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We live in a deer tick infested area...our property crawls with them.
We use Springtime Bug Off Garlic together with PetzLife Tickz very successfully. Once Frontline Plus began it's effectiveness plunge I decided to try something less toxic to see if we got the same result. Fewer ticks with BOG and Tickz than with FL Plus. No need for toxic stuff IME.
We use Sentinel as a heartworm preventative so our dogs do get the included Lufenuron for flea control. But I think that is much less prone to cause reactions than the topicals.
I have lots of friends who use essential oil sprays as a flea/tick repellent with great success. Our dogs go outside so many times in any given day that compliance was a problem for me. Just couldn't keep up with spraying them.
We live in a deer tick infested area...our property crawls with them.
We use Springtime Bug Off Garlic together with PetzLife Tickz very successfully. Once Frontline Plus began it's effectiveness plunge I decided to try something less toxic to see if we got the same result. Fewer ticks with BOG and Tickz than with FL Plus. No need for toxic stuff IME.
We use Sentinel as a heartworm preventative so our dogs do get the included Lufenuron for flea control. But I think that is much less prone to cause reactions than the topicals.
I have lots of friends who use essential oil sprays as a flea/tick repellent with great success. Our dogs go outside so many times in any given day that compliance was a problem for me. Just couldn't keep up with spraying them.
If you want to try it and prefer a different vendor just be sure to get Pelargonium capitatum x radens and not any other variety of Rose Geranium. There are several different ones and they may all work but this variety apparently works the best.
I still expect to find an occasional tick every few weeks or so...nothing is 100% and if it is then it is likely much too toxic...and always inspect the dogs on a daily basis.
Please everyone. Do not be the guinea pig consumer for any new treatment that comes on the market! Especially an oral product designed to kill other species. Too many unknowns. Studies can be very helpful. But if you trust the studies performed by companies to verify the safety of a product these same companies hope to make huge profits from, and if you trust the government to save you from the self-serving interests of these companies, then you've got some serious naivete going on.
I wonder why people even HAVE pets since a vet is apparently a necessary evil and so sneaky as to ONLY care about "pushing" things on people.
I know many many vets and not a single one gives a rat's butt about some stupid "incentive".
And they're much more concerned about the PUBLIC and their lack of compliance with this protocol anyway.
So negatively characterizing them as "pushing" is simply offering the alternative and the 12 week protocol so the owners COMPLY.
You can read the package insert info if you don't like the testing and known adverse reactions stated then don't buy it.
I can't tell you how many of my dog walking clients have had tapeworms I've found in the stool of so called INTELLIGENT owners' dogs.
Not to mention ALL THE BULL I've heard from these intelligent folks like someone on a CRUISE who wanted to keep their pet in the house after being crashed with diabetes emergency ER admitted and a bloody nose infection because they didn't want to pay for the vet care boarding and expected ME TO BE responsible for the animal at home. I got a MILLION of these stories.
These vets aren't ROBOTS and NOBODY can EVER guarantee you you won't have adverse reactions to ANYTHING so IMO don't get a pet if that's your expectation and you don't TRUST your doctor.
I thank Gd for my vet, who isn't too proud to admit when she doesn't have the perfect answer, and is the first to recommend pet owners do their own research. I "have a million stories" about so called "intelligent" people, owners, pet boarding professionals, "pet walkers" etc. Who all thought they were more intelligent than the average person and would get indignant, hostile at times, about pet owner who care enough to try to find holistic and healthy alternatives to the chemicals that are causing organ damage, cancers, and worse to their pets, which are family to those of us who actually have the heart for it.
My vet, trained at a reputable accredited University, confirms that many products are "pushed" by facilities where the owners are receiving incentives (that is why she opened her own practice, to get away from that. vets are human, therefore all vets are subject to the same hardships and temptations as other humans, ergo NOT perfect. though my vet, I will assert, is as close as one can get) Some Veterinarians actually have huge debts worrying them and are influenced by their financial needs, much like some medical doctors.
This is why consumers need to be diligent. I applaud pet owners who give the time and effort to find healthy options for their pets without blindly buying into pharmaceutical's influences.
It's truly sad that there are so many so called "professionals" out there who can't form their own opinion nor offer a diagnosis without first consulting their drug representative for incentives. I "have a million stories" about them and the fatalities such "professionals" have caused.
In fact I'll quickly share 2. One vet euthanized a kitten we rescued because the drug rep questioned quality of life because the kitten's back legs were crippled (we had built a rear dolly for the kitten to be able to move around and he was doing great,) The vet was only supposed to neuter the poor baby (we heard the truth from one of the assistants who also volunterred at the rescue center) . Another vet killed another kitten we rescued because he only knew how to prescibe drugs. In 40 years of practice he had never inserted a catheter.
