Ticks!!

Interestingly, though, Shadow actually gets far, far more ticks than the other two Labs. Ginny gets quite a lot on her nekkid dangly tummy, but Shadow is by far the tastiest to them - or maybe he's more visible? It's a little strange, as biting flies prefer Willow, with Squidge second and pretty much ignore Shadow.
 
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Joy

Location
East Sussex
Looking at a map of tick risk it shows us to be in a medium-high area but neither Molly nor my previous two dogs have ever had a tick on them, so I don't use a preventative. I think the map can't be correct - possibly the coastal strip has different conditions to inland (Sussex is treated as a whole unit). The only dog I've had with ticks was my Springer when we lived in Plymouth.
 
@Cath I was talking to some friends last week about the high tick level and she uses a Seresto collar. She said in all the years she has used one she has never seen a tick on her Labrador. Yet some people say they aren't very good. xx
 
Had the most tick-ey walk EVER this afternoon :sad: - I was stopping Kipper every few metres to check him, literally took off over 20 ticks. Beautiful woodland, but we’ll be avoiding it until it’s a lot drier and hotter.
What wildlife wanders the woods to make ticks so prevalent? The only one Coco has ever picked up was in an ex-cow/sheep field. I do avoid these areas usually as I'm quite tick-squeamish. I was thinking of ticks this morning when we reached a grassy spot in the middle of the plantation & the dogs ran around, but I don't think there's much wildlife that makes it into the wood. I've seen rabbits & hares near the edge. The dogs were both clear. I don't use tick repellent/killer. I think we're jolly lucky to have no deer/foxes/badgers here as far as ticks go.
 
We are practically surrounded by deer forests , I see them often , so I guess ticks are inevitable . I pondered about giving Reuben bravecto , but in the end it seemed the best solution as he does charge around in the thick of it whereas Nelly stays to the paths with me so she hasnt had any treatment .x
 
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HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
What wildlife wanders the woods to make ticks so prevalent? The only one Coco has ever picked up was in an ex-cow/sheep field. I do avoid these areas usually as I'm quite tick-squeamish. I was thinking of ticks this morning when we reached a grassy spot in the middle of the plantation & the dogs ran around, but I don't think there's much wildlife that makes it into the wood. I've seen rabbits & hares near the edge. The dogs were both clear. I don't use tick repellent/killer. I think we're jolly lucky to have no deer/foxes/badgers here as far as ticks go.
It’s definitely deer round us - red deer and roe deer are both common, we quite often see them on walks. I’ve become less squeamish with ticks and enjoy crushing them - but would much prefer it if they b***ered off. Happily the bravecto seems to put them off attaching most of the time for now, but I do hate the little perishers.
 
Deer, deer everywhere!! I have given Bravecto a lot of thought but since Karen's experience with Poppy I'm not sure. I know she doesn't know Poppy's seizures were down to Bravecto and it's very rare so maybe I should stop being silly as it does give a much longer coverage.

Have any other Bravecto users found any side effects? xx
 
Deer, deer everywhere!! I have given Bravecto a lot of thought but since Karen's experience with Poppy I'm not sure. I know she doesn't know Poppy's seizures were down to Bravecto and it's very rare so maybe I should stop being silly as it does give a much longer coverage.

Have any other Bravecto users found any side effects? xx
None at all . Sam always had it and no way was it connected to Lymphoma , all the little ones had it too and now Reuben who had it last week with no effects x
 

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Deer, deer everywhere!! I have given Bravecto a lot of thought but since Karen's experience with Poppy I'm not sure. I know she doesn't know Poppy's seizures were down to Bravecto and it's very rare so maybe I should stop being silly as it does give a much longer coverage.

Have any other Bravecto users found any side effects? xx
I haven’t noticed any, but of course that doesn’t mean there aren’t any. And individual differences mean what works for one might not work for another - very sensible to think it through.

For me, it’s a case of using it advisedly: it does the job we need it to do, for now. But if Kipper ever did show signs of neurological problems it’d be one of the first places we’d look. And there’s always the potential that local ticks build resistance to it, so then we’d try something else.
 
No side effects when I used it, but I wouldn't use it again, just because it has no repellant properties, so the ticks still get brought into the house before they attach, and with the very high numbers of ticks we have here, they were still getting bitten an awful lot, even if it did kill the ticks when they did so.

