The Best Flea/worm Treatment-urgent!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bojan7]

Hello,

I live in the midwest and would like to know what is the best treatment for fleas and heartworms. (Last year we had probems with tape worms )

I have seen Bio spot, Advantage, Frontline Interceptor and Heartguard.

Which one do you recommend and where is the best place to buy them?

Thank you

 

[nanabear]

As for fleas, I have only used Advantage (recommended by our vet). It's truly a miracle how well it works.
I used to use it monthly, but like many people I hate putting it on my cat and dog every month when there's no problem. I've been getting away with it for a long time, just using it once in a blue moon if I found a flea(s) on one or both of them.
But just last week, I found a BUNCH on the cat and a few on the dog. Further inspection led to seeing eggs where they sleep so it was WAR! I applied Advantage to both of them, brought out the BIG GUNS (a flea fogger) and sprayed the house (leaving for 4 hours while it did it's job. Then it's been vacuum, vacuum, vacuum and wash, wash, wash to try and make sure I've gotten any eggs or larvae (ick) that might be around.
Seems to have worked and I will be applying Advantage regularly, at least through the summer months.

 

[Faughtey]

This is not listed in your post, but have you seen Sentinal? It is a heartworm preventative that also kills fleas. Works great!

 

[JulieM]

Brewer's yeast & garlic. And, of course, vibrant health. If you already have a flea problem, you can sprinkle brewer's yeast on the dog and rub it into the coat - do it outside, because the fleas will jump ship quickly!

 

[ljnash]

I use Frontline Plus and Interceptor. I get them at the vet's office.
I've priced them at online sites, but by the time I would pay shipping and handling, they are more expensive for me than buying them at the vet's.

Lenore

 

[Alisha Mobley]

For fleas we feed garlic and ACV. For fleas already on the dog we first bath the dog then soak the coat in ACV (I'm not sure if many know this but fleas die in soapy water...chemicles aren't needed to kill them) and allow to drip dry. After a day or so we'll run the flea comb over each dog...if your dog has fleas then you have fleas in your home that you didn't get with the bath. We keep the dogs spritzed with ACV if we're still pulling fleas off with the comb.

Usinig brewer's yeast like Julie said would probably be less smelly (ACV = apple cider vinegar) but the ACV works as well!

For heart worms we simply rely on health (and having the dogs tested yearly). If I'm overly concerned I'll spritz with ACV, not sure if it repels mosquitos but it works for fleas and ticks so doesn't hurt (it's also good for them when they clean their coats).

 

[myrocky]

I use Interceptor for HW each month. I am too paranoid to give that up just yet. I don't worry about fleas or ticks because Rocks is in great health. If we go out in the woods, I spray him with ACV ,like Alisha mentioned, to keep the buggies away from him and us! :p

 

[sandy oakey]

I use Frontline Plus for fleas and ticks and it works wonderful. I use through the Spring and Summer months and then stop using it in the Winter. Nino has never had fleas and we have never had any in the house. My sister tried the brewer's yeast and garlic and it didn't help her at all. She lives in Chincoteague where they have very sandy soil which fleas love so it probably depends on how big a flea problem there is in your area. Same with heartworms, we have a very huge problem with heartworms in my area so I keep Nino on heartworm medication all year (as recommended by my vet) - I have known too many people who have lost pets in this area because of heartworms so I would never take that chance. If you have faith in your vet I would do what he recommends.

 

[AUNatalie]

My vet recommends Advantage over the new Frontline Plus. The new Plus doesn't work as well as the old Frontline. Advantage is only for fleas though and Frontline works on adult fleas and ticks. The pills like Program or Sentinel only sterilize the eggs of fleas and don't kill the adults that are on the animal. Sentinel does have the advantage of heartworm prevention too, though. Although, Capstar, a new pill, can be taken everyday for about a week to kill adult fleas living on the dog, another form of longer lasting flea protection should be used also. As for heartworm protection I suggest ProHeart injections given by your vet once every six months instead of a pill every month. The injection may be a little cheaper than the pills also. The only drawback is that the injection doesn't get intestinal worms like rounds and whips. Interceptor gets these but it has to be given once a month. As for the tapeworms, they come from fleas. If your dog chews up a flea, they flea carries the parasite in it so then it grows in the digestive tract of the dog. The only way to prevent these is flea control. Tapeworms can be easily treated with a pill from your vet. I would talk to my vet if I were you and get information on all these products to help you decide what's best for you and your pup. Good Luck!
Isabella's Mom

 

[myrocky]

Please be careful with the Proheart shot. Boxers tend to not deal with this shot very well and can have reactions to it. Here is one link where a member expierenced this with their boxer:

http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23431&highlight=ProHeart+AND+injection

Just keep in mind that with the 6mo shot the dog is getting a more concentrated higher dose of chemicals placed in the body. The decision is yours so educate yourself on the different types of protection out there and discuss this with your vet. Once you read all you can on the diff types you will be able to make a more confident decision