[Case]

Hi! I changed jobs and have way less down time….way way way less actually. So I’ve had to adjust my habits accordingly.

Yeah, no fleas. He does like to lounge and drool on his bed, and my wife does love to wash it, but the problem area seems to be localized to the ventral surface of his neck.

I’m actually on the site now to compare ingredient lists to identify the differences.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Yeah, Dori was mentioning that with Heartguard, which is one of the reasons I decided to switch. The main other one is that Sentinel also does fleas.

I agree that it is totally ridiculous, and true throughout the human and animal medical industry. I worry about allergies, as you said, especially people who have severe allergies to milk, eggs, nuts, etc. that could be inactive ingredients in medicines.

[Dori]

Hi Dog Obsessed. I give the girls Sentinel Spectrum. I live in the South and try to keep them protected as best I can. We have a lot of fleas, ticks, mosquitos and all sorts of creepy things here. So the Sentinel Spectrum covers them not only from heart worms but fleas (where they can get tape worms) and if they were to get (ingest) a flea infected with tapeworms they’ll be covered. Of course they can get tapeworms from dead and decaying animals on walks and feces infected on walks and hiking and dog parks where owners aren’t picking up their dogs poops immediately and some don’t pick up at all. Anyway, that’s my understanding of some of the ways dogs can get tapeworms from reading some sites on line.

On the second part of your question as to dosage, I give the 2 – 8 lbs. because all three girls fall under the 8 lbs.

For Lily at 10 lbs. I would almost be tempted to go with the 2 – 8 lbs. BUT….if while on Sentinel she were to get heart worms because you gave her the lower dose and did not give it to her twelve months a year while they suggest the higher dose and monthly, they will not absorb any of the cost of treatment for heart worms. I hope I worded my thoughts here on the dosing. I guess it would be a gamble on your part. If Lily’s pretty much a housebound and yard dog and not going for walks and hiking where she would encounter feces and stuff that are infected with tapeworms then it’s possible she would be ok on the lower dose, maybe. But if you take her on long walks and hiking letting her sniff around all sorts of stuff or let her off leash in dog parks then there would be more of a possibility of her getting tape worms. Has Lily ever had tapeworms before? Are there a lot of dogs in your area or at her vets practice coming in with tapeworms? That would help you make your decision also. In my area of Atlanta there are quite a number of dogs being treated for tapeworms and heart worms so it’s a no brainer for me.

Jennifer H. Sorry I can’t help with your question. I don’t put topical solutions on my dogs.

[Jennifer H]

I don’t mean to hijack, but out of curiosity, are the tablets better than the topicals? I have Toby on Advantage Multi but I still see a flea or two occasionally (then again, this IS Florida….)

Do the tablets contain less harmful ingredients? I hate giving him what is basically a pesticide, but I just will not risk having him get HWs.

[Akari_32]

Thanks again, Patty! I still haven’t seen her poop in the daytime (still no poop today?? Uuuuugh this dog!), so I still don’t know what kind she has. I haven’t seen any fleas in some time, just one a few weeks after we got her, so I’m thinking this was probably an existing condition when she came to live here? Anyways, I got the Sentry because I don’t know what she has and it covers a good deal of nasties, so better safe than sorry lol She’ll get that in the morning and we’ll have some…. Fun?…. Lol

[crazy4cats]

Hi Case-
Long time no see! I’m assuming you have checked for fleas. My previous dog would get hot spots from digging at fleas now and then. Could he be reacting to laundry soap or some chemicals on something that he is laying on?

BTW, congrats on your new addition! Good luck!

[Jeffrey]

I’m not sure about the frequency but i can tell you that diatomaceous earth only works when dry. Once it becomes wet it no longer has the properties to kill the fleas because it loses its crystal structure that punctures the fleas exoskeleton which dehydrates and kills them.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Susan:
I don’t want to hijack Akari’s thread, but I thought I would post this link for you. I have never had a cat with kidney failure. I came across this website a while ago when I was looking for some info for my hyperthyroid kitty. It has info regarding all stages of kidney disease in cats. Maybe this will give you a starting point to learn more about your kitty’s health condition; it cites studies throughout and links to them for further reading.
http://www.felinecrf.org/index.htm
Also, if you use any meds or topicals on your cat be sure to see if they are recommended for use on a sick cat. Some topical flea meds have a warning not to use them on sick animals or to use them more often than recommended. Sorry to hear about your kitty.

