Managing Ticks on Dogs

I swear by Revolution.

Ivermectin is the only thing we've found to be 100% effective. Dips, drops, and shampoos help, but to truly kill the cycle we've found ivermectin to be the answer. I understand people's hesitation to use it but when the dogs are getting eaten alive by ticks we can't stand to see them suffer.
Check with your vet. My understanding is DO NOT give it to Collies and make sure the dogs are heartworm negative before administering.

Ask your vet!
He/She is the best qualified to recommend a course of action for your animal's particular condition and situation, given their history.
You may need to spray your property if they are climbing the walls, literally.
Good luck!

I gave my puppy a tick bath last week and then gave her convertex and I was good for a couple days and now I'm back to finding 40 ticks a day. I almost died from Lymes Disease, this is a nightmare. We're going back to the vet tomorrow.

Ivermectin is the only solution, and it is a total solution of you use it properly, SO LONG AS your pet can tolerate it. As was mentioned above, there are some breeds which are harmed by it. See your vet.

Not all vets will prescribe it. There are risks. But the good vets realize the much greater health risk to pets and people comes from the parasites. If your vet won't prescribe it then find another vet.

This from about a year ago
https://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?4,123213,page=1

my stateside vet (who grew up in Puerto Rico) suggested the Preventic collar. I haven't tried it as ours have not had any tick issues here, but had checked it out after he suggested it and found reviews both positive and negative. Might be worth a try.

Ivermectin is the only solution, and it is a total solution of you use it properly, SO LONG AS your pet can tolerate it. As was mentioned above, there are some breeds which are harmed by it. See your vet.

Not all vets will prescribe it. There are risks. But the good vets realize the much greater health risk to pets and people comes from the parasites. If your vet won't prescribe it then find another vet.

Tick baths can be dangerous if given too often. Use of other chemicals can harm your pets. Go to the vet or call and ask their recommendation and do not leave your pets health and fate to us, no matter how well meaning we may be with our suggestions.
If all vets wont prescribe Ivervmectin there must be a good reason.

All meds/remedies that are used to treat worms, fleas. ticks, heartworms are toxic and depending on your animal's health can be extremely harmful to them and have serious side effects that can damage their liver, kidneys, etc..
Your vet should be the only one you take advice from with regard to your animals well-being.

I wish they'd make some kind of tick med for people.

Is ticks a big problem there on the islands?

My husband and I are moving to the STT in Nov/ Dec and we are trying to read up on everything and prepare for everything before we go.
I just never knew about how serious the problem with ticks are over there.

Is it in certain areas only or the whole island?

We have two dogs, a german shepherd and australian cattle dog and they like to be outside ...

We moved here from another Caribbean island where we had 3 dogs and zero ticks or fleas. A few weeks following moving here, our dogs were covered with ticks. The dogs were miserble and scratching until they bled. There were ticks everywhere in the house which was disgusting, unhealthy and unsanitary.

We tried a few of the over the counter treatments to alleviate the ticks with absolutely NO success even to the point of every other day mediated baths for the 3 dogs.....no fun. .

We had taken our dogs to Island Veterinary Clinic for checkups and dentals when we arrived and took them all back after the tick infestation. Dr. Hess prescribe the Ivermectin, which also is a heartworm preventitive. It worked fabulously.

We have not had a tick or seen a tick in 3 years since starting the dogs on the monthly dose of Ivermectin.

Don't even hesitate to go this route. We had seen no effects of this whatsoever on our dogs and they are happy and healthy again and the house is free of those nasty critters!

Ivermectin can have a fatal result with several herding breeds. Our Australian Shepherd's mother nearly died from 1 dose.

I actually use it on my cats and the other dog with great results. The Aussie gets Revolution with a cousin to Ivermectin in it but she seems to tolerate it well. The other option is spraying your yard, which we do regularly, and making sure you go up the trunk of trees several feet. That kills most of them before they get you or your fur people.

If you use it on cats please please talk to your vet first. It is administered in the ears and if the cat is too small, is mixed first with sterile mineral oil.

Thanks to all for the great feedback. We've lived here for many years and this has been the worst tick season we've ever experienced. With four dogs, its virtually impossible to manage the daily infestation.

I'm off to see Dr. Hess at Island Aminal Clinic on Friday.

Something else our vet recommended was alternating Revolution and Frontline, every two weeks. Since they are different chemicals, he considered it safe for our large dogs. Also, cutting back any long grass or brush they go through outside can help. I hate pesticides, but you can also spray the yard area. Being sure to keep the ticks from taking hold inside is important, too.

It can be a big problem, especially in summer. Some years seem to be worse than others. What's reallly scary is that tick fever is here, and it only takes one bite from the wrong tick for your dog to get it. I hate giving the strong stuff to our dogs, but the suffering from ticks is a worse alternative. Consider getting them on a good, regular tick prevention program as soon as (or maybe one month before) you arrive.

We are currently using PetArmor for fles/ticks/lice with our dogs...

Have you heard/known anything about this product and whether or not it's useful to kill ticks there??

Josie

Sorry, I'm not familiar with PetArmor. You'll be having a vet visit anyway, to get the dogs their good health certificates for travel -- maybe you could ask for an opinion on what might be best tick prevention method(s) for your particular dogs.

