Guest LittleMissOdie Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Hi all, tick season will be fast approaching soon and I'm nervous about using a fortnightly tick treatment on my frenchie who was diagnosed with a liver disease last year (micro shunting of the liver). She's currently more or less asymptomatic and is being managed through diet + meds. I try to keep any exposure to chemicals to an absolute minimum. I used Advantix on her before diagnosis last year and since then have used it sparingly (only when it's required, like at a boarding kennel). She does not seem to have an adverse reaction from it but I've read that use of any tick treatment will contribute to the deterioration of her liver function over time and could trigger symptoms of her disease including seizures and neurological symptoms. Obviously this is scary, but I also live in a high density tick area so I'm also worried about ticks. I was wondering what my options are in regards to tick treatment over the summer. Should I stick with Advantix or a spray/collar etc? Which would have the least affect on her liver? She is an indoor dog and is never outside without supervision. I don't know if I can afford to forgo any tick treatment seeing as the ticks around here are so bad during the warmer months, however at the same time I don't want to expose her to anything that could potentially make her sick. Any and all advice is appreciated, thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 I would discuss this with your vet but something like Permoxin (in a rinse or spray) which is not absorbed into the skin, might be the go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiecuddles Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 (edited) That's hard. I'm not up with which would be best for their liver function but one option other than Advantix(or frontline) would be to make up permoxin as a spray and mist her with it before you go walking. My dog reacts badly to Advantix so we have used frontline spray on her but I'm considering trying the permoxin this summer. Haha, snap! :) Edited July 22, 2013 by kelpiecuddles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LittleMissOdie Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 I would discuss this with your vet but something like Permoxin (in a rinse or spray) which is not absorbed into the skin, might be the go. Thanks HW, I've looked into the Permoxin spray and that does seem like the way to go. Might do a patch test and see how she goes. My vet did mention at the time of diagnosis that Advantix should be OK if she is still asymptomatic but honestly if there's a safer method I'd much rather go that route. I'll mention it again next time I see him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LittleMissOdie Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 That's hard. I'm not up with which would be best for their liver function but one option other than Advantix(or frontline) would be to make up permoxin as a spray and mist her with it before you go walking. My dog reacts badly to Advantix so we have used frontline spray on her but I'm considering trying the permoxin this summer. Haha, snap! :) Thanks kelpiecuddles, the Permoxin spray seems like a good idea. Out of curiosity what happens when the dog licks him/herself after you've sprayed them down? Is this a concern? I only ask because my frenchie has a habit of licking herself at night which would be my only concern with the spray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gertrude139 Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Be aware Permoxin is highly toxic to cats, hopefully you don't have a cat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 (edited) I would look at Comfortis, which is based on a toxin produced by bacteria that seems to be highly selective for insects and arachnids and non-toxic to mammals. Also, consult your vet to figure out what active ingredients to watch out for. See http://pets.webmd.co...tments-for-pets extract . . . The NRDC offers these suggestions in its Green Paws Pocket Guide: Avoid all organophosphates, including amitraz, fenoxycarb, permethrin, propoxur, tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP) Use other topical products sparingly, particularly on pets that are around pregnant women or small children. These include fipronil (Frontline), imidacloprid (Advantage), metaflumizone (ProMeris), pyrethroids (pyrethroids are found in many insect control products; they are toxic to cats and should be used on dogs only), selamectin (Revolution) Consider orally administered products, as exposure to other pets and children is minimal. These include lufenuron (Program), nitenpyram (CAPSTAR), spinosad (Comfortis, for dogs only) Edited July 28, 2013 by sandgrubber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 That's hard. I'm not up with which would be best for their liver function but one option other than Advantix(or frontline) would be to make up permoxin as a spray and mist her with it before you go walking. My dog reacts badly to Advantix so we have used frontline spray on her but I'm considering trying the permoxin this summer. Haha, snap! :) Same main ingredient in Advantix and Permoxin so I'd be careful with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 No chemical tick or flea treatments are recommended. A natural spray is suggested. The spray recommended is TripleSure spray. Can't find that available in Australia but it might be ok to ship to Australia. I found this one which is similar - http://www.healthypetsnaturally.com.au/pet_accessories/dr-bens-paws-claws This is one of the sucky things about the condition deciding