[theBCnut]

Hi Akari
She won’t get tape worms from eating poop. They have to go through an intermediary host first, so it’s the fleas. I wouldn’t bother to treat Bentley unless you see them in his poop, because he can’t get them from her, only from eating fleas. They are the least harmful of all the worms, even if he does have them, they won’t cause any harm by waiting until you know.

[Akari_32]

We went shopping for a new harness today! Mom paid for it, even though she doesn’t know it yet ;P

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/493B9A27-DDAC-409D-A4C0-0D26A09AC749_zpsy29snp92.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/8963C608-8BF3-4EBB-A864-9FB5C33DDB67_zpswaer7rt7.jpg

It’s a little loose, but I may leave it that way. I was looking at how her old harness fit over the tumor on the front of her chest (not the one visible in the picture) and that one is defiantly getting larger because the center strap was tighter than is was when the harness first went on (it was still plenty loose, though). So, as long as she doesn’t slip out of this harness at the size it’s at, I’ll leave it how it is. Hopefully she doesn’t cough and hack with this new harness. She was doing better once I loosened the old hardness, but still did a little bit.

And yet an other twist to all this dog drama, Ginger pooped in the house the other night because mom refuses to feed her in her cage and leave her there until she barks to go outside to poop (she still doesn’t really ask to go out unless she’s in her cage), and mom started tweaking out that there were worms in her poop (actually, she’s convinced it was Bentley, but I know it wasn’t– he asks to go out several times before resorting to going in the house, and he hasn’t poopped in the house in ages, he’d rather pee all over the living room and make as large of a mess as possible out of spite. Not to mention it was too big to be Bentleys).

Anyways, after a bit of shopping around, I settled on as broad of a spectrum dewormer I could find for a decent price and dished out $13 for two Sentry HC Worm X Plus pills, which treats two kinds of tapeworms, two kinds of roundworms, and three kinds of hookworms. After some reaserch, any worms that are visible in the stool are usually tapeworms, and one kind of tapeworm is passed through fleas, which are a big problem in this area, due to low income pet owners, outdoor cats, and it being Florida in general.

What I can’t decide is that if she’s had them since before she got here, or if it’s a relatively recent development caused by her favorite game, pick-up-random-poop-on-walks-and-run-away-with-it-(and-try-to-swallow-it-before-the-human-gets-me!). Either way, I’m not sure if I should treat Bentley as well. He’s on HeartGuard, which does certain worms, but not tapeworms. I don’t want to mix the ingredients with out knowing what mixes well and what doesn’t, and I don’t want to give it to him if he doesn’t need it (though I don’t think worming when not needed causes any harm?).

So anyways, if anyone has any insights to offer before I give one of these to Ginger, please do so! I would greatly appreciate it. Now, please excuse me while I bash my face against a wall…. -_-

[Shawna]

Hi Kim S,

Pugmomsandy sent me an email letting me know you might have some questions for me. Thanks Sandy!!

Nitrogen trapping has been very very useful in helping to keep Audrey feeling well. When her breath gets a bit funky or she seems depressed I give her Garden of Life Primal Defense probiotics and Fiber35 Sprinkle Fiber as the probiotic (both are products marketed for humans). I tried other “fermentable” fibers (like barley, apple pectin etc) but Sprinkle Fiber had the best results.

The product I absolutely MUST have for her however is Standard Process Canine Renal Support. She’s been on it for over seven years. I can explain why I feel so strongly about this product if you wish — kinda technical.

Some other things that I rotate in her diet are spirulina, chlorella, food grade activated charcoal, burdock root (another really good fermentable fiber (but she got tired of the strong taste)), milk thistle and more. I mix five or so super foods/supps with an equal amount of enzymes and sprinkle on most of her meals.

Turmeric would be very beneficial for dogs with kidney disease as well but sadly Audrey doesn’t tolerate it well.

Giving ultra clean (like RO) water is important too. Evian water is both clean and a good source of a specific kind of calcium called calcium bicarbonate. Mineral waters higher in calcium (and lower in sodium) have shown some benefits for kidney disease.

I would recommend raw to any that can feed it, gently home cooked if raw is not an option or canned if raw and home cooked are not options.

Absolutely no chemicals like flea/tick or heartworm meds and no vaccines (including rabies).

I’m not sure how much info you’re wanting so sorry if I went overboard. 🙂 There’s tons more I can tell you if interested (like keep oil soluble chlorophyll on hand in case of anemia).

