Tick problem

[crosbymom]

Our 5 month old Maddie was treated with K9 Advantix on May 22 for the first time. We went to a state park last weekend, and she had a tick on her which we removed. She got another yesterday and one today. We live in a wooded area. I called the vet and they said I'm bathing her too often (about every 7-10 days but only because she smells like she needs one). I'm wondering if a shampoo backup would be better or should I switch tick medicine or just do it more often? I appreciate any helpful advice!

 

[LILYLARUE]

I was told by my vet, that with topicals.....you may still see some ticks or fleas even with the treatment. They will upon sucking the blood, fall off and die. I found one on Buster after a week of treatment and knew it had to be there for atleast 4 days, but it was still small and not swollen at all. It was easy to remove it and found it was already dead.

Also, try bathing without any soaps at all since you seem to need to bathe so often. Use soap only a few times a year. Boxer's have an oily coat that protects them. If you bathe too often, those oils will wash away and skin conditions can appear along with poor coat health.

 

[Caney Creek]

Sorry I don't have an answer for you :o I've never heard that bathing too often would cause that... is that because it washes off the Advantix?? :confused: I have found a few ticks on Caney and Creek lately (mostly Creek) but they don't get bathed quite that often, and neither one of them are on tick preventative either. I check over them pretty often and haven't found a tick so far that seems to have been stuck for very long.

Is there another reason that she gets so smelly and needs frequent bathing? I only bathe Caney more often during allergy season, but that's just to remove any allergens from her coat, not 'cause she's smelly

 

[JamieS]

Hello, I've been using an amber stone necklace this year on my 3 1/2 year old female boxer Kenya, and also on my two in and outdoor cats with great success. At this point, I wouldn't use anything else since it's all natural, and it works better than anything else I've used! I am completely impressed with the success I've seen. Last year by this time I was picking ticks constantly from the cats and Kenya's hair had fallen out from Frontline. We live in a wooded area and ticks are extremely heavy again this year. The website I used was www.amberstonepets.com; the lady is really helpful and nice. Also, I use a little bit (1/4 teaspoon) of minced garlic and a teaspoon of nutritional yeast from a health food store sprinkled on her food. This keeps their coat amazing and also helps to ward off fleas & ticks. I got this from Dr. Pitcairn's natural health for dogs & cats book. Good Luck!

 

[crosbymom]

I guess we just really like it when she smells clean, so when she smells too much like "dog" we wash her. I could probably wash her less often and find a good in between bath spray. I did also find on another thread about bathing that Earthbath has soap-free products will leave topical flea products intact.

Thanks Lisa and Zoe for answering. I love Boxerworld!

 

[Caney Creek]

The Earthbath line is great There are also plenty of deodorizing sprays you can buy so that you don't have to bathe her so often, but you still have the benefit of a fresh-smelling pup If she really smells that bad after just a week or two though, I'd wonder if she might need a change of diet.

 

[crosbymom]

We feed her Wellness Puppy food and treats. She doesn't reek or anything. Just smells like dog. Like I tell my kids, "If you don't smell like soap, you need a bath." I will certainly try to do it less often and use wipes and sprays inbetween. I'd rather she not have ticks than smell great all the time.

And I will certainly look into the amber stone. I never would have thought something so simple works, but you never know! I'm all for natural remedies. It's pretty and it sure wouldn't hurt to try.