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Well Spring is here which means ticks/fleas and all that yucky stuff..
I just wanted to post this to remind people to be sure you use preventives or what ever you use.
Man I hate ticks I love living in the country, but with the deer and animals means ticks galore in the forest and fields. =(Nicole, Bella(Boxer), and Saya(Shiba inu)
K9 Advantix prevents ticks better IMO than Frontline. But if you have a cat like me, your dog and cat can not co-mingle for at least 24 hours after you apply this to your dog.Tara surviving in the burbs with Koda & Maymay (Kai Ken)
We were using Frontline until last summer... When both pups got a flea infestation... We are now happy users of K9 Advantix. And we have not had any issues since. (Oh, and by the way... Capstar is worth its weight in gold!)Casey with Bella (shiba) and Nola (shiba) hanging out in the mountains of Virginia.
I love K9 Advantix sadly when my dad worked at this one vet he insists we use frontline on the dogs.
I plan to find a vet that has Advantix I like Advantix better we used it before with no problems our cats are outside cats so no problems there and I like that it supposed to repel the fleas and ticks. I always check the dogs after walks to take ticks off I rather get them off before they latch on..Nicole, Bella(Boxer), and Saya(Shiba inu)
ahhh I was looking at Severus scar from his neuter and I saw a black dot just zoom by. I wasn't fast enough to get it. I hope it wasn't a flea...http://severusthesupershiba.tumblr.com/
I'm a fan of the K9 Advantix too. Prevent ticks and fleas in one go...sounds good to me. I do wish they made an oral version (like you can get the anti-flea pills but nothing that takes care of ticks) just because the topical meds are rather unpleasant.My friend and e-friends call me Rainy and my dog is Kitsune the ginormous shibamutt. Typing with Paws
I use rose geranium oil and lavender oil because I won't put insecticides on my kids. Has worked very well the last two years.Jessica “Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace.”-Milan Kundera
Jessica - How do you apply the oils and how often? Sounds like an effective and nice smelling route to go, and I already have both oils! (Love, love, love the smell of geranium oil.) Cheers!Jenn - living with Stephen (husband), Ichiro & Akira (Shibas) and Abraham & Anya (cats)
I put a few drops on their collars and harnesses. I still check them for ticks after every walk of course (those things are evil stubborn bastards) but it works well.Jessica “Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace.”-Milan Kundera
On a slightly unrelated note, I was wondering what everyone's tool/method of choice is for extracting ticks. Fortunately, I haven't had to deal with that since the summer before last. (I do use K-9 Advantix I think it works great.) But the next time I need to do, I'm going to use a curved, jeweler's forceps that I picked up last Spring. I read they work great. What I bought is similar to this one ....http://www.bernell.com/product/2814/102
extraction: I use the teeny plastic tick crowbar when necessary- I think its called the Tick Twister, and in French for those north of the border "Le Tire Tique!"
Mostly we have used frontline for prevention, but I am coming around to advantix this year after finding that all my dogs' friends are on that with better results. I comb the dickens out of the dogs with a flea comb (easy for Reilly, Sage is too thick coated). I dispose of any Tiques by sticking them on a piece of duct tape, then when done combing, folding it over to seal them in firmly and tossing them in the trash. We are in the woods and fields almost daily. Our ratio of deer to wood ticks is probably 15 to 1. Both dogs are still lyme antibody free per their blood tests yesterday. yay!Chrystal, with Reilly and Sage - Yipes Stripes!
When I do find ticks I dispose of them in what I call the evil jar of death. It is a small jam jar filled with 90% isopropyl alcohol. I have one jar per season, that way a)I can track how many ticks my dogs get per season. And b) I can keep track of what species of tick are in my area. And c) I want the little bastards to suffer for trying to suck my babies blood.Jessica “Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace.”-Milan Kundera
I use Advantix too and I do notice she doesn't get ticks or fleas while on it. Pongy unfortunately has gotten ticks while not on Advantix (it was winter and I was dumb) before which resulted in lyme disease.
I hate picking those little buggers off of her.. They are so gross and so hard to get off! >.<Jenny (human) and Pong Pong (shiba inu)
I've been using frontline we used to use advantix which I liked better since it repel the ticks and fleas too not just killed them.
I'd love to go Jessica's route, but my question is does it repels ticks, fleas and things like gnats?
How much of each oil do you mix and how many drops on the collars and harnesses would it be good to spray on the dogs coats?
I have 16 acres of land about 10 or so of it is fields and forest which of coarse has tons of ticks which I have to do a check on both dogs after each walk would it be worth going the natural route even if I'm super vigilant I'm afraid I'll miss one and Saya might get sick.
Bella is easy since she is single coated and white, but Saya she's black and double coated which makes things so hard to do. =\
I love being out in the country lots of room to explore, but with the ticks it makes me just want to live in the city and take walks at parks and neighborhoods since the dogs always gets ticks on them no matter what..Nicole, Bella(Boxer), and Saya(Shiba inu)