Flea Tablets

GonzoAston

Hi,

Ive never had a problem with my 2 getting fleas (touch wood), but my Patterdale seems to have weird reactions to the treatment. Have used Drontal, Frontline, Advantage etc, all from the vets. He's been weighed each time so I know its the right dosage for him.

Basically, he wont move, shakes and generally seems unwell for about 24 hours after applying it. My sister has just got a dog, and her vet gives her tablets every month, but she is only 5 months old now, so dont know if its just because shes a pup.

Was just wondering if anyone has used these tablets, and what they thought, or have experienced the same problems I have with the drop on treatment. My other dog, GSD, has no problems with it what-so-ever. They're both 6 years old by the way.

Thanks



Edited: Sister live back up in Liverpool, so cant use same vet btw.

suki1964

Im a bit confused here as I always knew Drontal to be a wormer ?

My dog always reacts to treatments - be it that hes sleepy or that he gets an upset tum. 24 hours hes fit as a flea again

These treatments are highly toxic so dogs can become pretty ill on them. I personally dont treat for fleas for that reason preferring to see if he gets them first (touch wood so far aged 5 no fleas) but I do worm him regular. I use drontal myself although I do hear that panacur is easier on them so do speak to your vet about trying something different.

Atm my dog is on advoate which is a flea, worm and every other parasite treatment because he has mites. That made him really sleepy for the day but other then that hes been fine

foreign_correspondent

I do remember buying some flea tablets years ago for a dog... I am not sure what they were, but they did seem to work, and didn't bother the dog - but sorry, I dont think that info is much use without knowing the type of tablets!

ETA - after a quick google I think it was "Johnsons 4 fleas" which you can buy over the counter! (I don't know what you use if your dog has more than 4 fleas! lol) However, there are newer treatments which appear to be prescription only - Capstar appears to be one.. why not ask your sister what the tablets are called?

WolfSong2000

Some of the stuff they put in anti-flea medications, etc is quite scary...have you ever read the instructions for the collars? It's recommended people don't come into contact with them, so what on earth would you be doing putting it on your pet?!

If you're worried about fleas, just feed your dog garlic - you can get odorless garlic tablets and granules from health food shops and it works just as well as the chemical treatments, but is actually beneficial for your dog. We've used it on our dogs for years and they have NEVER had a problem with fleas, despite coming into contact with other dogs regularly (my mother used to dogsit) and walking in "high risk" areas, e.g. long grass, etc.

Waterfalls

u can get program plus in tablet form for dogs from the vets,

but works differently form other things as it doesnt kill the fleas, just prevents the eggs from hatching, so if there is an infestation, it make take a few weeks for things to settle down.
(the 'plus' bit does roundworms aswell)

not the best product on the market imo

WeirdoMagnet

WolfSong2000 wrote: »

It's recommended people don't come into contact with them, so what on earth would you be doing putting it on your pet?!

My sentiments exactly! I used Frontline 4/5 times when we first had her, but stopped when I did a bit of reading and thinking about it. Tilly's never had fleas, and the odd tick that she gets we remove with an O'Tom tick hook.

I also don't worm her either. With horses, the thinking is that you can control the situation with good stable management, rather than blanket preventative treatment, so I adopt the same with the dog. She's never had worms either. However, I'll not recommend this approach for everyone - we are particularly observant!

emlou2009

WolfSong2000 wrote: »

Some of the stuff they put in anti-flea medications, etc is quite scary...have you ever read the instructions for the collars? It's recommended people don't come into contact with them, so what on earth would you be doing putting it on your pet?!

for us, peace of mind. our cat is allergic to insect bites so we have our vet do the program injection every 6 months for her, she gets a bit drowsy for 24 hours after she has it but after that she's fine and back to normal, and then we know that we wont have a miserable cat pulling her fur out in clumps. even if it wasnt for her allergy we still would have it done as its so much more pleasant not having fleas in the house.

viktory

Having bitter experience of how quickly a flea problem can turn into a major infestation, plus how miserable it make the whole family, I treat my cat with Advocate every month. This also prevents any problems with worms, mites etc. As someone said, peace of mind.

suki1964

Georgina wrote: »

My sentiments exactly! I used Frontline 4/5 times when we first had her, but stopped when I did a bit of reading and thinking about it. Tilly's never had fleas, and the odd tick that she gets we remove with an O'Tom tick hook.

I also don't worm her either. With horses, the thinking is that you can control the situation with good stable management, rather than blanket preventative treatment, so I adopt the same with the dog. She's never had worms either. However, I'll not recommend this approach for everyone - we are particularly observant!

Please make sure you pick up every last trace of poop when out and about. T hats the only reason I worm regularly, just in case he poos, I miss it, and a child gets sick.

But Im with you on the flea treatment, no point in treating what they dont have

WeirdoMagnet

suki1964 wrote: »

Please make sure you pick up every last trace of poop when out and about.

Oh I do! Every coat I own has poo bags in the pocket! We also pick up immediately in our own garden too.

suki1964

Georgina wrote: »

Oh I do! Every coat I own has poo bags in the pocket! We also pick up immediately in our own garden too.

I didnt doubt you for a moment, Just really commented for anyone one else who wasnt worming and wasnt aware of the health risks to humans

My whole house seems to be covered with poo bags atm. Have the grandson to stay weekends, now I have poo bags in every bedroom, living room, car, handbag, coat pocket - just about everywhere. And Im going off the secented ones big time