Oral Flea & Tick Medication

Joined
Dec 19, 2009
Messages
526
Location
Ohio
So we just adopted a new dog a little over a month ago. I had to put my 16 year old mix to sleep due to bladder cancer. I always used K9 Advantix II for her whole life and then the generic version of it for the last 2 years, Advectra 3. They always worked fantastic and never had any problems with fleas or ticks. Our new dog, estimated 2 year old boxer/lab mix, is quite active and we exercise him a lot and he goes with us when we go hiking and camping. So he is out and about where he will be exposed a lot. We also live in Ohio where ticks and fleas are quite bad.
I have some of the Advectra 3 left over from my last dog and he tolerated it well but I never had a problem with my other dog licking it. He ended up doing that at night and he threw up in the morning but that was the only side effect. Our vet gave me a sample of Credelio to try. I was really excited to try it but then I started doing research and I see all these things about seizures happening with these types of medicines; Bravecto, Nexgard, etc....
I seen online they said Credelio is supposed to be the easiest on a dogs system. Anyone else here use these types of medicines on their dog? Specifically the Credelio one?
 
I've been using Seresto collors for 3 years now and nary a flea or tick on two dogs. If you chek them out, do not buy any from and Chinese vendors as they are producing fake ones. If the price is cheap, chances are its a fake. The collars easily last 8 months.
 
TOXIC flea preps are NOT usually not needed!! DRBecker.com a holistic vet has a lot of helpful tips + DONT neuter your dog until fully matured, one or two years, even better is NEVER!!! only as many shots as REALLY needed as smaller dogs get the same shot as bigger ones, of course some are mandatory by law! dont forget decent food, NOT KIBBLE if possible + plenty of walks + LOVE as our furry friends can make us healthier + happier!!!
 
We use NexGard. It is quite expensive though.
We have tried the collars, etc, etc and after 1 bad case of fleas we need to stick with what works.
 
I've been using Seresto collors for 3 years now and nary a flea or tick on two dogs. If you chek them out, do not buy any from and Chinese vendors as they are producing fake ones. If the price is cheap, chances are its a fake. The collars easily last 8 months.

I highly recommend the Soresto collar. The VETs also recommend it. Dog and cat versions.
 
I did ask the vet about the Seresto collar, he said they do work well when they do. But he said he had a lot coming back in saying they were defective and he had to exchange quite a few. He also said if they get wet a lot it will shorten the life quite a bit. One thing I was worried about with the collar is that if it isn’t applied just right so it will work correctly it won’t work and also if when people pet him they will be exposed to the insecticide on the collar if they touch it and the area around it. I was a little worried about that.
I did do some more research today and even though Credelio is newer it does have significantly less dogs that have been reported to have seizures than the other 3 medicines.
There’s basically cons to all 3 methods and I guess you basically just have to choose one option. Have to have some kind of protection because fleas and ticks are so bad around here....
 
2 year old boxer lab mix...sounds like a great dog. (y)
Yeah he’s a pretty awesome dog so far. Has some bad separation anxiety and a few panic attacks with certain situations but we’ve been working a lot with him and he’s improved drastically since we got him.
 
Are oral insecticides associated with bladder cancer?
Not sure about that but my other dog was never on the oral ones just the topical meds.
Before we adopted her she was beat as a puppy and had bladder problems the first 6 months we had her due to her being kicked in the stomach a lot. She was very healthy basically all of her life with us besides a couple strokes when she was 9, that we didn’t think she was going to make it through but she did. And then the cancer when she was 15. She was on medicine for the cancer and it gave us more time with her but she then got worse and we couldn’t do anything else and we didn’t want her to suffer.
 
My healthy Norwegian Elkhound nearly died two years ago. Took a week of IV fluids and 24/7 vet support to keep her alive, as her kidneys and liver were shutting down. Eventually we were able to determine it was due to her flea and tick treatment.

The old and obsolete saying "white feet don't treat" applies to certain dogs with the MDR1 gene and the dog's inability to process a number of drugs. Today we can test for the gene, which my Elkhound does not have. Yet, we've known that she has trouble with any form of anti parasite drug. She starts to smell strongly like gasoline, and her health goes down rapidly, for years it was just a few days of severe lethargy. This one time, she almost did not make it.

I'm not a fan of such treatments, but my wife insisted. $8000 later, she now understands.
 
