've set up flea traps with light and heat as lures and caught hundreds of fleas, but with no real impact on the overall population. Fleas are resilient little foes.

The one thing that works for me is the imidacloprid in Advecta II or Advantage II. It gets absorbed into the pet's hair and lingers there for many weeks killing fleas. I get about eight weeks of effective treatment from each dose before I see a flea again, but my cats are house cats and don't get bathed so it might last less long if your dogs/cats go outside or get bathed frequently.

The other flea meds are useless against my local flea population. They just laugh at the active ingredient in Frontline (Fipronil) in all its various forms. That has no impact on my local fleas these days. Most of the flea sprays and other flea meds have no impact on them. The imidacloprid however wipes them out and other than the rare alergic reaction, seems to be very safe for the pets.

[KingstonsMom]

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@HappyDaze wrote:

@KingstonsMom I always thought geo-caching sounded fun! I metal detect and that is fun as well- lots of interesting finds. I like treasure hunting of any kind!

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@HappyDaze

I've always wanted a metal detector! I bet it is fun!