[Susan]

Hi Carmen, don’t worry about gaining some weight before seeing the vet, once you tell vet she is a rescue, he’ll understand, he would of probably seen worse, My boy was a real mess, weeing blood, no hair around his whole neck where a thick leather collar dug into his skin, the side of his front & back legs had rope burn across them, where he must of pulled on a rope, the sores were infected, he had no fur around tail & lower back where Id say fleas lived & was under weight….
She’ll need some soft wet food, if she is missing a few teeth & other teeth are rotten or soak the kibble in some chicken broth or water for a couple of minutes to soften kibble then drain the water… normally the little ones have rotten teeth & need removing ASAP…has she been wormed? also give a dog probiotic……in a couple of months she’ll look like a little princess….

[Karen K]

Again, always use FOOD GRADE. The DE for pools and such contains toxic chemicals.
DE is used in grain silos to control weevils & such. It can be taken internally for parasites but will not kill every type of parasite so research this and also the amount to use. It does not require a large amount of DE.
DE kills fleas because it kills exoskeleton pests which also includes roaches, spiders, etc.
It kills them because the sharp edges of the material (think really tiny tiny sand) of the diatoms from which it is made puts cuts in exoskeletons and the bug dehydrates to death.
Works great on Palmetto bugs (think huge roaches) in Florida. I have used it on kittens & puppies. Expose the skin by holding back the hair and powderpuff it on the area around the neck and tail (fleas favorite places). Eventually the fleas will crawl over the area and they are goners. No need to create dust while applying it. The dust is very dangerous if inhaled as it will also cause tiny cuts in lung tissue of any mammal. DE does not kills bugs by chemical action but by a natural method which does not harm mammals as long as they don’t breathe the DE dust in.

[Akari_32]

A combination of Nitenpyram and Lufenuron (generics of CapStar and Program, respectively) would be the cheapest, safest option. Little City Dogs is the brand I buy for Lufenuron on Amazon, as well as their own website (little city dogs .com) sometimes amazon is cheaper, even with shipping, than the website, even though it’s the same people company, so just price check the two. The “Flea Killer” is the CapStar and the “Flea Control” is the Program. Both are safe for momma dogs, and both can be given directly to puppies once they are 4 weeks old. Use Nitenpyram daily until most of the fleas are dead, and then continue Lufenuron, at the same time, monthly to prevent eggs from hatching. Any existing eggs will hatch, so keep the Nitenpyram handy for the second generation. Also keep the house and furniture vacuumed and flea comb all pets daily, rinsing the comb in warm, soapy water often. It doesn’t take long until you’ll see a difference.

[kelsey s]

I don’t think she will have very many. It was probably her first heat cycle, she seems very young; has a lot of behaviors most older dogs have been trained not to do, like taking food from the table. And she’s nearing the halfway point and her belly isn’t as big as I thought, as this is my first large breed. On a side note, what is a good flea remedy for her? She’s been scratching so bad that she has cut her nipples.

[Charlotte P]

What foods have you all switched to/had success with? My dogs have always been on grain-free, supplemented with pumpkin and goat yoghurt. Right now I have two, both are rescues… Phoebe is about six years old, she came to me four years ago, and her health is fine except for a reaction to yeast supplements which I tried as a flea treatment alternative (They are both on Comfortis now). Leo, also about six, came to me four months ago and has the anal abscess issues, was underweight, and ended up having TWELVE teeth removed – he was already missing five! Over the years, dry and canned foods I have tried include Natural Balance, Spring Naturals, I and Love and You, Wishbone Lake, and of course, home-cooked meals. Has anyone had success with any of these? How about Orijen, Acana, Blue Buffalo, or Taste of the Wild? Do I need to go raw? For the dry, I had the best outcome with Wishbone Lake.

[T]

I just moved back to a high-risk flea state from AZ and I’ve been trying to remember all the ways to control fleas. When I lived in TN, the product that everyone said worked great was Fleabusters powder. In those days, you had to pay a service to come apply it in your home. Now you can buy it OTC and apply it yourself: http://amzn.to/13B0G4t

Anyway, it’s borate and non-toxic. Just wanted to mention this as an alternative to diotomaceous earth. The other product I’ve been checking out is Evolv spray for prevention on the animal. Has anyone here had experience with this? I don’t expect it to work as well as a synthetic, but does it help at all?

Best of luck with your flea warfare! Don’t give up, you will eventually win.

