Couple of ?'s about flea/tick control and nails

[Aria]

Ok, first off, is there a safe flea and tick control product that works? Her vet recommended something called BioSpot, saying that it works just like all the others but is OTC and cheaper. I looked it up online and found a ton of horror stories. This scares me more than I can put into words. My ex-roommates cat died after a night long bout of grand mal seizures, cause.....flea shampoo. I just can't imagine losing my girl like that. Something that's not outrageously priced would be best but more important is her safety.

Also, about how often should her nails need trimmed? My ex-dh use to take her to work with him 3 or 4 times a week so she was always running around on concrete and asphalt, we NEVER had to trim them. Now that he's not around and all of her running around is on grass (and carpet!) and her nails are getting out of control. I'm finding that they're growing out to the point of needing trimmed again within just a few days and in less than 2 weeks are reaching the point where they look like they're going to start breaking off. Can this be right? Or do I have a nail mutant on my hands? Basically I guess what I'm asking is, are weekly nail trims normal or is her groomer going to think I'm batty?

[Zumie05]

I am using frontline plus and have had great results with it. I use it on all of my animals now. I started off with advantage but it seemed my dog was still itchy. Once I switched all itchyness went away.

Stick with advantage, frontline, or revolution. Those are all medications that you usually have to get through your vet (although at some pet stores you can get them over the counter now). They are by far much safer than anything over-the-counter, work better, and is well worth the few extra bucks.

I trim my dog's nails once every week or two, depending on how much running/walking on the cement they have done. By keeping up on doing the nails you can keep them really short. If you let them grow out and only trim them once every month, the quick (vein) inside the nail also grows longer and in turn you cannot trim the nails as short as you would like them to. By trimming the nails more often you keep the quick short so the nails can stay short too. My rott's nails don't even touch the floor when he walks. It's nice!

[Terri Lambert]

I agree with Zumie05 I would NOT use over the counter products to many side effects including death.

[targonrotts]

there are many products out and here i will mention a few we have used at work and seem to work without a problem:
1. frontline plus topical or spray. fleas and ticks, apply monthly.pretty safe.
2. advantage-fleas only.pretty safe. i have used on my ferret too.
3. advantix-fleas and ticks-do not use in households with cats. some people say that advantage works better for fleas than advantix.
4. capstar-fleas. lasts one day but kills all fleas on pet. many people use this when starting sentinel and then give it once a month to kill any new fleas in town.
5. comfortis- like capstar but works for a whole month. not labeled for cats. worse effect, may cause some pets to vomit...but we only had one case in about a hundred now.
6. sentinel-heartworms, and flea birth control. has been around for over 10 years now.safe.
7. preventic collars- great for ticks. do not use on pups under 3 months, pregnant dogs,cats.
8. revolution- fleas/ticks(to some extent) safe for dogs, cats and i have done ferret too. we only use it for cats, due to we prefer to give a oral heart worm pill.

cats are more sensitive than dogs to flea products.prerethins can be deadly for cats.

as to nails, some dogs with a weekly trim are fine, others are fine with once a month. take back a little at a time then maintain.

[Luvtails]

I use Bio Spot and have never had any bad results. the only difference I have heard is it is not water proof. so.. no one gets a bath for the first few days after application. I have 4 dogs and frontline gets expensive

As for nails, I use a dremmel and get them shorter so they don't have to be done as often. If you clip nails then do them each time they have new growth (the little thin hooks at the ends) then the quick will receede and you can eventually get them shorter.

[Jaidann]

Well I'll go out on a limb here :)

I actually use none of the products listed and don't buy anything over the counter for flea control. To me, anything you find at the vets are extremely expensive and in *my* experience, it was money flying out the window and did nothing.

I do these 3 things.

1) My dog is bathed with Skin so Soft by Avon with about a teaspoon of Tea Tree Oil.
2) In between baths, I spray her coat with Skin so Soft bath oil and rub it on her belly.
3) After I vacuum I sprinkle some 20 Mule Team Borax on my carpet and work it in by brushing a broom across the carpet.

And I get absolutely no fleas whatsoever for I'd venture to guess 1/3 of the price of those things the vets offices love to sell you :)

Caveat: I do not live in a Tick infested area and have no concerns about that. This is only for fleas.

As far as nail trimming goes, when I do mine, she gets hers done and it's probably about every week to week and a half.

[makjamz]

I too am not living in a tick infested area - and also have not had fleas, for about 14 years. Fleas do not like my dogs - it is about the food I feed my dogs. I am sure I have walked my dogs into places where there are fleas - but if the fleas hop on the dog they must hop right off and not stay on board. Thus I have no need for any flea treatments. So might want to look really hard at what you are feeding your dogs - as for me - I believe this is a significant factor.

The Heartguard product is good wormer, and for the prevention of heartworm spread from the ticks - but be sure your dog is not affected before using this product. It is an Ivermectin/Pyrantel mix product.

Nail trimming once a week, just so they are cool with it - if not, 2x a month - the dremmel is nice to round them off. On concrete dogs do wear their nails down - however, it is a necessary part of the grooming routine.

[JoJo]

OK, I noticed that you live in Colorado. I'm going to put myself on the spot here and say that "normally" you wouldn't have fleas. Am I correct? I say this as when my daughter lived in Wyoming, they never had fleas and they couldn't find any flea control product if they wanted to. Their Vet didn't have any such thing in his practice. I want to say no fleas due to the high altitude?

