Keeping biting pests off your dog can become a stressful job, especially during the warmer months. Fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes carry with them deadly diseases including Lyme’s and the dreaded West Nile that can find their way into your dog’s bloodstream and wreak havoc on his body with a single bite from these parasites. Shopping for preventative care at your local pet store, online, and vet’s office can become overwhelming easily with the large selection. How do you know which one will work for you? It all depends on your dog, where you live, and the type of lifestyle you lead with your canine companion.
Know Your Dog
If your dog has a sensitivity to specific ingredients, consider this before putting any pest control on his body or spraying your yard. Yard sprays to control fleas and ticks can actually be far more harmful than spot-on treatments or sprays that go directly on your pet. However, some of these products that use harsh chemicals like ivermectin can also cause reactions in your dog from allergies to sensitivities or even chemical burns on his skin. If your pet is a sensitive one, think twice before buying conventional flea and tick preventatives.
Some breeds of dogs are also more sensitive than others due to a genetic predisposition. This is especially true among herding breeds such as Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, German Shepherds Dogs, and Sheepdogs. This is a gene called MRD1 that can lead to seizures and even death if they are exposed to pesticides found in most products meant to protect against fleas and ticks. You may wish to turn to a more natural-based product if your dog falls under any of these categories.
For extremely small breeds, commonly called Toys or Teacups sized, the doses available from both pet stores and vet clinics may be too much! Doses are commonly kept in single packs and will have an extraordinarily large gap between the weights of a dog that it can be used on. While this is perfectly fine for dogs on the larger end of that scale, dogs that are smaller can be overdosed by these. If you cannot find a brand that doses based on a smaller and more accurate scale, it may be time to do some math and discover the exact dose your dog needs of that specific product.
What Works, What Doesn’t?
Dog owners both new and experienced in dealing with flea and tick preventatives are faced with many choices they can make to protect their pooch from biting bugs. Collars, sprays, spot-on treatments, and even metal tags that claim to keep bugs at bay flood the market. Once you know what chemicals are safe for your dog, if you want to go conventional or natural you will be able to further slim your options.
Both natural and conventional methods exist in all types of products. It is commonly considered that the collars don’t work as a permanent solution. This is an item that sits around the dog’s neck and will not protect the rest of his body. If he is only facing problems such as flies around his face then a collar may be ideal, but as flea and tick prevention, they just don’t cut it. Spot-on treatments and sprays tend to be the most popular among veterinarians and pet owners as they do work. These items allow you to give a monthly application of the product and your dog is protected for the next 4 to 6 weeks! It doesn’t get any more convenient than that, and you can purchase this in natural formulas that use essential oils or in man-made pesticides. I personally recommend giving Advantage for Dogs or Frontline Top Spot a try. Advantage is a monthly spot-on flea treatment for puppies and dogs. Its fast action kills 98-100% of fleas within 12 hours and its long-lasting effect prevents further flea infestation for a period of 4 weeks. Frontline and Frontline Plus for dogs is a monthly spot-on flea and tick treatment for 8 weeks and older puppies and dogs. Suitable for all breeds of dogs, it is highly effective in killing fleas and ticks and protects the dog from flea and tick-borne diseases. It kills adult fleas and destroys the flea life cycle thus preventing re-infestations.
Before you make the purchase decide which item will work best for your dog’s protection, keep in mind your location. Are you surrounded by a forest where ticks are prevalent? Are you in an urban environment where fleas are a rare, almost unheard-of problem? You will know what kind of action you need to take once you know what it is you are protecting against. The more likely your dog is to become exposed to these dangerous bugs the more harsh of a treatment you may need to take. Read ingredient labels, and know your dog, your environment, and your enemy so that you can protect your dog to the best of your abilities!