Tabitha
http://natuaralalternativesvet.com/category/blog

[aimee]

Hi Harpers Mom,

From your previous posts I see you’ve been dealing with fleas for nearly a year now. To win the battle it is essential to break the life cycle and hands down the best way to do that is with lufenuron. Administer it once a month with a full meal; stay the course. The flea life cycle can be several months long from start to finish. The eggs that were laid prior to lufenuron use will progress through the life cycle so it may be 3 months before you see the results from lufenuron. All animals in the home need to be on some form of control. If you have species that lufenuron isn’t being used in you’ll need to ask your vet what should be used in those species.

Capstar works well as an adulticide. I consider it super safe but it needs to be repeated frequently. In heavy infestations every 2-3 days.

Mechanical removal through vacuuming, and environmental spot control as necesary will hasten the process. I wouldn’t ever use DE.

[Susan]

Hi Harpers mum, you have to vacuum daily to pick up fleas, also you’ll have to worm them as fleas give tapeworms, My boy keeps getting re infected with Tapeworm, I went to vet this morning to get another all wormer cause he had 2 little rice worms on his bum the other day, then the next day the same after he did a poo, he had a few rice worms around his bum again, the vet nurse said tapeworm is from fleas, the thing is he doesn’t have fleas, Oh, he sometimes will bring a flea home on his leg from the park but he comes to me & shows me as he can not handle any thing crawling on his legs like a ant or flea, I also bought Comfortis for the cat as I think the cat is the culprit bringing in the odd flea, the vet nurse said once I get rid of any fleas Patch should stop getting reinfected with tapeworm…
Have you tried Comfortis for ur dogs, I know a few ladies in the dog park use Comfortis & said its excellent, after giving the Comfortis tablet monthly for about 4 months the ladies said they don’t need to give the next month or the next months tablet as the fleas don’t seem to go on their dogs anymore, I’ll try it on the cat & see how we go but it must be giving with a meal also if the dog or cat vomits up the Comfortis tablet within 1 hour Comfortis will give another tablet for free, the vet where you bought will just give another tablet..

[Cyndi]

To use DE indoors, you can sprinkle it on anything and everything. Put it all over your carpet, let it works its way down into the fibers. Wood floors, work it down into cracks and crevaces (sp?) and don’t forget the dogs bedding. You can also put it directly on the dog but be careful you don’t breathe it in, it can hurt your lungs. It is completely safe to use, except for breathing in the “cloud” from it, it’s got the consistency of flour. The way it works is the DE is microscopic pieces of shells or something and it punctures the exoskeleton of the flea and then the flea will dehydrate and die or something like that.

Good luck! 🙂

[Harpers Mom]

we moved into an apartment back in September, had no issues with fleas, my fiancé took our german shorthaired puppy hunting and brought back fleas. For the past 6 weeks I have been trying to get these dang things out of the house and I’m about ready to give up. Both the dogs are now taking lufernon to prevent fleas hatching on them and we are also using capstar to kill adult fleas. I have fogged the apartment once already as well as used zodiac carpet and upholstery spray but nothing is working! I want to try diatomaceous earth but I am not sure how to use it indoors. Any and all advise is appreciated!

[Rich]

I am going to start to use DE it on myself after reading articles concerning parasites !
Seems that if parasites are not killed in the intestine they can get into the blood stream and bore themselves into brains!
So, my reason for using DE is for parasites, we don’t have a flea issue.

[DogFoodie]

My Golden had x-rays when he was a super wiggly, very high strung pup of less than one year without sedation, on two separate occasions. If you think the x-rays would be valuable, ask the very to reconsider taking them without sedation. A skilled tech can get it done.

I saw you mentioned having chatted with Mercola about the expiration date on the Natural Flea and Tick Defense. I’m glad you did. I would never order from them again without confirming the expiration date of the lots on hand first again after having not one, but two, experiences receiving old product from them. You’d think ordering from them, you’d be getting the freshest products available, but that’s obviously not always the case.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Update: The Medicam really seems to be helping Lily, she is just limping every once and a while like she used to. Also, I live-chatted Mercola and they said the current batch of Natural Defense Flea and Tick expires in 2016, and that it is safe for dogs and cats to lick off themselves.

[Dori]

Hi Dog Obsessed. As you know I’ve been using Sentinel for years and years with absolutely no issues whatsoever. I switched to Sentinel Spectrum approx. 3 months ago. I think that’s when the other old time worm med was added.

As to the reason that I do not use Heartgard is two fold. One, Sentinel has always worked for all dogs I’ve had on it. I’ve never had a HW issue or flea or worm issue while they’ve (present and past dogs). Two, I’ve called and spoken to people at Merial (the makers of Heartgard) and they will not give me the list of inactive ingredients because they say it is proprietary information and they are not allowed to disclose this information. For me, that ended any thoughts on using their product. Other companies give out ingredients and inactive ingredients but they choose not to? Because it’s proprietary information? What’s in it that they choose for me not to know? Anyway, that response did not sit well with me.