I took all four of my dogs to Island Animal Clinic on Friday/Saturday, got thier annual checks ups and shots and my Ivermectin prescription.

After only a few days of daily giving Ivermectin orally, I've already noticed a decrease in ticks. After a full week or so, the doctor suggested I should not see any.

None of my dogs have had any unusual side effects from the Ivermectin liquid and had no problem taking it so I'm very pleased so far. Additionally, the Ivermectin replaces the Iverheart Max they were taking, which was difficult to administer as my dogs didnt like eating the chews. The Ivermectin liquid is considerably cheaper than the Iverheart type products too and this helps when you have multuple dogs.

Thanks to all posters for your advise and guidance on this topic.

We moved here from another Caribbean island where we had 3 dogs and zero ticks or fleas. A few weeks following moving here, our dogs were covered with ticks. The dogs were miserble and scratching until they bled. There were ticks everywhere in the house which was disgusting, unhealthy and unsanitary.

We tried a few of the over the counter treatments to alleviate the ticks with absolutely NO success even to the point of every other day mediated baths for the 3 dogs.....no fun. .

We had taken our dogs to Island Veterinary Clinic for checkups and dentals when we arrived and took them all back after the tick infestation. Dr. Hess prescribe the Ivermectin, which also is a heartworm preventitive. It worked fabulously.

We have not had a tick or seen a tick in 3 years since starting the dogs on the monthly dose of Ivermectin.

Don't even hesitate to go this route. We had seen no effects of this whatsoever on our dogs and they are happy and healthy again and the house is free of those nasty critters!

gonetropo, just out of curiosity, which island did you not experience any fleas on?

I also use Ivermectin on our two Aussies, a breed generally associated with having difficulties with that drug, but I have mine tested for the MDR1 gene before I use it on them. I get the test kit from Washington State University ( http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts-vcpl/test.aspx). Not sure if you can get it anywhere else or not, I've always used them. I've also read that the dosage used in a product such as Frontline is not enough to cause any problems, but I don't take any chances with mine.

In the US, Washington State is the only facility. It kind of bothers me that it is $70 for the DNA test for the gene but UC Davis where cat testing is done is only $40 for basicaly the same test and the overhead in CA is triple that of WA. I had to test all my show cats for the PKD gene before I was willing to breed them.

Having a captive consumer group must be great.

We moved here from another Caribbean island where we had 3 dogs and zero ticks or fleas. A few weeks following moving here, our dogs were covered with ticks. The dogs were miserble and scratching until they bled. There were ticks everywhere in the house which was disgusting, unhealthy and unsanitary.

We tried a few of the over the counter treatments to alleviate the ticks with absolutely NO success even to the point of every other day mediated baths for the 3 dogs.....no fun. .

We had taken our dogs to Island Veterinary Clinic for checkups and dentals when we arrived and took them all back after the tick infestation. Dr. Hess prescribe the Ivermectin, which also is a heartworm preventitive. It worked fabulously.

We have not had a tick or seen a tick in 3 years since starting the dogs on the monthly dose of Ivermectin.

Don't even hesitate to go this route. We had seen no effects of this whatsoever on our dogs and they are happy and healthy again and the house is free of those nasty critters!

gonetropo, just out of curiosity, which island did you not experience any fleas on?

I also use Ivermectin on our two Aussies, a breed generally associated with having difficulties with that drug, but I have mine tested for the MDR1 gene before I use it on them. I get the test kit from Washington State University ( http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts-vcpl/test.aspx). Not sure if you can get it anywhere else or not, I've always used them. I've also read that the dosage used in a product such as Frontline is not enough to cause any problems, but I don't take any chances with mine.

I have mini Aussies also - thanks for the information re: th test kit. Do you mind telling me how to use it (dumb question) is it blood test or saliva test? (or something else) I have been using Interceptor for heartworm but the plant has stopped production indefinitely and I know of no other heartworm product that does not contain Ivermectin.

Thanks

Pia

I think it depends on location as to where you find ticks and fleas. I have been to people's homes where ticks are, literally, climbing the walls,
The 2 areas that I have lived in here in STT have been suprisingly pest free. My dogs never have fleas and it is extremely rare to find a tick on any of them. I house-sat for someone on the east end many years ago when I had an project ongoing at my home and my poor Golden Retriever became infested with ticks, Off to the vet for a dip. I couldn't wait to get back home. From that single episode, she contracted tick fever/ehrlichiosis which was reoccuring throughout the rest of her life. Bad things those ticks.
I have always used Heartguard for Heartwom prevention for my all the pups that I have ever had and it does contain Invermectin but luckily, none ever had adverse reactions. They just gobble it right out of my hand,

The small amount of Ivermectin in preparations like Heartguard is not enough to deter ticks from attaching.

To prevent tick infestations, you really need to use the oral Ivermectin which is a much higher dose.

Beyond that, one must be very vigilent in vacumming and cleaning the house becasue although the ticks may not want to adhere to your pet, they will still "ride" into the house and drop off on your furniture or pet bedding.

just read of a new topical called Certifect. Apparently the new replacement for frontline plus...expensive, says it works on ticks. We've not had any tick issues with our dogs, but it seems to depend somewhat on their environment/neighborhood...