Capstar And Epileptic Dogs

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Checked the packaging and it doesnt say....perhaps look on the exelpet website?

Yes, I looked on the website at the product information statement which comes with the packaging when you buy Capstar...it doesn't say anything about safety in dogs with epilepsy.

I've always used a combination of flea powder (from Woolworths/Coles) and the purple Mortein flea and egg spray killer and hand picking fleas ever day off my dogs.....hot water in a bowl with some eucalyptus disinfectant in it...lie dog between your legs, roll them onto their backs and pick fleas out either by fingers or with a flea comb, drop into water and watch them die instantly!!!! I've always done this because I was paranoid about bombs (being concentrated chemical) - in a month I cleared a unit that was flea infested in Melbourne......I've also sprayed parts of the yard with the same Mortein spray...no fleas anywhere......

I use the flea comb and hot water combo...I also used to put eucalyptus oil in the water but found that's not needed as the hot water kills the fleas on contact. I've not been able to find flea powder anywhere here. Will have to have another look for the mortein spray you mention as I can't recall seeing it here.

LM - I give Monte Capstar and have never had any issues. My Vets have never told me to be careful with either it. It seems to be a relatively harmless drug I beleive.

AmandaJ - an epilpesy diagnoses is determined when all other seizure related disorders are ruled out. I don't know a lot about toxoplasma gondii but I believe that infection in dogs in Australia is not overly common.

Thanks Anne, that's what I was looking for so I'll get some when the shops open (hopefully tomorrow as they don't trade on public holidays and nothing was open today either). AmandaJ every other cause of seizures was ruled out so the conclusion reached by my vet at the time, after lots of detective work, was epilepsy. I have taken Molly off her phenobarb on vet's advice and she seemed to do well for about five months. She then suffered a really bad cluster when we were in Tenant Creek NT (nearest vet in Alice Springs five hours to the south) and I almost lost her. My last vet (in Brisbane) did a full series bloodwork in November and she's doing really well. Levels of pheno are within clinicial efficacy and everything else was within normal - no sign of any damage to liver etc, so I'm happy with that.

Don't use a flea collar on a greyhound.

GM - they're sensitive to one of the chemicals aren't they? Thanks for reminding me. Is it safe to use on Ruby instead, given they share beds and other space?

Danois, under normal circumstances I would have consulted my vet. But given that I've just moved here, have no vet here as yet, and no funds to pay for a consult even if a vet were open, it's not possible. I'm living in a country town where vets open at 8 or 9am and close at 5pm Monday to Friday. They don't open after hours, on public holidays, or on weekends (except a couple of hours on Saturday mornings I think). I could call and ask but given that I'm not a client and they don't know my dogs, any definite advice would be hard to come by I would think.

I'll keep doing what I'm doing...and get some Capstar and hope I can get the better of this without spending a lot of money. But the neighbour's cats roam freely and they're probably responsible for spreading these fleas in the first place. The neighbours also don't seem to like mowing their place...and I know it's been wet but I managed to mow my front yard yesterday...GAH!

Edited January 1, 2011 by lillysmum

[Greytmate]

GM - they're sensitive to one of the chemicals aren't they? Thanks for reminding me. Is it safe to use on Ruby instead, given they share beds and other space?

I am not sure which chemical it is, because not many people use flea collars these days, so I haven't looked into it. But I have heard the warning a lot.

I would use the collar in a place rather than on one of the dogs. In the vacuum cleaner or on carpet under furniture.

Confidor has the same active ingredient as Advantage, but at a different concentration. It is a garden product, and you might find it useful in your garden.

Advantage is a good product, because it will act as a 'flea mop' to clean up the environment the dog is in.

[becks]

cheap solutions

vacuum carpets, all corners in the room, the furniture and take the cushions off.

buy a household flea spray (they are about £15 in the UK and last for 12 months - use this in each room, you can have the windows open as you use it as you are spraying into the corners and under the furniture, so there is no need to leave the house for hours.

vacuum again, wash all the dogs bedding

keep in mind the life cycle of the flea, this is a battle that isn't going to be won in a day, it can take a few weeks and you should see a knockdown in the numbers as you go. Treating the house stops the fleas from breeding the next generation, you will then need the current generation to jump on the dog to get a dose from the frontline. best not to keep bathing the dogs or using lots of different cheapy treatments.

[becks]

forgot to mention, some people swear by using diatomaceous earth (food grade) in the carpets/furnishings and on the pets.

[Fordogs]

A cheap option for your yard would be a powder (That I just cannot think of it's name at the moment) ah, yes I remember it's called *COOPEX* bird people use in their aviaries to kill bird lice. They sell it in country produce stores and some vets it only costs about $12 - $15 a packet you might need 2 or 3 packet depending on the size of the yard --- add it to water and spray your yard for fleas, works well and for the fleas on the dogs use *Permoxin* comes in a 250ml bottle that you make up with water and spray the dog daily if reinfected. Permoxin is use daily on dogs with flea allergy dermatitis.

Good luck I believe these 2 products would be your cheapest way to go.

[BMAK]

I'm a huge convert to Comfortis!