I thank Gd we found our current vet. She is wonderful. We rescued a dog that had been hit by a truck (leg broken in 3 places. Other vets wanted 700 to amputate, and 5000 to pin the leg. That didn't even cover follow-up care. Our vet charged 500 for the pin and the follow up care was included. The pretty girl is doing great and we have kept her instead of adopting her out because she is a very energetic dog and I wouldn't trust her care to any other vet. Why? Because I truly am an INTELLIGENT person and recognize that some "professionals" are rather stupid, not all, but certainly enough that I need to follow my vet's advice and do my own research. My vet likes the heathy pet practices found on mercola website. I have read some of them and agree with my vet. Mercola may be a medical doctor, but he has a vet that works with him for animal health.
But, I digress. I just want to say "thank Gd my vet isn't an arrogant @**, like SOME "professionals".
Last edited by FunkTastic; 06-29-2015 at 03:52 PM..
Reason: Spelling correction
I thank Gd for my vet, who isn't too proud to admit when she doesn't have the perfect answer, and is the first to recommend pet owners do their own research. I "have a million stories" about so called "intelligent" people, owners, pet boarding professionals, "pet walkers" etc. Who all thought they were more intelligent than the average person and would get indignant, hostile at times, about pet owner who care enough to try to find holistic and healthy alternatives to the chemicals that are causing organ damage, cancers, and worse to their pets, which are family to those of us who actually have the heart for it.
My vet, trained at a reputable accredited University, confirms that many products are "pushed" by facilities where the owners are receiving incentives (that is why she opened her own practice, to get away from that. vets are human, therefore all vets are subject to the same hardships and temptations as other humans, ergo NOT perfect. though my vet, I will assert, is as close as one can get) Some Veterinarians actually have huge debts worrying them and are influenced by their financial needs, much like some medical doctors.
This is why consumers need to be diligent. I applaud pet owners who give the time and effort to find healthy options for their pets without blindly buying into pharmaceutical's influences.
It's truly sad that there are so many so called "professionals" out there who can't form their own opinion nor offer a diagnosis without first consulting their drug representative for incentives. I "have a million stories" about them and the fatalities such "professionals" have caused.
In fact I'll quickly share 2. One vet euthanized a kitten we rescued because the drug rep questioned quality of life because the kitten's back legs were crippled (we had built a rear dolly for the kitten to be able to move around and he was doing great,) The vet was only supposed to neuter the poor baby (we heard the truth from one of the assistants who also volunterred at the rescue center) . Another vet killed another kitten we rescued because he only knew how to prescibe drugs. In 40 years of practice he had never inserted a catheter.
I thank Gd we found our current vet. She is wonderful. We rescued a dog that had been hit by a truck (leg broken in 3 places. Other vets wanted 700 to amputate, and 5000 to pin the leg. That didn't even cover follow-up care. Our vet charged 500 for the pin and the follow up care was included. The pretty girl is doing great and we have kept her instead of adopting her out because she is a very energetic dog and I wouldn't trust her care to any other vet. Why? Because I truly am an INTELLIGENT person and recognize that some "professionals" are rather stupid, not all, but certainly enough that I need to follow my vet's advice and do my own research. My vet likes the heathy pet practices found on mercola website. I have read some of them and agree with my vet. Mercola may be a medical doctor, but he has a vet that works with him for animal health.
But, I digress. I just want to say "thank Gd my vet isn't an arrogant @**, like SOME "professionals".
That was good! You almost snuck that Mercola advertising right by us.
That was good! You almost snuck that Mercola advertising right by us.
Advertising is against the TOS here.
Mercola Healthy Pets has tons of free and extremely informative articles. In the holistic pet community they are considered primarily (and almost exclusively) an information source. Yes they (and Mercola) do sell some products. But mentioning the enormous value of the Mercola website as an information source..."My vet likes the [healthy] pet practices found on mercola website."...does not qualify as advertising IMO. Promoting the sale of their products would. Of course it's not MO that counts.
I am concerned about how untested this drug was before going to market. Only approximately 250 beagle puppies. My dog died within two months of taking the medicine. He was a healthy 1.5 year old dog prior to it. We started a Facebook group for people to come together and share side effects so you can make an informed decision. This is not a place to promote the drug. It's to let people know risks as you the owner experienced them and to make sure they are reported to the right agencies. Often people don't report so it's hard to know what is going on.
The group is called Does Bravecto Kill Dogs. Please join and follow
Every pet is different with how he or she will react to these medications. Before we moved, I really disliked our vet as he wasn't very friendly and constantly pushed frontline, even though we told him repeatedly that our collie did not react well to it (constant pacing, druling, restlessness for hours and hours). He didn't care, just pushed it and made us feel like it was the only product that worked. After we moved, my mother called me to tell me she finally put down her Laso Apso. She was 16, and had been suffering. The same vet tried to guilt her into getting surgery, instead of telling her it's time to put her down. Thankfully, my mother was strong enough to make the right decision. If we ever moved back there, I would never EVER go back to that vet.
Once we told our new vet what the frontline did to our collie, he gave us several suggestions and never tried to push anything unnecessary.
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This is what I bought: 
Too many unknowns. Studies can be very helpful. But if you trust the studies performed by companies to verify the safety of a product these same companies hope to make huge profits from, and if you trust the government to save you from the self-serving interests of these companies, then you've got some serious naivete going on. 
