Flea & tick for sensitive dogs? Avoiding topical & collar reactions.

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.

Either medication (Seresto or Bravecto) can be used. Since Lola is suffering from skin issues I would recommend Bravecto or Nexgard. Both of these are working very well. The Bravecto will even work against mites.

Unfortunately fleas do not live on the dog, but only hop on to feed and then they hop off and stay in his environment (your apartment!) until it is time to feed again. So you need to treat all pets in the household as well as the environment (which contains the fleas, their eggs and larvae). Flea treatment:  1) Get some flea medication such as a Flea spray or a spot on from a pet shop or your veterinarian and apply monthly (which you have done already) 2) get flea powder, put some in your vacuum cleaner bag and vacuum your house and furniture and also non-carpeted areas frequently to remove flea larvae and eggs which live off house dust., Dispose of the bag in the trash outside. Hot-wash all the pet's bedding, If you do this diligently for a few months you will get rid of the fleas. Flea products: Spot-ons: Advantage, Advantix Advantage Multi Frontline (ticks as well) Bravecto spot on (ticks as well) - for cats, in tablet form for dogs Nexgard Revolution Tablets: comfortis (will only kill fleas once) Collar: Seresto (ticks as well) House spray: Indoorex

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!

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!

I occasionally see toxicity issues with some of the over-the-counter topical flea products like Hartz, Sergeant's, etc. - this is more commonly a problem in cats, but can sometimes be an issue with small dogs as well, especially if they've been dosed above their weight range. All of the prescription flea/tick medications currently on the market (Bravecto, Nexgard, Simparica, etc.) are quite safe and effective.

Hi there. Since you bathe Sophie so often, a topical flea medication/dewormer is probably not a great choice. Based on what you're looking for, I would suggest using Heartgard or Sentinel for heartworms and intestinal parasites, along with Nexgard or Bravecto for fleas and ticks. Vomiting is a common side effect with Trifexis, but is not usually seen with other oral flea/tick or heartworm medications - most dogs tolerate all of the products listed above with no problems :)