Ring your vet and ask if it's okay.

yes definately don't use comfortis, if you know the fleas are coming from outside, investigate where about you think they would be breeding eg dirt, under the house, sand warm dark damp areas mostly etc see if you can block off those's areas in the mean time until money comes to avoid your dogs getting millions of fleas the better off you and your dogs are.

it is pretty hard to eliminate all fleas in a yard, but you can limit them eventually concreting areas and usings sprays etc if they have bedding out side spray flea troll or something similar on the bedding and the dogs body and kennels.

using a capstar tablet if suitable, every second day if it allows you and is completely save to do so.

that way when your dogs come inside they are clean from adult fleas and they cannot breed and lay eggs on your dogs. and that way you won't have fleas breeding in your home.

or find a product that kills fleas and their cycle so your dogs are flea free and not transporting them inside or from outside.

good luck

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

My dogs are basically indoor dogs. There is no bedding outside. The neighbours have multiple outside cats and they also rarely seem to mow their yard. I am guessing from this that the fleas are coming from the neighbour's place as I've seen their cats in my yard.

I mow as often as weather permits and have just taken care of the yard yesterday and today. I inherited a LOT of weeds as well which I am trying to get on top of, which is not easy and as I'm renting, the landlady doesn't want to spend any money. It's her first investment property and while she's nice enough, from what she's said, she's a tight-arse without a clue and her PM should be providing her with more appropriate information. Flea spraying is the landlord's responsibility but she has refused...and *kindly* given me "permission" to do so at my own expense.

It's summer in a sub-tropical climate and we've had lots of rain and localised flooding. Therefore fleas are going to be difficult for me to eradicate if my neighbours don't start looking after their animals and their yard. I haven't actually met them...but they're a bit feral if their behaviour is anything to indicate their character. It's a country town so I don't want to step on anyone's toes, given that I'm new in the place and am desperately job-hunting.

I'm still using the frontline but Lilly has had a worrying episode recently that has repeated today (when I applied frontline again). Her back end seems to spasm and she hunches with hind legs trembling...as a precaution I'll stop the frontline from now on and seek vet advice when I can afford a visit. In the meantime I'll be monitoring her closely and of course if she were to worsen, I'd see a vet and use my credit card to pay the bill. It wasn't until she had this episode today that I connected the dots to the previous frontline dose...so there seems to be a correlation between applying the frontline and the hind leg weakness/tremors. She also seemed to turn towards her rear end and 'hop' a few times...it was quite disturbing but only lasted a few seconds. She will be 11 yrs old on 10th of this month so no spring chicken. But she's always been a goofball and quite silly - one of her nicknames is Sillychops!

Of course none of the shops were open today...and as tomorrow is a public holiday, they won't be open then either. The joys of living in the country! :D

[~Anne~]

What is the difference between Comfortis and Sentinel? I have been using Sentinel (and Capstar with rescues and with mine when needed) for some time and it has worked well. Is Comfortis better and in what way?

I am soon to be moving to a coastal area and need to look at tick prevention. Any recommendations? We have never had a flea issue here even with rescues coming in. My dogs have only had fleas once and that was a few years back.

[Rappie]

What is the difference between Comfortis and Sentinel? I have been using Sentinel (and Capstar with rescues and with mine when needed) for some time and it has worked well. Is Comfortis better and in what way?

I am soon to be moving to a coastal area and need to look at tick prevention. Any recommendations? We have never had a flea issue here even with rescues coming in. My dogs have only had fleas once and that was a few years back.

Sentinel contains lufenuron which is an insect growth regulator, it has no killing action against fleas.

Comfortis is spinosad, which is an adulticide - kind of like month long capstar.

Neither have any action against ticks.

For ticks you're mainly looking at fortnightly application of Frontline or Advantix although there are other options like Permoxin spray, tick collars and Proban tablets. I would suggest calling a local vet in the area you're moving too and seeing what they recommend.

[BMAK]

The tick collars do work but since they have many harsh chemicals i wouldn't be letter your dog sleep with you as it has a long term effect on humans apparently.

The liquid flea treatments affects the nervous system of the dog most products along that line maybe thats why she shakes?

As soon as my dog's see me with the tube and i click it they bolt.

[~Anne~]

Thanks Rappie. I appreciate the advice. I've never had to deal with tick prevention before so this will be a bit of a learning experience for me.

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

I seem to be getting somewhere...I hope. *crosses fingers and toes*

Have applied frontline again on Monday. Capstar yesterday for all the dogs. Found a few dead fleas on them all yesterday...and some flea dirt but no living fleas.

Today's flea comb revealed a few listless fleas so I think the combination is working. Plus I washed bedding again and hung it on the line to dry in the hot, hot sun. I sprayed the carpets and skirtings with surface spray (label says it works on fleas) today after vacuuming and mopping the hard floors.

I'll put half of the flea collar into their bed with the zippered cover...and the other half under the furniture.

Phew. I've never had an infestation this bad before. I just hope we're over the worst of it now.

[White Shepherd mom]

hi lm, I only just saw this thread. I stopped using Frontline about 7 years ago as I found it did nothing to get rid of fleas and Casper developed bad allergies to flea bites. I changed to Advantix and all problems solved. Casper has been an epi for 6 years now and I have not seen any evidence of Advantix causing seizures.

On a different note, I thought I'd take the opportunity to mention that my boy has been seizure free for a year and 6 days now...woohoo!

[puglvr]

I have used Frontline for years now and have never had a problem with fleas and I have 12 dogs. It was a matter of breaking that flea cycle when we first moved here. Now I only really need to flea my dogs maybe once a year around the start of the hot weather. A friend of my mum used to breed Goldens, lived on a farm and she always fed her dogs garlic and swore by it for fleas.