Flea & Tick protection

[Chantal]

I was wondering if there is any kind of flea & tick protection that is oral rather than topical. I have a new baby, and the topical stuff kind of makes me nervous, who knows in the long run what they will say about it. I'm sure some comes off on the couch, I try to cover it up for at least 24 hours after I apply it, but how long does it actually take to get into their skin?

[Brooke&Ryan]

We haven't found anything oral that would be effective, at least not in our searches.

I was very hesitant to put anything on Julius as well. I was leary of chemicals & didn't want him to suffer side-effects of any of the products we put on him.

Long story short, we ended up with a dog who tested positive for Lyme Disease. Not a fun thing to go through & something that ended up costing us around $1000 in vet bills.

Julius now wears his Preventic collar almost year round. Luckily, we caught the Lyme Disease in time & it didn't progress to where it could have severely harmed him. But even the beginning symptoms hit him like a Mack Truck.

The Preventic collar paralyzes the mouth part of the tick so that Lyme Disease cannot be transmitted to the dog. They used to make a collar for both flea & tick but they discontinued it. We don't use anything for fleas on Julius because so far (knock on wood) he's never had a problem with them.

Just wanted to tell you our story. I wish I could turn back time & make sure that Julius was protected but we live & learn.

I wish you all the best with your pup.


Brooke

[Chantal]

Thanks for the reply. I called the vet and they said the only thing they have is topical too. I thought I saw a commercial one time for something oral, but I can't remember.

[LisaS]

there is the Program pill for fleas- the same drug is also in the Sentinel pill (which is Interceptor + Program)
However, it doesn't protect against or kill adult fleas - it messes with the females hormones so that when eggs hatch the young don't survive - so you won't get an infestation.

[Chantal]

it's not for ticks though?

[LisaS]

Nope, just fleas. Preventic collar is the way to go for ticks, as far as I understand it.