What heartworm/flea products are you using this year?

[Nathan]

So basically it's one big crapshoot... Using frontline plus, works on my German shepherd but not so well on our morkie.

[Debbie Meier]

we use Zonk-it horse spray for fleas, ticks and flies which is also labeled for dogs, it is a waterbase residual, do need to reapply after the dogs get wet and then liquid injectable ivermectin orally.

[Crawford Dogs]

I use Sentinel for HW (it only works as a "birth control" on fleas- does not kill adults) and Frontline Plus for fleas/ticks. I don't use ivermectin-based products as Rose's opthamologist (IMR/SARDs dog) doesn't want her on it.

 

 

Bethany

[vanillalove]

We're about to go into our first flea/tick/heart worm season with Indie and our breeder recommended Revolution. Any thoughts?

My vet pushes Heartguard but I keep reading conflicting information on Ivermectin and collie breeds so I stayed away. My other options through my vet was Revolution or Trifexis (open to ordering online though). In speaking with my breeder, we felt Revolution was best. My research I've seen suggests that while what was said above is potentially true - with MDR1 positive dogs and the Ivermectin levels in h/w medication being too low to affect them - there have been cases of MDR1 negative dogs not doing well on the Ivermectin, as well as MDR1 positive dogs being unaffected by the drug. I'm not sure being m/m or m/n or even n/n tells the whole story.

Thoughts? My only qualm is that Revolution doesn't protect against Deer Ticks which is the main one I'm concerned about (Lyme Disease) - is there one med that can do it all or is it pretty much the norm to have your dog on a combo of two to cover both h/w and deer ticks?

[GentleLake]

AFAIK, the MDR1 gene hasn't been found in border collies, so ivermectin shouldn't be a problem.

 

I'm not really sure what the topic of ivermectin use in Aussies is being brought up on a border collie board, but whatever.

[Tess's Girl]

I just put Tess on Revolution and the Scalibor flea collar. It's what my vet recommended. She's also on Sentinel. This is also my first flea/tick season with Tess and the ticks are HORRIBLE this year. Since this past Sunday I've found 3 on Tess on 1 on me. Ugh. I hate them, but I've always grown up in places that have them so I'm used to it.

 

Actually, as I wrote this I found ANOTHER one on Tess's head. We've only been out for potty breaks today, so she's managing to pick them up in the 40 feet that we walk outside my apartment to go to her potty spot.

 

I also worry about too much preventative, but after finding so many ticks in just the past few days I just went to the vet and was like "give me something". So we'll see in a couple of weeks if it's actually working.

 

The vet recommends revolution with the Scalibor collar because the collar covers the types of ticks that revolution doesn't.

 

I'm about to become an expert on types of ticks and TBD. Tess is my first dog so I want to be sure what to look for, and I don't really know the different types. Luckily, I've found all of the ticks the day they got on her, so I think she's ok for now.

[vanillalove]

AFAIK, the MDR1 gene hasn't been found in border collies, so ivermectin shouldn't be a problem.

 

I'm not really sure what the topic of ivermectin use in Aussies is being brought up on a border collie board, but whatever.

 

I actually thought BCs were as susceptible to Ivermectin reactions as Aussies, with or without being declared MDR1. I've read that regardless of being MDR1, many collie breeds are still prone to reactions. I still hear a lot of "white feet, don't treat". But if this is just an Aussie thing, I'll stop bothering you guys with it haha

 

Ivermectin aside, I will be trying Revolution for h/w, but need to find something that covers deer ticks since it's the only tick we care about in my area and the only one Rev doesn't cover Hesitant about double preventatives though.

[juliepoudrier]

I know this has been said before, but all HW preventives are from the same chemical class, so all are equally likely to cause problems for dogs with the mdr1 mutation, but only if given to excess.

 

Many of us use ivermectin and many don't. The only person I know of who had a problem was with a golden retriever who ate an entire tube of ivermectin horse paste wormer.

 

If you use these preventives at the recommended HW prevention dose, you should not have a problem with any dog. There may be the very rare exception, but that's it.

 

J.

[vanillalove]

That's really helpful. I wasn't sure if that was truly the case or not so thanks for clearing that up!