# Another flea medicine incident- this time my puppy



## sprzybyl (May 15, 2008)

I am the one that witnessed the other GSD die at the Vets office from Hartz flea shampoo. I've been spreading the word to everyone!!

I have a tick collar on my puppy becuase we get ticks like crazy. The first week I had her, we found 3 ticks and immediately called the vet's office. They had me come in and gave me Preventic... its known for being highly effective. (in a google search i even found it recommended on csesar milan's website- lol) There was an insert in the packaging warning of possible irritation. I watched her and the collar closely for the first month to make sure it wasn't causing a problem.

anyway, recently (two months later) i noticed her scratching around her neck so i adjusted her collars' sizes. She seemed to have grown a lot all of a sudden, so I thought that was the problem (man is she growing...). I went away overseas and left her in my fiance's care while I was gone. When I came back, I found a big rash around her neck in the exact width of the collar and it is very crusty... poor puppy keeps scratching at it, too.

I immedaitely took the collar off but now i'm not sure what to do 
#1 about the rash
#2 about preventing ticks

I go hiking a lot and increasingly have been taking her- but we get ticks just in our backyard. I'm waiting to hear back from the vet for his recommendation.

I have her on sentinel for heart worm/ flea prevention. What can I do for ticks? What should I do for her raw crusty skin besides trying to keep her from scratching it. I'm home today so I can watch her but I have to go back to work tomorrow.

These products are so horrible. I am completely disillusioned by them. I don't want to just apply a different, equally as dangerous, product on her... but I want to ensure her well being by keeping her from ticks. She is a "plush coat" so even the most throrough exam sometimes misses things, and its very time consuming to do every single time we go out. But, if thats what i have to do, then I'll do it.


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

Your pup is old enough now to be on Advantix or Frontline
I would ask your vet for it
I use Advantix and find a tick once and a while 
If you have cats it is harmful to them FYI


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## Dannay (Oct 31, 2006)

I keep Advantix on my dogs and that keeps them pretty clear of Ticks/Fleas. I would rather do that than keep a flea/tick collar on personally.

The GSDs are both plush coats and we've not seen any on them since we started using it. When they were very young, before we started using it, they used to get at least 1 every time they went out into our field.


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## sprzybyl (May 15, 2008)

Yes, when we first had her at 4 months, the nurse had her go on the collar because she was so young. 

She is 6 months now, so I'm sure she is "elligible" for other medications that she wasn't before. I guess my questions is: She is already on flea medication from the Sentinel. I don't want to double up. Is there something I can use for JUST ticks, or do I now also have to change her heart worm medication to use frontline or advantix?


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

I am not sure I have Brady on interceptor for Heart worm 
and advantix for Fleas, ticks and mosquitos and I love it. 
like I said I think I found 1 tick this year but that was before I started using it again

When Brady was a pup I used a flea spray on him (sprayed on my hand and wiped it on him. I would never use a collar on any of my dogs


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

*Re: Another flea medicine incident- this time my p*

I use all natural products with my dogs. If you want to go that route you can use this product to prevent ticks.

http://www.springtimeinc.com/product/148/2

It is highly effective against ticks. I hike a lot and actually found a tick on myself the other day (after hiking) but none on Rafi! Normally they would go for the warmer blooded animal. 

As for her allergic reaction I would see if you can buy calendula cream (this would be at a health food store). That should soothe and also accelerate healing.


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## Powell (Oct 13, 2006)

*Re: Another flea medicine incident- this time my p*

I have not seen one on Jolene since I started her on the preventative. I had a tick fall out of a tree that was over the road and landed on ME. The other day I felt something on my neck and it was a tick. It must have gotten on me in the previous walk that afternoon. 


The only ticks I like are the ones my wind up clocks do! 

Powell


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

*Re: Another flea medicine incident- this time my p*

Fleas and ticks have been very bad in Virginia this year, and it sometimes seems like they're just sitting on top of our front door, waiting to fall on us as we go outside or come back in.

I use a product called BugBand (http://bugband.net/) on both myself and my dog. They make a variety of products under their brand name, including plastic wrist bands, which can also attached to a dog collar if your dog does not chew, and a pump spray. The spray is what we use primarily, especially when we're hiking, camping, or at reenactments. So far, that has done a very good job and yes, it is safe to use on your pets. 

At the last re-enactment, which was in mid-July, I was using the spray on myself and Abby, and my DH was using something else. He wound up with chiggers all over him. I had a tick, which was not attached, after I sweated off the bug spray, and Abby had a tick on her ear (which was still "empty") because I don't spray her face. Other than that, we were flea and tick free.


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## BrennasMom (Mar 2, 2008)

*Re: Another flea medicine incident- this time my p*

Frontline plus worked really well at killing ticks on my dogs, the only problem I had is the ticks were able to attach before being killed and it doesn't repel them at all.


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## sprzybyl (May 15, 2008)

*Re: Another flea medicine incident- this time my p*

I heard Frontline wasn't working very well anymore and they are now switching to Vectra3D. Thats what my vet gave me for Riley (see my other post about it vs. frontline). They say it "works better" and it is supposed to repel them. I don't want to leave her without protection due to the insane amount of ticks here, but I was so afraid to put it on her after her prior reaction. I'm not happy about using chemicals anymore. Anyway, I put it on this morning and so far, so good! I have my eye on her though =P


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## kbigge (Dec 29, 2007)

*Re: Another flea medicine incident- this time my p*

Maybe I just have had good luck, but I've always used Frontline or Frontline Plus (what I use now) on all our pets, and I have literally NEVER seen a tick or a flea on any of our pets (we live on 15 acres in the country). My dog isn't exposed to woods a whole lot, but our cat is constantly out in the woods hunting, and we've never had a problem. Even when we go to my mom's (there are TONS of ticks out there), we've never had any get on my dog.

None of my pets have ever had a reaction to it, either. (Knock on wood!)


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

*Re: Another flea medicine incident- this time my p*

I use Revolution by Pfizer which is for heartworm, fleas,ticks, mites, and mange It is pretty cheap, about $12 a dose and you aren't mixing products. I did find a tick(engorged on Onyx' side) a week ago and now she has a bump where I pulled it off her. I last treated them three weeks before. Keeping an eye on her bump. We don't have a flea problem around here(knock on wood) but I do check both dogs for ticks often and this summer have only found about three attached, all on Kacie(LC), but not full of blood.


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