what is going to cause the least harm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sezy Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Greenpet.com.au have a herbal mix but it doesn't list the ingredients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 I found these gadgets worked well, but they don't take the place of daily searching & I only used them as a back up to chemicals. They are supposed to be waterproof, but I stopped using them as my dogs swim everyday & I got lazy with taking it on & remembering to put it back on. They say the battery is not replaceable but I had no trouble replacing the battery. Ultrasonic tick repellant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 It takes 7 dyas for comfortis to be cleared by the liver so check with your vet first. Maybe when you're administering a drug it may be useful to use milk thistle and/or Denosyl to boost the liver during that time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LittleMissOdie Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 No chemical tick or flea treatments are recommended. A natural spray is suggested. The spray recommended is TripleSure spray. Can't find that available in Australia but it might be ok to ship to Australia. I found this one which is similar - http://www.healthypetsnaturally.com.au/pet_accessories/dr-bens-paws-claws This is one of the sucky things about the condition deciding what is going to cause the least harm. Thanks JulesP. It definitely is sucky - I am constantly worrying about everything from diet to household products. Unfortunately I am in a tick infested area (coastal NSW) so some form of tick prevention is a must I will try to research more holistic methods. I'll see if that spray can be shipped into the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LittleMissOdie Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 I found these gadgets worked well, but they don't take the place of daily searching & I only used them as a back up to chemicals. They are supposed to be waterproof, but I stopped using them as my dogs swim everyday & I got lazy with taking it on & remembering to put it back on. They say the battery is not replaceable but I had no trouble replacing the battery. Ultrasonic tick repellant Thank you, I'll read more about it, maybe something like this coupled with a holistic spray might be beneficial. We had quite a warm day here in NSW so back to tick checks x2 a day. Luckily she's a short-haired breed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LittleMissOdie Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 It takes 7 dyas for comfortis to be cleared by the liver so check with your vet first. Maybe when you're administering a drug it may be useful to use milk thistle and/or Denosyl to boost the liver during that time? Thank you. I'll discuss all these options with my vet next time I see him. I think advantix is definitely the worst for her out of all the products though so any alternative to that might be better. She takes milk thistle + denosyl + actilax every day :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 It takes 7 dyas for comfortis to be cleared by the liver so check with your vet first. Maybe when you're administering a drug it may be useful to use milk thistle and/or Denosyl to boost the liver during that time? Thank you. I'll discuss all these options with my vet next time I see him. I think advantix is definitely the worst for her out of all the products though so any alternative to that might be better. She takes milk thistle + denosyl + actilax every day :) Ask your vet if they can get a sample tab from the rep. That shouldn't be a difficult thing to get and then at least you haven't bought a whole box only to find they make her vomit or whatever. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowenhart Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 I would suggest you just do twice daily checks of the dog, which you still have to do even if on chemical tick repellents. Dogs still can, and do, end up with tick paralysis while wearing tick collars or having spot on treatments. Get good at checking the dog, especially feet, ears and lips for ticks. Turn it into a pleasurable ritual for the dog. I live in a paralysis tick area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliwake Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I thought comfortis was only for fleas? Has anyone had any success using it for tick prevention? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 (edited) Double post....oops! Edited July 31, 2013 by sandgrubber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 (edited) 1375145270[/url]' post='6265751']I thought comfortis was only for fleas? Has anyone had any success using it for tick prevention? Yes. See http://www.havaneseforum.com/archive/index.php?t-12210.html Not sure if it has gone through drug trials for ticks, but people using it seem to find it eliminates ticks. There has been some scientific testing and the active ingredient in Comfortis has proven effective against some ticks. Here's an abstract from the journal Veterinary Parasitology. "Comparative efficacy of spinosad with conventional acaricides against hard and soft tick populations from Antalya, Turkey"http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/19446398 They concluded Our results showed that spinosad would be a useful addition in a tick control program as an alternative for pyrethroids and organic phosphorus acaricides against both tick species. Edited July 31, 2013 by sandgrubber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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