Are you having a flea problem or are you just assuming that you need to have flea protection? If a flea problem, I wouldn't by anything that you can buy at the grocery store! That stuff is just plain dangerous. Can cause seizures or even death. If worse comes to worse, you could go online and order from PetMeds.

[Aria]

Thanks everyone :)

I think I'm going to look into the Dremmel for her nails. I've read quite a bit about it here and it seems like it might work better for us. I can't keep clipping them myself, the stress from her fear and me trying to calm her is too much. It's taking us 3 to 4 hours just to get it done. But she is use to hearing power tools and they don't bother her one bit so I think I might be able to get it done easier that way.

Jojo - Yes I am in Colorado and fleas don't seem to be much of a problem here but they do happen. We don't currently have an infestation but I'm worried about the neighbors dog. She clearly does and rather than treat it the dog has been banished to the backyard. The two have always been friendly, and cuddly and try to curl up with each other through the fence. I've tried to keep her away from that side of the yard but I can only do so much to prevent them coming into contact.

[JoJo]

She clearly does and rather than treat it the dog has been banished to the backyard.

That's a shame. How friendly are you with this neighbor? If friends, then why not suggest going together on finding flea preventives and getting them under control for every-one's sake. That way you could suggest that her dog would be happier and more content being in the house with his family.

When I hear stuff like this it really makes me nuts. Why in the world do people get animals if they have no interest in taking care of them? I for the life of me will never figure that one out.

Speaking of Dremels......Oh Sensi, here I come!

[moondog]

Originally Posted by Aria

I think I'm going to look into the Dremmel for her nails. I've read quite a bit about it here and it seems like it might work better for us. I can't keep clipping them myself, the stress from her fear and me trying to calm her is too much. It's taking us 3 to 4 hours just to get it done. But she is use to hearing power tools and they don't bother her one bit so I think I might be able to get it done easier that way.

If your dog is this stressed over her nails being trimmed (which is understandable considering she didn't have them done on a regular basis all along), you first need to work with her to get her comfortable with foot handling. I played a highly food rewarded game of "this Little Piggy" to get my dogs loving having their feet handled. And...just because she is used to power tools doesn't mean she wants one used on her feet, so she needs to be thoughtfully introduced to the use of a dremel, also. Do a Google search for "Doberdawn" and you will find her article "How to Dremel Dog Nails" that includes very good instructions on introducing the tool so the dog is comfortable with it and the nail grinding is as stress free as possible for ALL concerned.

Once you start getting her used to having her nails done, you should be doing them at least once a week (even if it's just a touch with the tool) to help her learn to relax while nails are done. Doing nails IS a necessary part of grooming that should be done regularly. Once she's accepting of it, then you can do them however often she needs them done, but I'd make sure it's at least twice a month and no longer than that.

Originally Posted by Aria

I've tried to keep her away from that side of the yard but I can only do so much to prevent them coming into contact.

Do a Google search using "Nematodes for Flea Control". If you treat your yard with nematodes, and heavily in proximity to the other dog, the flea larvae will be eaten by the nematodes. That will make a HUGE difference in the flea population. I prefer not to use any flea products on my dog and don't have a flea problem, but if I suspect she's picked up any I go over her with a flea comb and drop any fleas I might find in a jar of dish soap + water and they are toast.

Originally Posted by makjamz

The Heartguard product is good wormer, and for the prevention of heartworm spread from the ticks.

I think this is a typo? Heartworm is spread by mosquitos, not ticks.

[Aria]

Jojo - We are not friendly at all. In fact we've had a few instances were he has filed false reports with Animal Control over Aria only to back down when confronted with evidence.
Guess it's my turn to call them huh? I was really hoping he would get that dog taken care of but it doesn't seem he's going to bother. I went out this morning and she's bloodied from scratching and biting herself.

Moondog - Thanks for the info on the Nematodes! It seems like it would be a better option for us since the other dog is really her only risk and I'm not really into the idea of unnecessary chemicals. I think I'll give this a try and then use a collar for tick prevention when she'll be in higher risk areas.
As to the Dremmel, she's fine with me handling her. I've had to pull pebbles and burrs out from between her pads without a sound from her, she has no problem with me messing with her feet. Last night she curiously watched as I sanded down the tip of one nail that the groomer left so ragged it kept getting caught on the carpet, then happily accepted her cookie. Nothing about it fazed her one bit, other than maybe wondering why she suddenly got a treat for no reason. It's the clippers that do it (she seems fearful of scissors also), as soon as she sees them, realizes that I've got them near her or what I'm about to do she starts crying and shaking. I just meant that she's use to, and ok with the sound so I think she'll be more accepting when I get near her with it. Theres obviously something about the clippers that scare her and I don't think that same fear will come out with the dremmel. I don't think she even really minds the actual cutting. I've followed tons of advice from books, articles and groomers regarding introducing her to having her nails clipped with absolutely no success, it's all coming back to her fear of nail clippers.

I'm thinking maybe something happened when she was a pup. I wasn't with my ex until she was a little over a year old so I'm not sure how she was handled when it came to grooming and then I took over when they moved in. She use to be scared of baths too but quickly got over it, for the most part anyway. She still drags her feet when getting in the tub but she'll do it when told to, stands completely still and will not, under any circumstances touch running water. But we're working on it, slowly.