[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Hello Fellow DFA people,
I have been absent for a while due to major changes-the biggest being my adopting 3 more pups (toy schnauzers) which now brings my total to 6!!!
Crazy i know, but crew 2 as I call them Abe Murray & sister Marlie are all from the same litter.
They came to me underweight fleas and intestinal worms on May 30th. Now they are worm free weight great ( On commercial raw ,cooked meats and dehydrated THK) vet was so happy when she saw them-she wants to send me her hard cases-I politely said no.
But I have a huge problem -I am faced with fleas – i live in south louisiana -we are having one of the worst seasons ever. Crew 1 Pepper Millie & Sophie are my mini schnauzers Pepper is my blind angel who just turned 12 years young Millie turned 1 on july 4th and Sophie is 7 months-well I guess crew 2 brought them in and oh my they (the fleas) don’t want to leave.
I have always used a topical either frontline tritak or frontline plus ,but now it is totally ineffective.
I hesitate to give an internal pill for fleas ,since they MUST be on heartworm chewables ,since we are the heart worm capitol .
I have been seeing Nexgard but am so skeptical.
I started both crews on granulated garlic but know that can take time to work and I am very slowly dosing them, I use the mercola spray before we walk, bathed in old fashioned dawn, been washing everything like a fiend.
Friends I am at a loss, I am so afraid to spray a chemical on my yard so I use Diamacous Earth.
Any feedback, opinions on giving nexgard a try during the bad months and doing a topical in the other months? I fear for Pepper given her age & multiple health problems ingesting a chemical to kill fleas-Oh how I hate this.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and reply.
Hope all of you are doing well and your fur-kids free of bugs and enjoying the summer

[Pitlove]

Hi– I completely feel your pain. I’m on the Northshore of LA and we just got done battling fleas. They really have been terrible this year. I started my dog on Nexgard as soon as he was able to take a flea and tick medication and it has worked really really well. Even Comfortis didn’t kill all the fleas on him they were so bad.

Just like you I’m extremely worried about putting chemicals on top of chemicals in my dogs body, so I try to min max as much as I can. I use a HW preventative because of the reasons you stated about our state, but I administer every 45 days instead of 30 since they are effective for 45 days. My 1yr 2mo old pit is due for his next rabies on Aug 27 which I will be doing a 3 year since LA allows 3 year. I also will not be doing annual vaccines. Instead I’ll be doing titers on him and re-vaccinating as needed. Doing this things makes me feel A LITTLE better about doing an oral flea and tick. I also don’t give the Nexgard the same week as the HW meds.

You could talk to your vet if you feel they are open-minded enough to offer you other solutions for your senior, as I would also be worried about an oral flea and tick med for a senior dog.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Cheryl,

Congrats on the new babies!

What are you using for heartworms? I use Sentinel Spectrum and my vet suggested Nexgard could be added to it for serious infestations.

Also, have you tried using neem oil on your yard in conjunction with the diamectious earth?

[Deby G]

I give my 6 year old chipoo nexgard also but I don’t give it through the winter. Up north the fleas are not a problem for a few months but they’re a nightmare in the summer. It also saves me money as this stuff is not cheap. When my previous bishon got fleas (from a neighbors dog who wasn’t on any preventive I had him shaved down). As far as your house, my vet told me that salt kills the eggs so I bought 20 lb bags and spread it all over my house, sofa and bed. Anything I couldn’t run through the washer with hot water. I left the salt on the carpet, wood floors and furniture overnight and then vacuumed like crazy. I kept the dog in the bedroom most of the day and did the bedroom when we were downstairs. 30 years ago my shepherd had them and infected the entire house. An exterminator “bombed the house”. We left for 2 days. IT worked but anything that wasn’t locked in the refrig or oven cans and to be washed. That meant all the dishes etc. and linens. It was a mess. This time the salt was much easier. Good luck.

[zcRiley]

My 2 1/2 yr old staffies love barreling through unkept tall bushes & grass in our L.A. neighborhood. I used topical until one got allergic. Plus it washed off during the bimonthly bath and tons of swimming. I’ve used Nexgard for 3 months now & comb them every day right after their walk. I caught 1 lone flea that was already dying, nothing else since. No side effects no dry skin no vomiting. I give it to them on the 1st every month & Heartgard on the 21st, their birth date (so easy to remember).

I’d give Pepper a half dose to start & watch him carefully, and keep combing. I know it’s hard to switch over from an all natural remedy. However, it may reduce any illnesses that fleas & ticks cause.

They say not to cut the pill in half so….

[Mark C]

I have been using this on my two dogs and recommend it. My guys were having issues (reaction) to the topicals so I like this and feelings safe. I hope also there been no reaction to the Nexgard.

Something else I found that works is Vaughns Furfresh shampoo. If my guys pick up a flea this stuff takes care of it. It also works with ticks too. I swear by it. http://furfresh.com/

Hope this helps.

