RFI: Ticks and dogs

[Irelander]

We live in rural PA and would love to get a family dog. However, being a very Lyme affected family we are naturally concerned about the dog bringing ticks into our house or transferring ticks to us. We have talked to several friends with dogs and they seem to all use different treatments but still say they find ticks on their dog or in the dog's bedding. This is the main deterent of us getting a dog.

Just looking for some advice on what works best for keeping ticks at bay while having an indoor/outdoor dog. And those of you with dogs, how often do you see ticks in your house or on you and your kids?

My daughter deserves a dog.

[blues]

For some reason, I have seen very few this year, and don't remember taking any off Skyler.

We use Advantix II for the past few years.

I have never had a tick attach and feed on Skyler or on Smoky before her. Perhaps because the shorter coat makes it easier to see or feel if they are present.

Can't tell you what to do, but they are present here in the NC mountains but we have not had issues.

ETA: Very rare to find one on the floor or on the dog's bedding. In our experience.

[peterb]

We’ve had good luck with the Serestro collars in the past couple of years. Previously we used one of the monthly topical treatments. If you use the goop, you have to be careful the first couple of days after you apply it(usually along the spine) to not get it on your hands.

A short, light-colored coat makes it MUCH easier to see ticks on a dog.

Nothing will keep a dog from picking up ticks. The collar or goop will usually keep them from attaching to the skin, but they’ll still be in the coat for a while.

Dogs are pretty good at finding ticks on themselves — watch where they scratch or nibble, and take the hint.

[blues]

I keep these tweezers on my key chain. Great for tick removal, splinters, precision gripping, etc.

[scjbash]

Advantix II works great. We also treat the yard with Spectracide or Sevin granules. They seem to work equally well.

[shane45]

Excellent success with Bravecto.

[Shellback]

We use the Seresto collars on our dog and cat and have had really good luck with them in central NY.

The cat is 90% outdoor and roams all over the place and surprisingly never brings ticks home. He does get zapped by the occasional skunk!

[Lex Luthier]

Here in southeast MN, plenty of ticks. We had them in Santa Cruz redwoods, too. Bravecto oral chews have worked really well for our guy his whole adult life.
Like Blues, I've caught ticks but never had to remove one from him. Nor have I ever found them in bedding.

[NEPAKevin]

Northeast PA. Couple years ago, our vet recommended switching from Advantix to the Serestro collar. At first he got a couple of ticks and the vet said the collar was not making proper contact with the skin so I started furminating more in the collar area and that seems to have done the trick. Also, keeping the grass cut short and keeping him out away from thorn bushes, seems to help. To keep all kinds of bugs out of the house, I put a ring of Ortho Bug-b-gone around the house a few times a year and if ticks are bad, Permethrin on main entrance. Worst case, I keep a tick key on hand to remove any interlopers. Agree that having light colored fur makes spotting the mini vampires easier.

[JohnO]

I tried a few all natural methods both internal and external with zero success. For over 2 years now both my dogs get a once monthly application of Frontline Gold.
Since using FG no ticks at all. Prior to FG my son picked 30 ticks of the two dogs from one outing in the woods.

The breeders my dogs came from strongly recommended staying away from the "commercial neuro-toxins" used against fleas & ticks. I mentioned this to my veterinarian who I respect and he shook his head and said, "neuro-toxin for exoskeleton insects, completely safe for dogs". Based on the results I'm sold on the Frontline Gold. I was told that of the Frontline products Gold is the most effective as it is a triple formula. Frontline Plus is a dual formula and plain Frontline is a single formula. My vet said the reason Gold is the best is because the insects have built up a tolerance to the single and dual formulations.