For my money, nothing beats Advantix against ticks.
 
Have any other Bravecto users found any side effects? xx
I was really hesitate to use any flea/tick treatment as Ella hadn't had fleas in her four years (I stupidly thought that her wormer had flea treatment but apparently it hadn't! :rolleyes:) and we don't have ticks in our area.

Anyway, after she'd picked up ticks on a bush walk and we couldn't guarantee that they weren't paralysis ticks. We talked through the options at the vet and ended up using bravecto. Thankfully she didn't show any side effects.
 
We use Bravecto with Ariel and have seen no side effects. I also haven’t noticed any ticks after our walks (touch wood), but we’re also just getting into our spring/summer weather. Nothing last year either.
 
I've never seen a tick, and the thought totally freaks me out! I used Bravecto twice with no ill effects (and I researched and had an appointment to talk about my concerns with my vet prior to giving it). This year I'm giving nexguard spectra (which is the same thing I think, different brand name) as there is a new version this year for allergic/sensitive dogs. No issues with that either.
 
Deer, deer everywhere!! I have given Bravecto a lot of thought but since Karen's experience with Poppy I'm not sure. I know she doesn't know Poppy's seizures were down to Bravecto and it's very rare so maybe I should stop being silly as it does give a much longer coverage.
Actually, I do now know that Poppy's seizures were triggered by the Bravecto. She always only had seizures in the spring and the autumn - which is when we were using the Bravecto. Unfortunately she now also reacts to the collars, so at the moment I am not using any flea or tick preventatives with her. Merlin has the collar, which works wonders for the ticks in our area.
 
Have any other Bravecto users found any side effects?
Yup. Snowie had two grand mal seizures within weeks of taking one Bravecto tablet. Since stopping all tick and flea spot ons and tablets two years ago, he’s not had a seizure. There’s a Facebook page for people whose dogs have died or been poorly after taking Bravecto. There are 1000s of cases worldwide. The FDA recently made the manufacturer add a warning about seizures to the packaging. It might not have an adverse effect after the first dose, but additional doses can affect the liver with the accumulative effect.

I’d rather use a repellent that you spray onto the coat that repels rather than something absorbed into your dog’s system.
 
I just also want to say... Do think carefully about the Bravecto. It is a fluraner, which is an insecticide, that stays in your dog for many, many months - I was still finding dead ticks on the dogs eight months after administering it. I know ticks are horrible and can carry disease, but just bear in mind that this is not a harmless tablet. Once ingested, you cannot get it out of your dog's system. I don't want to scaremonger, but I now know that had we never used this stuff, Poppy would probably never have had a single epileptic fit. She hasn't had a fit in a whole year - since we took the collar off her last spring, in fact.
 
Once ingested, you cannot get it out of your dog's system.
That is true, and is also true of the spot-ons AND the collars. People assume that they can just take the collar off, but it doesn't work like that - the drug is absorbed through the skin and spreads throughout the body. I assume that the drug absorbs more slowlyand so won't stick around as long after you remove it, but it'snot an immediate effect by any means.

As with everything, you have to weigh up risk and benefit. Here in Spain, there's the risk of ehrlichiosis and babesiosis, both of which are potentially very serious conditions, as well as Lyme disease. If you live in an area where ticks are just a bit gross rather than dangerous, then you probably don't have to be quite as concerned.
 
I have given Bravecto a LOT of thought over a year or so, I like to be thorough! I have decided against it. Everything has it's pro's and con's as they are chemicals after all and each dog may or may not react, some in a serious way. I am going to give Advantix a try as I like the idea of ticks not being able to attach themselves. Lyme's disease is a threat in Hampshire and Scotland so I want to keep my dogs safe and I REALLY do hate them a LOT. Thanks to you all for your help and experiences as always. xx
 
It’s not that ticks can’t attach with Advantix, it’s just that it contains a repellent so they are much less likely to. If they do, they die. The thing with ticks is that for most of the nasty diseases, the ticks need to be attached for more than 24 hours for the disease to be a higher risk of being transferred, so as long as you’re thorough at checking your dogs after every walk, it doesn’t “matter” if they have attached in the meantime. But I don’t want them in my house, on my furniture and in my bed!

In practical terms, with my dogs, I have found every tick while it’s still “empty” except one on Luna’s leg. Because of how dense her coat is, it’s simply not possible to check her for ticks.
 
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