When can my tick-treated rescue dog safely join my other dogs?

I would say after 24 hours, Leo should be fine to see other dogs. Depending on what product you used, efficacy rates can vary. The best products are oral products such as Comfortis, Simparica or Trifexis. Some over the counter products don't work well at all. So there is variability in how well it will work. After 24hours any product you used will be in his system and any topical products dried. Please post again with any further questions.

Hello. If your first dog has been routinely vaccinated, then there should be no danger introducing him to the newcomers. Make sure everyone has been treated for fleas & ticks, & the new guys checked for intestinal parasites & hopefully everything should go smoothly. You are a remarkable individual for rescuing 3 dogs, so I do hope everything goes well. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Frontline will kill fleas within 24 hours and ticks within 48 hours. To be safe, you should also treat all your cats as well. A majority of a flea population lives off the pet, only hopping on to feed. A flea treatment and prevention program will include treatment of the pet and the environment. Use a preventative for at least 3 consecutive months, preferably year round.

As long as all the cats have been treated, it should be fine to let them around each other regarding the fleas. Do make sure that Salem has tested negative for Felv/FIV and is worm free/had treatment for worms before letting the cats together. Congratulations on adding Salem to your family!

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I’m sorry to hear that Lucky ran off but I’m glad he is back with you. I would recommend bringing Lucky to your veterinarian as soon as possible to have all of his ticks removed properly. Ticks can be challenging to remove and if not done properly, can form abscesses in the skin. Ticks carry a number of diseases such as Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, that can make dogs very sick and have long last effects on their organs. Some of these diseases, such as Lyme, require the tick to be on a dog for 24 hours before the dog becomes infected, so the sooner the ticks are removed, the better. Your veterinarian will want to remove all of the ticks and likely submit bloodwork to evaluate Lucky’s blood cells and kidney and liver function. Also, if Lucky is not already on a flea and tick monthly preventative medication, I recommend asking your veterinarian about starting him on a topical or chewable medication that will help prevent infection with these tick-borne diseases in the future. I hope this is helpful!

It is typically ok to space out flea/tick prevention by 2 weeks time span. I would recommend waiting the entire 14 days before using the Nexgard. The bath likely didn't strip any of the product off. If you do happen to see fleas on Dexter before the 14 day mark, you can safely give him a Capstar tablet (from your local pet store) which can rid the fleas off of him within 1 hr, but is not considered to be a flea preventative. I can also understand you wanting to go with a better product than the Frontline. I hope that you enjoy your trip with Dexter and that he remains flea/tick free. Best wishes and take care!

You don't have to wait a month, natural tick remedies do not work in my experience but there is no toxicity effect related to those products either. you can use Frontline today if you want, although i would recommend other products for ticks such as Nexguard, Bravecto or Advantix which are in my opinion much more effective than frontline.