Best flea/dewormer for puppy bathed often and sensitive to pills?

Congratulations on your new dog! I like Revolution if you are looking for a topical product. It consistently works well and is well tolerated. If you like the idea of an oral product better, I like Trifexis (it’s another all in one product). Sometimes though the pets can smell the Trifexis and they won’t eat it. In that instance, I like Simparica and Interceptor. My personal preference is oral products. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hello! My name is Dr. Elizabeth and I am happy to help. Ugh! Fleas are the worst but the good news is that you can effectively get rid of them if you use a good product and are diligent in the treatment. Here is a link about the flea life cycle: https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/flea-control-in-dogs The flea life cycle can last as long as 6 months. The key to getting rid of fleas is to make sure EVERY dog and cat in the house is treated with a good flea prevention AND that this treatment lasts an entire 6 months. Your vet can give you access to the best flea products on the market. Oral flea products like Simparica, Nexgard and Bravecto are the best products out there because they kill fleas so quickly. This decreased to potential for the female fleas to lay eggs which breaks the life cycle. Since the product is in the bloodstream, it also can't be washed off. Lastly, because they are new, there is not a resistance issue in the flea population. They are also cost competitive with a name brand product like Frontline. I recommend to get Smallie on one of these oral flea products and use it for 6 months. If you use a topical flea prevention, only wash Smallie just before the next application of flea prevention is due. Topical flea products like the one you applied can be washed off which means they won't work as well. Also know you will likely continue to see fleas for at least 6 weeks (assuming your product is working correctly) because of the newly emerging adult fleas. Lastly, know there is great variation in the effectiveness of topical flea products. As far as they go, for over the counter options, Seresto, name brand Frontline and Advantage/Advantix are your best options. Use them as directed. I hope this helps and please feel free to reach out with any additional questions.

Great question! If Diesel has sensitive skin, I recommend using an oral flea and tick medication. Simparica is an oral flea and tick medication, as is Bravecto and Nexgard. I recommend using one of them. I hope this helps!

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Yes, there are lots of other non-topical flea and tick prevention options. Nexgard and Bravecto have oral chews that dogs can eat as treats. Nexgard is monthly whereas Bravecto is every 3 months. Both of these prevent against fleas and ticks. Heartgard is an oral medication that protects against heartworm and other intestinal parasites. There is a Seresto collar that can be worm by dogs to prevent flea and tick infections for up to 8 months. I recommend reaching out to your local vet to see which products they have available. I hope this is helpful!

If Adam seems to have skin problems secondary to food allergies it is possible that she is reacting to the flavoring in the Bravecto and Interceptor. You may want to look into using unflavored Heartgard and something like a Seresto collar (although this could cause topical skin irritation similar to the Frontline). Unfortunately there is no chemical free heartworm preventative, and most ‘natural’ options for flea prevention contain essential oils that don’t work well and can even cause harm.

You have a few options. If you want an all in one product, try Trifexis. Otherwise you will two separate products. You might try Simparica (fleas/ticks) and Interceptor (heartworm/intestinal worms). I also recommend to have Sparky's stool checked for worms in case that was a round worm. For that parasite, pets are often given bolus dewormings since people can get that worm. That will clear up the infection faster.

It is generally not recommended to use two oral products together. It's not to say it's impossible but many of these companies have not done the testing to know if there are interactions. You may discuss this with your regular vet to see if they have any experience with this. Most topical flea and tick products are expected to be safe to use with Trifexis. There is also a collar called a Preventic which is fine to use with oral products. Most people only put the collar on the pet when it is going out to tick areas and they remove it when the pet is not in those areas. Another option is to ask your vet if they would exchange the product for something like Simparica and Interceptor which would get all your parasite concerns. Some clients will also switch products when ticks are in season or when exposure is expected and then switch back once the exposure time is over. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.