Do you use flea control every month?

I've been a big fan of Advantage flea control since it came out. It works really well. It works much better than other products I've used on my dogs.

We don't have a big problem with fleas except during the hottest part of Summer or when someone else brings them over. I've found that Advantage works fine even if I only use it during those months. If she gets fleas, usually two monthly treatments will knock them out. I'm really not crazy about my dog using medications or being around topical chemicals unless it's absolutely necessary.

Do you use flea control on your dog every month or only when there is a problem?

 

I prefer Bayer products, as well. Bayer Advantage is also effective in combating mange. A couple of years ago, my puppy had a very bad case of mange. I couldn't bathe him often because he was too young and dog soaps are too strong for him. So we brought him to the vet. The first vet asked us to bathe him with sulfur soap. I did this, but it didn't seem to help at all. His case of mange was worsening. It came to a point that he contracted corneal ulcers due to his intense scratching.

I went to a second vet because the first vet assured me that his corneal ulcer will just go away. It worsened as each day that passed so I finally decided to bring him to that second vet. She gave us Bayer Advantage which was effective for ticks, fleas, mange and even heart worms.

For flea control, I use Bayer Tick and Flea Soap. The blue one. The soap stays on their body for 5 minutes and then I rinse it off. It's quite effective.

 

Only when there is a problem.
I do not think it is necessary every month if there is no problem or our dog do not have fleas. Good thing that our dog now does not have problem with that.

 

We try to do it every month, but we don't really think about it as much in the winter time. In the summer, though, it's a necessity for us to treat each of the animals or both the dog and the cats end up getting fleas really bad. I'd much rather try to prevent it than treating it after they get a bad case of fleas.

 

We're so fortunate here that there are no fleas. Considering Mishka loves hiding under the house. From the comments it sounds dreadful. We do need to keep an eye on ticks every summer. They are usually easy to find as they tend to go to the same spots on the dog.Unlike the dreaded Flea.
Here's something to make you chuckle.

 

I have tried a few solutions. The most effective is a liquid that's rubbed into the skin along the backbone. That one works for about three months. Not exactly cheap, though. It's about 10usd for one small vial which is just enough for a Shih Tzu. Bigger dogs need more. Kind of like proportionate to weight.

 

I think $10 for three months is really cheap actually. I pay slightly more than that for the cat vials here and have turned away from the much more expensive varieties they offer.

 

Haopee, Some people swear by Frontline, however, I have not had good luck with it. I think fleas must become resistent to certain formulas or the fleas are different in different regions. My friend lives in Texas and swears by Frontline. When I used it on Misha it barely gave two weeks of relief.

Where I live fleas are only a problem from June through September, depending on the weather. The rest of the season they are dormant. I would hate to live in an area where they are more active because fleas love me.

If you have a problem with fleas in your yard, I've found nematodes to be very effective. We had a bad outbreak 4 years ago. We think a neighbor's cat brought them in. One area of our yard was infested. I got a box of nematodes and we applied them to the ground. They break the flea cycle in a couple of ways that I don't remember. We applied them two months in a row and the fleas were gone.

 

Well, it's a matter of relativity. 10usd where I used to live can pay for nearly a week's rent for a furnished flat. 10usd can also easily pay for one person's food for at least one week. And a 50-kg sack of a branded dog food can be bought for about 15usd.

 

I don't use flea/tick/mite products. A.) they don't last anywhere close to what they claim to, B.) they can cause massive skin issues and reactions in dogs with already sensitive skin, and C.) because they're ludicrously expensive.

Instead, I use garlic. Now, garlic can be toxic in large quantities so you MUST be careful. However, half a clove or a small clove of garlic chopped and added to a dog's food daily, is enough to keep the nasties at bay, without risking poisoning. I actually only administer garlic three times a week, and I use Gia garlic puree, HALF a teaspoon with each dose. It's worked so well thus far, and my dogs are just fine.

 

What size are your dogs then? I'm wondering how much body weight half a garlic clove is being used for. I wouldn't want to try that on a small dog if yours are really big ones, for example.

 

If the dog was a small one let's say for example a jack russell terrier, or a chihuahua, I would dose he/she with the same dose for a cat. Medium to large dogs I'd likely dose the same, and an extra large dog like a Neapolitan Mastiff, or an English Mastiff, I'd be giving them a whole clove. Bear in mind I only dose mine three times a week at the most, whereas you can actually do it daily. I have just found it doesn't need to be so often.

 

Yes! The fleas in the south are horrible in the summer!! I have to make sure my boys get their flea control every month or else they start itching like crazy! I'm currently using Frontline. I was using Advantix, but it wasn't working and I was having to apply it every two weeks instead of once a month. Frontline seems to be doing very well and I haven't had any problems. I'd switch to Comfortis or Trifectis, but my little Pomeranian throws up after taking it...doesn't matter if it's on a full or empty stomach.

 

I use flea control on Homer every month. In my opinion its better to prevent the problem than to deal with one. We use Frontline, it was recommended by the vet and it works great, Homer doesn't have any fleas. It also protects from ticks, ticks are a big problem in my area.