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| FLEA CONTROL
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DOGS |
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Most dogs sooner or later pick up fleas. Once in your home
fleas multiply quickly. It can be costly and frustrating
to treat your house for a full blown flea infestation. You
don’t have to let it get that far, since we now have
lots of good, long lasting flea products available. It has
become cheaper and easier to prevent fleas than to wait
until you have a bad problem with them. Flea prevention
also prevents tapeworms in your pets, and skin allergies
due to flea bites.
Many flea products sold in grocery and discount
stores are not effective. Some are even harmful to pets.
A recent article in one of our veterinary journals reports
deaths of household cats who were merely in the same house
as a dog treated with an over-the-counter flea ointment.
Veterinary products are subjected to much more rigorous
safety studies than over-the-counter ones. In addition,
most compounds strong enough to be effective can legally
be sold only to licensed veterinarians and exterminators,
who are properly trained in their use, and are regulated
by the state and the EPA. Fleas have developed resistance
to many insecticides, so often only the newest products
are effective.
These are the products we are currently recommending for
flea control in dogs. If your dog has flea allergies or
you had problems with fleas last year there are other options
you may want to add, such as house spray, for more thorough
control.
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1)
Revolution
This new topical ointment is amazing! Apply it to the skin
on the back of your pet’s neck and it spreads by itself
to protect your pet from heartworms, fleas, ticks and intestinal
parasites for one month. One product for all this protection!
Its active ingredient is selamectin, similar to the ivermectin
in Heartgard.
Risk of side effects: very little in healthy pets.
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2) Frontline Plus™
Frontline Plus is an ointment. Applied to the skin
on the back of the neck (where the pet can’t
lick it off) it spreads over the body by itself to
protect the entire dog within 48 hours of application.
Formerly known as Frontline Top Spot, this product
now has an additional ingredient called S-methoprene
that prevents flea eggs and pupae from hatching. It
already contained fipronyl, the best and safest chemical
on the market today to kill adult fleas and ticks.
New Frontline Plus, with both ingredients, breaks
the flea life cycle in three places.
Both chemicals are extremely safe - S-methoprene is
actually approved by the World Health Organization
(WHO) for use in drinking water to prevent mosquitoes.
If a pet ate an entire case of fipronyl he would not
suffer any adverse effects.
Frontline Plus kills ticks for I month, kills fleas
for 6-8 weeks and prevents flea eggs from hatching
for over 3 months! This makes it not only the safest
product on the market but also the longest lasting.
Besides killing fleas and ticks it repels mosquitoes
and flies. It is completely soap and waterproof, so
baths and swimming won’t wash it off, and it’s
non-toxic to fish and other aquatic life.
Don’t be fooled by look-alike products available
in grocery and pet stores. These usually contain pyrethrins
and other older insecticides which are not only less
effective than fipronyl but can be toxic as well.
when used for fleas every other month. Risk of side
effects: almost none.
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3)
Sentinel™
Sentinel is a once-a-month heartworm preventative with a once
a month flea preventative in it as well. One monthly dose
controls fleas, heartworms, and three intestinal worms - roundworms,
hookworms and whipworms! Sentinel doesn’t kill adult
fleas but prevents flea eggs from hatching. Thus the occasional
flea your dog may pick up over the summer won’t be able
to reproduce and infest your house.
Risk of side effects: none.
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Flea collar
This collar prevents flea eggs from hatching, as well as killing
adult fleas, and it lasts almost a year. If you don’t
mind your dog wearing an extra collar, and he isn’t
likely to lose it, this is a nice, low cost option. It also
provides some protection against ticks.
Risk of side effects: possible skin irritation on the neck.
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5)
Preventic™ collar
This collar is specific for ticks, and does not kill fleas.
It is our most effective products for ticks. Most flea products
give limited tick protection - ticks are tougher than fleas.
If your dog is bothered a lot by ticks, Preventic™ will
give better protection against ticks than anything else, and
you can use flea products in addition to the collar for extra
flea control. The Preventic™ collar lasts for 4 months.
It is not a good choice for dogs who swim a lot, as the insecticide
does wash off.
Risk of side effects: possible skin irritation on the neck.
If your dog is strictly outdoors, stick with products that
kill adult fleas. Growth regulators such as Sentinel™
tablets are of limited benefit for outdoor dogs. For indoor/outdoor
dogs you can choose either kind of product, or both. If you
choose the Sentinel™ be sure to use it for all dogs
and cats in the household, even those that don’t go
outdoors, or it won’t be effective.
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