[Jonathan S]

I’m going to throw a little non-information into this as my memory is poor at the moment. One of the Border Collie groups I follow has had a discussion going about a topical flea treatment, but I can’t remember the name… not sure if it was Nexgard. It’s something you add to a special collar… anyway, the BC’s are having trouble with it as it makes them lethargic and they refuse to eat. This probably doesn’t help you.

[zcRiley]

Hi Jonathan, just in case you weren’t sure, Nexgard is a pill form, not topical. However I’d like to know the name of the topical that causes loss of appetite, that’s not good.

[Jonathan S]

Let me see if I can find it… it’s a Facebook group so digging up old information is difficult.

[Jonathan S]

Got it…. and I was completely wrong. It was Soresto collars. As soon as the dogs started using them they stopped eating. What I missed was that they stopped using them and the problem persisted. It turns out the dogs were having a reaction to Blue Buffalo food. The owner switched foods and the dogs were right as rain.

Sorry for wasting everyone’s bandwidth.

[Wendy S]

I can’t speak to Nexgard but I can speak to your yard. I am in Texas & due to the tons of rain we got in May, all fleas, ticks, Mosquitos, midge flies, etc have been just awful so far this summer. Like you, I hate using chemicals- I have 6 dogs, 6 aquariums, a pond & 4 kids… So I try to use as much homeopathic stuff as I can. I have also tried the DE inside & outside of my house. I tried salt which didn’t work for me either. The fleas & ticks have been something else- I pulled two dozen ticks off one of my german shepherds & had never seen ticks on any of my dogs before this. I did a lot of research as I had another issue on top of fleas & ticks- my neighbor has a chicken coop in his backyard which was causing a massive explosion of flies that effected my yard & home. Ok so long story short, I finally broke down & bought something called Cyzmic CS for my yard. You add 1/2 oz of this to a gallon of water in a pressure sprayer. I couldn’t even smell it when I sprayed. The following day 75% of the flies are gone. It’s now been a week- I haven’t seen one tick, flea or fly for that matter. You might want to consider this for your yard to help. You can use indoors also- it won’t harm plants or animals but will harm aquatic animals.

By the way, one of my dogs is on Revolution & the rest are on Adams flea collars & Pet Armor Plus. Good Luck!

[sherry n]

Good morning from southern Ohio. We, too, are having a bad flea and tick year in our area- too much rain and we live in a wooded area. We had to switch to Sentinel Spectrum and Nexgard last summer as Frontline had become ineffective. Our Great Pyrenees have done well with no adverse reaction – I give the two meds about a week apart. Good luck.

[Kristin C]

Hi-no one has mentioned this so I will. I live in CT so I know the circumstances are different, but I do hate treating my dogs with chemicals. We use Advantix on our 2 pups every 6 weeks normally. For their last treatment, instead of a full dose, we gave them half of a dose PLUS I have been giving them B-complex in their food each night. No ticks, no fleas. If it continues we will eliminate the Advantix, but I am sure we will not be able to eliminate it completely, we always treat them with a full dose of Advantix before we travel.

I will also add that they eat mostly a raw diet so they get B vitamins through the liver they eat, which is apparently what naturally repels the fleas and ticks.

[Pitlove]

Hi Kristin- Wow! Someone else from CT! I was born and raised there but living in Louisiana now. Very very different climate. Fleas and ticks weren’t nearly as big of a concern up north as they are down here. Also the mosquitos are so rampant down here, heartworm is a scary and real concern for me. Myself and the OP are both in the same state.

[Kristin C]

Well thanks for not slamming me pitlove, I kind of gathered it was a little more fierce weather down there:) I think giving heartworm during mosquito season is a must, which is what we do up here in CT.

From what I understand fleas and ticks are most likely to gather on a compromised host, a pet with a weakened immune system. Since our dogs eat raw liver, liver treats, and they are currently getting B-complex vitamins each night, I am finding it has worked so far and just wanted to mention it. I understand the need in the south will be more aggressive than what i do up here.

[Pitlove]

Hey I’m sure the OP appreciates any advice he/she can get! No reason to slam someone who is doing the right thing for their dogs anyway! I hate putting chemicals into my dog as well and I try to avoid it as much as possible. I still give the Nexgard because my boy got fleas as soon as he was due for it and I wasn’t able to get to the vet. Probably shouldn’t have brought him to the dog park though, so that was our fault! However I give heartworm every 45 days instead of every 30 and I don’t give it in the “winter” time. I also don’t give flea + tick and heartworm in the same week and I don’t plan on revaccinating my dog except for a 3 years rabies because of the laws. I plan to titer him for the other vaccines instead. Doing all that makes me feel SLIGHTLY better about an oral flea and tick, though I’m still not happy with it.

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