As to BC’s response to you. She’s absolutely correct. You really would be hard pressed to find a HW preventative or most any other meds that don’t have one or two ingredients that you’re not going to be happy with. I’m not thrilled with some of the ingredients in Sentinel Spectrum but at least I know that they are in there. And also as BC said, I’m not concerned about the minute amount that might be ingested either monthly or every 40 – 45 days. They will most likely detox any of it before their next dose. It doesn’t stay in them forever or you wouldn’t have to give monthly or every 40 – 45 days. My girls are in good health nutritionally speaking and their immune systems are working as they should be so that I’m pretty confident their systems can deal with it just fine. Even Hannah’s blood work all comes back normal at this point. If I had a sickly, immune compromised dog I’m not sure what I would do. But I don’t so I don’t have to worry about it. As I’ve always said to you, imho, the cure for HW is much worse than the prevention. You have to make a choice which way to go and I made mine. Some people choose not to give any HW preventative and take their chances. That’s just not me. You could drive yourself crazy with every ingredient in every med, preventative, shampoo, food, etc. etc. but at some point you’ll need to make a choice and let the issue go.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Good point. It’s hard to find a preventative without all that stuff in it, I guess. I am looking at the Mercola flea and tick preventative instead of spot-on treatments. It says it also prevents mosquitoes, but I don’t want to mess around with Heartworm. I guess every pet owner just does what they can with what they have.

[Susan]

When you worm him again, get a different all wormer one with different ingredients to the one you used, I can only use Milbemax all the other all wormers make Patch sick & have diarrhoea 12 -24 hours after taken the tablet…Sentinel Spectrum has Milbemycin Oxime like Milbemax all wormer & Sentinel is for Worms, Heartworms & flea eggs & you give monthly & always give tablet or tasty chews on a full stomach, best at night with Dinner…
I’m going to ask vet if I can give Patch Sentinel that way he’ll be wormed, Heartwormed & fleas, at the moment Milbemax allwormer is just doing worms & heartworm but he never seems to have fleas, only hitch hikers that jump on his leg on our walks & he tell me so I kill the flea..

[DogFoodie]

I would ask them what the specific expiration date is for the product to be sure. They typically print the manufacture date (rather than the expiration date) on the product now and the expiration date is generally 18 months or two years depending on the type of product. I would think the Natural Flea & Tick Defense might have an 18 month expiration date since it’s a liquid. But that’s just a guess. I tried to find it quickly on their website (Healthypets.Mercola.com), but couldn’t.

Edit: Here’s a link to the product page in case you haven’t seen it yet: http://products.mercola.com/healthypets/natural-flea-and-tick-control/

• This reply was modified 11 years ago by DogFoodie. Reason: Added product link

[Akari_32]

Dog Obsesed, how is Lily walking? Bentleys got a grade one luxating patella, and he “skips” on that leg. A few normal steps, a few hopped, toe-tapping sort of steps, and start over again. Is there an orthopedic vet near you? They would be able to diagnose her leg issyes better than a traditional vet could. The vet I interned with was an orthopedic vet (though he also did all the normal vet stuff), and he could tell you exactly what was wrong with a lame dog just by how it was walking (or not walking lol). We did a lot of cruciate surgeries there lol Those giant needles they use to go through the bone with the artificial ligaments were nasty looking things! Like giant fish hooks @.@

Anyways, definitely keep activity to a minimum, and try and stop her from jumping on to the furniture. Invest in a few sets of doggy stairs or teach her to stop and wait to be picked up. Even though he refuses to use the stairs and is very quick to jump on the couch and beds (what can I say? He’s a terrier. He does what he wants.), Bentley has learned to stop and ask to get up on the furniture if he’s feeling sore. It takes a while, but they do get it eventually.

I’ve been using various forms of lufenuron for fleas. If you have an active flea infestation, it’s not the best choice, but once the flea populations are taken out, it’s great for flea control. It keeps the eggs from hatching, and it’s not a pesticide. It’s even non-toxic, even at extremely high doses. It can also be used together with just about any product that kills fleas, as well, and all brands of lufenuron say to use it with Capstar or and equivalent if you need to.

[DogFoodie]

When I contacted Mercola about the old product I received, they knew exactly the lot that was available. I would contact them and ask them the manufacture date of the lot they’re currently shipping of the Natural Flea & Tick Defense.

