Chewable vs topical flea/tick meds: Which is best and most affordable?

I prefer oral however each brand of tick medicine is only labeled for a select few species of ticks so it may be ineffective if you are encountering a different species. You may want to try Bravecto that last longer or add advantix or tick collar that can help repel

Yes, there is a difference in how all the different oral and topical heartworm and flea/tick medications work. Yes, a heartworm medication needs to get into the bloodstream, so even topical heartworm preventions will get absorbed through the skin and into the bloodstream to work. Flea and tick medications can work topically only or can be oral and work internally. Which are safest products is probably a matter of opinion. I will say that a couple of the oral flea/tick medications have been associated with seizures, so I do not recommend those in dogs that have seizures. Potentially, a topical flea/tick medication that does not get absorbed might be considered the "safest", but we certainly see some skin irritation from those products as one of their side effects. I think it's always a good idea to separate out new products, so you know if Doice is having a reaction to either, but since the products work differently, I don't know that there is a huge benefit to giving them separately long term. There are so many products out there on the market that I can't really give you a specific product recommendation for your area, but I would certainly speak with your vet about your concerns and ask them for their recommendations for Doice. I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

The Seresto flea/tick collar is the only one on the market that is safe and effective - the others, including Adams, are often dangerously toxic for the dog and not effective at all for fleas in my experience. Advantix is definitely a better choice than PetArmor, but the most effective option available for fleas and ticks currently would be an oral medication like Nexgard or Bravecto. I would recommend getting a prescription from your veterinarian for one of these medications, if possible - this will eliminate the need for any topical medication or flea collars, and will also work much better.

[Advantage II](https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/brand/advantage?utm_source=PetCoach&utm_medium=questions&utm_campaign=bayeradvantage) flea prevention is applied to your dog topically, spreading over the skin and hair. It kills fleas through contact, which means that fleas don't have to bite your dog to be exposed to the preventive. On the other hand, with oral flea medications, fleas are killed only after biting your dog and ingesting the medication. One flea bite can lead to an allergic reaction in sensitive dogs. Additionally, some oral flea preventives last as long as 12 weeks. Pet parents may find this more convenient. Most topicals must be applied every 4 weeks. Regardless, either product must be applied or administered regularly and following label directions in order for it to be effective.

I recommend oral flea & tick preventatives. There are several brands, and all are effective: Nexgard, Simparica, and Credelio are monthly, or Bravecto which is given every 12 weeks. My top two are Nexgard and Bravecto. These are prescription products available from your veterinarian. Hope this helps!

I prefer spot-ons and chews over collars. The only collar I would recommend is Seresto. This, in my opinion would be superior to Frontline, as in many areas there are resistances to Frontline already.

Of all topical medications, I generally find K9 Advantix II to be the most effective. Of the two you mentioned, I find Vectra 3D to be more effective. There are also oral flea/tick preventatives (Nexgard and Bravecto) available that seem to be superior to any topicals.