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Lyme Disease
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Posted 5/9/2017 3:13 AM (GMT 0)
Hi all, I am getting tons of emails and facebook questions about people protecting their pets.

I know nothing about this

What is THE absolute best product to use on dogs and cats for tick prevention?

Thanks!
Posted 5/9/2017 3:33 AM (GMT 0)
about 1978 I had a black furry dog. She had a tick collar on her and we regularly changed it. One morning she had no use of her rear legs. It was so scary. I took her to the vet and said she was bit by a tick and had tick paralysis. She had to stay in the doggie ER for 3 days with antibiotics pumped into her.

She survived, came home and we began a more thorough tick checking system on her.

I have no idea if the collar went bad or did she get bit too far away from it? I had so many questions, but was so happy to have her back to normal that I never did ask.

In other words that was a long time ago and I think it was just the unluck of the draw that Raisin got tick paralysis. Maybe she was sensitive to that tick???
Posted 5/9/2017 3:35 AM (GMT 0)
wow, well although my friends are checking their animals, they want extra protection, especially my friend who has 2 black labs - how on earth do you find a tiny black tick in thick black hair?! she's worried about the dog getting it, and also about the tick hopping from the dog to herself and her family members.
Posted 5/9/2017 3:38 AM (GMT 0)
I started using a very fine comb on Raisin to check for ticks. I never found a poppy seed tick. Impossible on a medium hairy black dog. Most of the ticks I found were larger.
Posted 5/9/2017 3:53 AM (GMT 0)
The Vet's office here is suggesting the edible Nexguard. That's what we're using on the dogs. The cats don't get outside any more.


I won't use any OTC product on the animals. I cheaped out one time I was short of money and bought an OTC topical and lost one of my Persian's within 2 days, and almost lost the other. She staggered for almost a month and couldn't jump, but finally came out of it.

Post Edited (julymorning) : 5/8/2017 9:56:27 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 5/9/2017 4:08 AM (GMT 0)
I just have cats - well only one now..but indoors only.

I never thought it would make much of a difference regarding their overall health...but it's night and day.

No fleas..no ticks...no injuries...no medicines or vaccinations required.


Not practical for dogs I guess.
Posted 5/9/2017 8:45 AM (GMT 0)
I use flea and tick treatment all year for my dog and cat even though we live in northern Michigan. There is also a vaccination now for Lyme. I was just talking to a lady whose 6 year old dog has lyme and it has really affected her joints. I know not all pets react to it and others get it really bad.

I know some people use natural flea and tick treatment but I don't trust it yet. I like to joke that if I could put it me I would.

I have also heard that some animals get really sick with the treatment too. No easy answers.

I have a large rottie/aussie shepard mix who has a thick coat. I personally don't comb thru him or the cat even though I know I should. I just don't have the energy.
Posted 5/9/2017 9:27 AM (GMT 0)
I'm having very good results with the seresto collar. Thinking of using Nexguard with it. Worried that using both might have other bad side effects though.
Posted 5/9/2017 12:45 PM (GMT 0)
Frontline. It's the best, IMO.
Posted 5/9/2017 9:58 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all of the replies!
Posted 5/10/2017 12:25 AM (GMT 0)
I use Frontline and I had our dog vaccinated for lyme. I read too many bad reviews and side effects about nexgard so decided I didn't want to put those chemicals inside of our dog. I know people that use it and haven't had a problem, but it's still a fairly new drug.

My vet said lyme in dogs will shorten their life. sad
Posted 5/10/2017 4:26 AM (GMT 0)
I use Frontline on my dog as well. I love it. I've noticed two things with it (on my dog, at least.) When the tick actually bites, it will "shrivel" up and die. I sometimes have a tough time getting them off. Other times I will see dead ticks on our hardwood floor. Not sure if they are dying from them crawling on fur after a newer application or biting and releasing itself. Either way, I'm glad to see them dead and hope it's as painful for them, as it is for us.

My BFF uses Seresto collars on her dogs and loves it. I wanted to try it this year, but the boyfriend isn't sold on it.
Posted 5/12/2017 6:19 PM (GMT 0)
Girlie you do make a good point though - our dog spends the majority of hours indoors due to work/school schedules, so that has to decrease the risk. I still use Frontline for half the year though.
Posted 5/12/2017 6:46 PM (GMT 0)
We used Frontline for many years, particularly when we were traveling a lot. When we got back home though, it was no longer working because everyone in the area was using it. I gave it 4 years, hoping that it would work again (not many options really), and it has failed yet again. Tick and other pests can become essentially immune to the effects of these products.

The last few years, I have been most impressed by Nexguard, but with 3 dogs, it's a bit pricey, so we went to Simparica and it's working well. Less expensive, and the dogs don't like the taste nearly as much as they like the taste of Nexguard.

For my cat, I'm still searching for a really good product. Frontline for cats was a really good product, but it too has gone through the same issues as Frontline for dogs - it no longer works here because so many were using it.
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