[USA]

HI Dog Obsessed,

I’m sorry to hear about Lily’s leg issues!

For flea control I would NOT use Sentry Natural Defense. Cinnamon, Clove, and Thyme oils are phenols. Phenols are pretty irritating to the skin and Sentry natural defense contains a lot. Phenols and the peppermint oil also have a very strong odor. I suspect that this odor is a bit overwhelming to dogs and cats! A lot of people comment on how strong it smells and if it’s overwhelming to some people imagine how it smells to a dog.

Sentry Natural Defense:
Active Ingredients: Peppermint Oil 3.0%, Cinnamon Oil 4.5%, Lemon Grass Oil 4.5%, Clove Oil 5.0%, Thyme Oil 5.0%
Other Ingredients: Vanillin, Isopropyl Myristate 78.0%

The Mercola oil has much less phenols (1%). I like this oil the best of those mentioned here. It uses mostly Lemongrass oil which has a lighter smell and is less irritating to the skin.

The Halo dip uses tea tree oil which is also very irritating to the skin, but since it doesn’t list the percentages of the oils I don’t know how much tea tree is in it.

The oils I like best for flea and tick control are:
Rosemary
Lemongrass
Cedar
Geranium

You can buy your own Lemongrass oil and put about 2oz in a 32oz bottle. Add 1 ounce of baby shampoo, fill with water, shake well and mist Lily’s coat a couple of times a week to help with fleas. If you like a woodsy smell then use Cedar oil, the texas red cedar is best. If you add 1oz of isopropyl alcohol to the spray it it will penetrate the coat better.

Ticks are harder to fight naturally, so inspections after you suspect she has been exposed are still the best way to fight them without powerful chemicals.

Good Luck!

[frostyrockyk]

FLEA TRAP ,, I have a part fix for fleas that works very well . In a safe area put a sheet pan of water with about 1 or 2 drops of any soap in it , hang a bare light bulb over it , 6″ to a foot over the water . Some people put it in front of a low TV set over night . At night when all the lights are out , they jump for the light & end up in the soapy water & sink to the bottom . THIS MUST BE DONE IN A SAFE MANNER!! If you want to see if they are in an area TO TREAT and or to see if the treatment worked this is a good test . My vet has also told me you must spray the yard also , depending on the area I think he is right . Fleas are attracted to heat & light . Keep in mind if the bulb gets in contact with carpet or wood or paper , it can start a fire , ( keep it out of the water also!! ) so keep all pets & kids away from it . I would only use this at night when all the lights are out . Depending on how many fleas there are , it is possible to catch a lot of fleas .

[Susan]

I’ve been reading about Sentinal spectrum tasty chews & it has the same ingredients as Mibemax all wormer that Patch can stomach & does well on when I worm him.. I’m looking for something that kills worms, heartworms & fleas prevention & Sentinel looks real good….Patch doesn’t have fleas only the odd hitch hiker that jumps on his leg on our walks, so maybe cause I use the Milbemax all wormer this has prevented any flea… Does anyone know much about Mibemax & Sentinal they both have the same ingredients….

[Donna K]

HI I live in Australia and my dog Iggy did the Bravecto trial. Iggy was covered in fleas a hundred plus it was horrible so I thought Id reply to a free trial that was in the local newspaper. She qualified so we started the trial the fleas dropped off with no side affects. Ive just found out this product is finally a name not just a number so I`m going out to get it.

[Dog_Obsessed]

As some of you know, Lily had been having some leg issues that warranted a vet visit. I took her to the vet yesterday, and I thought I’d give an update. We also talked a bit about flea preventatives, so I decided to start a new topic because there was so much covered.

The vet felt Lily’s legs, and couldn’t find out that much but said that her hip extension was good, and she could see that Lily was taking some pressure off of her sore leg. She thought it was probably a knee issue, either progression of the luxuating patella or a cruciate ligament issue, but probably not a torn one because she would be in more pain. She recommended x-rays, which requires sedation, but would give us a clear picture of what was going on. We’re trying to schedule the x-ray for a few weeks from now. The vet also said we could try rest and pain meds. I told her that walking actually seemed to help Lily’s leg, so she said that walking was okay but we should keep walks short and not play fetch with her or let her run around the yard. She also prescribed a non-steriod pain medicine (Medicam) and it seems to be helping a little already. I don’t want to keep her on this long-term, but it is also an anti-inflammatory so hopefully it will help her improve. I will update soon!