My healthy Norwegian Elkhound nearly died two years ago. Took a week of IV fluids and 24/7 vet support to keep her alive, as her kidneys and liver were shutting down. Eventually we were able to determine it was due to her flea and tick treatment.

The old and obsolete saying "white feet don't treat" applies to certain dogs with the MDR1 gene and the dog's inability to process a number of drugs. Today we can test for the gene, which my Elkhound does not have. Yet, we've known that she has trouble with any form of anti parasite drug. She starts to smell strongly like gasoline, and her health goes down rapidly, for years it was just a few days of severe lethargy. This one time, she almost did not make it.

I'm not a fan of such treatments, but my wife insisted. $8000 later, she now understands.
I am so sorry to hear that! What treatment was used that caused it in your dog?
 
I am so sorry to hear that! What treatment was used that caused it in your dog?

It's been a few years, but I believe it was Ivermectin that caused the problem. She was also on a flea/tick treatment and the typical shots from the vet for kennel cough and rabies.

The dog is doing well enough now, but has to be on a special diet, due to chronic pancreatitis. All of which was brought on by these treatments.

Here she is as a little pup.

DSC_3227_smaller.jpg

And now
Vj3aRdD.jpg
 
Last edited:
It's been a few years, but I believe it was Ivermectin that caused the problem. She was also on a flea/tick treatment and the typical shots from the vet for kennel cough and rabies.

The dog is doing well enough now, but has to be on a special diet, due to chronic pancreatitis. All of which was brought on by these treatments.

Here she is as a little pup.

DSC_3227_smaller.jpg

And now
Vj3aRdD.jpg
She’s so cute!
When I was doing research, I think that was the main thing in Heartgard and they had to revise their formula years ago because it was causing problems. We have him on Interceptor Plus for heartworm prevention. Mosquitos are bad. On our most recent backpack camping trip in West Virginia in the mountains, he got at least 3 bites from mosquitoes while we were in the one location one night.
He didn’t have a single tick or flea though while being protected with the K9 Advantix.
I want to make sure he’s protected but I also don’t want to put him at any serious risk at the same time.
 
On our jack russel / maltese mix we've tried K9 Advantix (suddenly ended up with a horrible rash after using it for over a year and we still ended up with an occasional tick), the Seresto collar (still ended up with embedded ticks and you had to worry about getting it wet), and finally NexGard. She's been on NexGard for nearly four years with no ill side effects and no ticks. We've found the cheapest price at Costco Pharmacy. I'm not familiar with Credelio.
 
I happened to be walking by a local vet who was being screamed at by a dog owner - she claimed her dog died after taking Bravecto, which is oral for dogs but oddly enough topical for cats. Weeks later, she put up posters in front of that office asking for participants in a lawsuit.

Program was the first oral parasite control for pets - even though it stopped fleas from maturing. It seems like vets are recommending the oral stuff for dogs(Trifexis and Bravecto) but are sticking to topicals for cats - Revolution and Cheristin are the ones recommended for cats here.
 
My vet prescribed Simparica Trio which combines Heartgard and flea/tick. She was on Nexgard/Heartgard but price kept going up. Simparica is made in Germany. Never any side effects from either brand, and flea free. The vet group I go to sees a lot of dogs and cats and has a good level of experience on the side effects and effectiveness over many years.
 
Every treatment is going to have horror stories and I read them on all of them which terrified me to try the recommended Trifexis (oral delivery heartworm, flea and tick med) that my vet recommended.

Per what you read online some/many pets have died due to Trifexis, didn't do anything to my pup even after taking it monthly for 6+ years. But other dogs/cats may have died from any other XYZ medication while others were fine. Just monitor closely after first dosage and go from there - my pup was annoyed with me checking on her constantly that first dosage because she had simply tried to take a nap.

The good thing about the Trifexis is they are available in treat style chews that eliminated the forcing the pill down the throat problem. She got to the point she knew the sound and thought it was a treat.
 
Yeah I think you’re right. Every medicine is going to have a horror story attached with it. Just have to make sure you’re informed and choose the best for your situation and dog. We’re taking him tomorrow to get his Lyme vaccine. I was going to talk to the vet some more about the Credelio but we’re thinking about going for it. He did do fine with the Interceptor Plus sample the vet gave us, I kept a close eye of him for a few days. Not a single problem with that.
 
Back
Top