We talked about flea preventative too, and the vet said she didn’t have much experience with natural preventatives but she recommended Sentry Natural Defense. Has anyone ever used or heard of this before? Lily is due for her flea preventative this weekend, and we are going out of town next week. I think I’ll use the Activyl one last time, as much as I don’t want to use any chemicals on her, I also don’t want to experiment with fleas when she is about to be staying with a pet sitter and other dogs. I might also use Sentinel, though that does not kill adult fleas it prevents an infestation. If anyone has any thoughts on either of these things feel free to tell me below, and thanks for reading this long post!

[frostyrockyk]

I’m with you on as little meds as possible , as far as I know my dogs got shots for parvo . I don’t know if that is the right spelling . I have not seen you all mention that yet as far as I know . Any thoughts on that ? I have not told this part of the problem I had with Frosty . Last Nov. he had a seizure , then one in Mar. , then a 3 day storm in June that did him in . I don’t know 100% what did that , I think one of the Flea & tick meds that you put on their back is my guess . He was on the low side of the weight scale & a week or so later his hair came out in clumps around his collar , I have never seen that in any of my dogs . I think possible harsh meds , bad food and or some other toxin could be a trigger once they start down that road . I never gave him any meds after the hair came out . I think the time frame from the tick meds to the first seizure was about 2 months . At the time I didn’t know I had a problem so I didn’t TIME IT ! That was a first for me … no fun at all . At this time I want to stay as far away from ANY of that as possible & only what is really needed . My 5 yr old is now 2 months past her yearly check up , I can just see the look on my vets face when I tell them , I don’t want any of their CR@P. That will go over real well !!

[Bellalab]

Hi all. I am curious to know if anyone has ever come across a dog that cannot tolerate ANY digestive enzyme. I have a Lab/Bulldog mix. She is almost 2 years old and she has been quite a challenge since I adopted her. She came to me on Pedigree kibble. I wanted to get her off that ASAP and slowly introduced TOTW. She did okay for 5 months or so and then had a horrible bout of colitis. During this time, (after a vet visit and meds) I fed boiled chicken/rice and things improved until I starting adding the kibble back into the diet. With each increase of kibble, the stools became worse. I experimented with several brands of kibble – slowly introducing which ever one I was trying but after about the 1/2 cup mark, runny stools. I finally gave up and started cooking for her. I rotate chicken, beef, turkey. Vegetables include peas, carrots, green beans. I use a limited amount of carbs – pasta, barley, sweet potatoes and not much of this is given. So far I have tried Dr. Mercola’s products, Enzyme Miracle (and probiotic miracle), Animal Essential enzymes, and Digestive Enzyme/Probiotic by Pet Health and Nutrition Center. While on the any of these there have been stool issues especially the Enzyme Miracle. That led to another vet visit with bloody stools. She has been on the last item I listed for about a month and problems are starting again. If I keep her off the digestive enzymes she is fine. Right now as far as other supplements all she is getting is fish oil and calcium. And the last few weeks all she has done is itch and chew. Since stopping the enzymes she is finally getting better with that too. Why aren’t enzymes helping her? I just don’t get it. She also had nasty diarrhea when taking heartworm meds so I stopped those. She cannot tolerate flea medication – makes her extremely loopy. I love her to pieces – she is the sweetest dog and so smart. I just feel so bad that she is so sensitive to things. But digestive enzymes???????

[InkedMarie]

Where do you live? They may be itchy due to dry skin from heat being on. Have you checked for fleas? Itchy dogs don’t automatically say allergy to me.

[theBCnut]

It is definitely tapeworms. You can get the medication for them over the counter now at feed stores and the big box store pet supply places. Of all the worms, tapeworms are the least harmful. They steal a little nutrition and can cause a poor coat, but not much more than that. Your dog ate an infected flea quite some time ago. Those things are egg packets, not the actual worm, and they don’t shed egg packets until they are old enough. You don’t need the vet for them. The wormer is one of the safest. You do need a good weight though.

• This reply was modified 11 years ago by theBCnut.

[Kayla]

As for fleas, he did have like 3 but I gave him flea baths and I have been checking him and can’t find anymore fleas. This was a while ago.

[Dog_Obsessed]

If the bits looked like rice, then they could be tapeworms. Tapeworms are transmitted from the dog swallowing an infected flea. As far as I know it is not particularly dangerous, just annoying. If it is that then it does need vet attention though. I once had a foster dog with it, and the treatment was an oral two-time medication. It isn’t necessarily tapeworms, it could be that something he ate didn’t fully digest. If it happens again, or if he seems itchy around his er…anus, then take him to the vet and have them do a fecal test. Cost depends on where you are and which vet you take him to.

Edit: Just saw pic, does look a bit like tapeworms. Has he pooped since?

• This reply was modified 11 years ago by Dog_Obsessed.

[DogFoodie]

Unfortunately, Heartgard won’t help with ticks. Mercola makes a great, natural essential oil based flea and tick repellant.

http://products.mercola.com/healthypets/natural-flea-and-tick-control/

[Dog_Obsessed]

Thanks BCnut! I’m currently using Heartguard, which is Ivermecten based. Would that prevent ticks? Would it be a bad idea to use a flea and tick spray in addition to Sentinel? (I wouldn’t use Heartguard then.)

• This reply was modified 11 years ago by Dog_Obsessed.

[theBCnut]

You won’t find any tick only ones. The nature of ticks makes spray for them effective for fleas. The reason we have flea stuff that isn’t good for ticks is because the fleas get on and feed and then die or their eggs won’t hatch and that ends the problem. That’s not the case with ticks. Getting on and feeding is the problem, because that’s when they transmit disease. Anything that is stong enough to repel ticks so that they don’t get on and feed will also repel fleas. The only thing I know of that kills ticks that doesn’t kill fleas is Ivermectin. And you have to give the dose to the dog while the tick is on it or just before, then the fact that the tick is eating for long enough to get a big enough dose kills it. By the time a flea ate enough, the Ivermectin would have already cleared the dog’s body.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I saw something at the pet store that said it was a spray for fleas and ticks, I didn’t see any tick-only ones though. I will talk to the vet about it. It’s probably not going to be much of an issue in the winter anyway.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Okay, thanks. I will try Sentinel Spectrum for flea and Heartworm prevention. For ticks, are spray-on products any better then spot-on treatments?

[Bobby dog]

Two of my replies are lost. lol Pet education . com has a good explanation of how lufenuron works.

“FDA approved for use in dogs and cats. Available by prescription and over the counter. Once the female flea ingests blood from a pet treated with lufenuron, 96% of egg development from fleas on cats and 99% of egg development from fleas on dogs is stopped. This helps prevent a continual flea problem. Lufenuron does not kill the adult flea and does not stop the flea from biting and causing flea allergy dermatitis. The drug is stored in the body fat and released into the bloodstream over the course of a month. Flea eggs laid prior to treating the pet may take several months to hatch; Program will not be effective until these fleas start to lay eggs. Therefore it may take several months to see the product’s effectiveness. If quicker results are needed, use a product which will kill adult fleas; these will provide quicker relief for the pet. Cats require a higher dose per pound than dogs. After the cat injectable form is administered, 2-3 weeks are needed to reach therapeutic levels in the blood. The injectable form for cats is effective for 6 months.”

[Dog_Obsessed]

Thanks, I see it now. I think it is saying that only 5% of the fleas are adult fleas and only 5% of the total fleas and juvenile fleas are on the the dog. The rest are in the home and not adults. It is an ad for the product because the product does not kill adult fleas, and it is saying that that isn’t necessary. Not totally sure if I interpreted it right though.

• This reply was modified 11 years ago by Dog_Obsessed.

[Bobby dog]

Lufenuron does not kill adult fleas, it breaks the life cycle of fleas by adult fleas ingesting the chemical then adult fleas transfer it to their eggs. This is from peteducation.com:

FDA approved for use in dogs and cats. Available by prescription and over the counter. Once the female flea ingests blood from a pet treated with lufenuron, 96% of egg development from fleas on cats and 99% of egg development from fleas on dogs is stopped. This helps prevent a continual flea problem. Lufenuron does not kill the adult flea and does not stop the flea from biting and causing flea allergy dermatitis. The drug is stored in the body fat and released into the bloodstream over the course of a month. Flea eggs laid prior to treating the pet may take several months to hatch; Program will not be effective until these fleas start to lay eggs. Therefore it may take several months to see the product’s effectiveness. If quicker results are needed, use a product which will kill adult fleas; these will provide quicker relief for the pet. Cats require a higher dose per pound than dogs. After the cat injectable form is administered, 2-3 weeks are needed to reach therapeutic levels in the blood. The injectable form for cats is effective for 6 months.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=26+1303&aid=1471

[Dori]

Dog Obsessed. If you go back to Sentinelpet.com and then click on the left side Sentinel Spectrum then click on fleas. Then in the middle of the page scroll down the page and you’ll see a huge pyramid showing different percentages of things that live in your home and/or on your dog.