Stormy Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 Nemo, our Cresty, seems to be a tick magnet. He's had six so far in the last couple of weeks. All have been on his face (especially around his eyes), so I was wondering if we should shave off what little hair he has, would that make it harder for the ticks to latch onto him when he's outside? Everything I've read online recommends to not put chemicals on their skin (fluid & collars) so is there something else we can use (ie a natural product) safely? We're going to cut all low lying branches and clear out as many shrubs / ferns as possible this weekend but as we're on a bush block it's going to be impossible to clear everything. Any advice would be greatly appreciated :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 Just curious...but is the reason you can't use a spot on treatment, because the dog has no hair follicles for it to adhere to I have a friend with cresties, & I will ask her tonight what she uses on hers :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted September 20, 2013 Author Share Posted September 20, 2013 Just curious...but is the reason you can't use a spot on treatment, because the dog has no hair follicles for it to adhere to I have a friend with cresties, & I will ask her tonight what she uses on hers :) Sheena from what I understand it's more that it would cause a skin reaction. I'd be more than happy to just massage it all over otherwise Strangely though our two whippets, who've had the same exposure outside, haven't had any ticks so far and our Iggy has only had one tiny one. So I'm not sure if their ultra short / fine coats help prevent the ticks from latching on to them I'd love to hear what your friend uses, thanks :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazyWal Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 My greyhounds both get itchy from Advantix spot on that I had previously used on my RidgebackX with excellent results. I have been told by many greyhound people not to use tick collars but my vet has just stocked this new one Scalibor which he said was safe to use on them so I'm going to try them. The best thing is they are odourless because the others stink at first. http://www.scalibor-usa.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCresties Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 I don't use anything on Louis as he has IMHA at the moment, and we are in a low risk area, but have used Frontline a couple of times in the past. Having looked on the USA based Crestie forum, many people seem to use the spot-on treatment, but just put it a bit higher up in their crest. Maybe pm YellowGirl as she has a lot of Crestie experience :) Nemo is a cutie-pie :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 Just curious...but is the reason you can't use a spot on treatment, because the dog has no hair follicles for it to adhere to I have a friend with cresties, & I will ask her tonight what she uses on hers :) The spot ons work their way into the lymph system and spread through the skin, so lack of hair follicles shouldn't matter it would be more the sensitivity of the Crestie's skin that would be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted September 20, 2013 Author Share Posted September 20, 2013 My greyhounds both get itchy from Advantix spot on that I had previously used on my RidgebackX with excellent results. I have been told by many greyhound people not to use tick collars but my vet has just stocked this new one Scalibor which he said was safe to use on them so I'm going to try them. The best thing is they are odourless because the others stink at first. http://www.scalibor-usa.com/ I can't remember the brand we used once on the whippets (when they went into boarding) but Storm now has a permanent patch of wavy fur where we put it on, it's really weird. I'm a bit worried leaving collars on the dogs (they don't wear theirs at home) after reading threads about dogs getting choked. Dante is really big on pouncing on Nemo's neck when they play fight which also makes me worry about the chemicals that he too might ingest from either a collar or liquid. I know I'm probably being a bit paranoid - I'm worried about the effects of using a treatment and the effect of not, just trying to find a happy medium I don't use anything on Louis as he has IMHA at the moment, and we are in a low risk area, but have used Frontline a couple of times in the past. Having looked on the USA based Crestie forum, many people seem to use the spot-on treatment, but just put it a bit higher up in their crest. Maybe pm YellowGirl as she has a lot of Crestie experience :) Nemo is a cutie-pie :D Thanks CC, that's promising to hear re Frontline / Spot On. I did kind of wonder just where you put it as I figured it would just run down his shoulders / back, with nothing to halt its progress :laugh: Unfortunately we are in a high tick area I'll shoot a PM to Yellowgirl, thanks :) Nemo and cute, hmmmmm. He has the head of a sucked mango as he never got the traditional flowing mane of a Crestie. He's been known to stop traffic in the street when we walked him (people have thought that he was diseased or a hyena) :laugh: but then again they also think our Iggy is a by product of our two whippets whom they think are greyhounds *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted September 20, 2013 Author Share Posted September 20, 2013 Just curious...but is the reason you can't use a spot on treatment, because the dog has no hair follicles for it to adhere to I have a friend with cresties, & I will ask her tonight what she uses on hers :) The spot ons work their way into the lymph system and spread through the skin, so lack of hair follicles shouldn't matter it would be more the sensitivity of the Crestie's skin that would be a problem. Yep, that's was what I'm worried about too. Mind you he's like a lizard and is worse than Donatella Versace with his attempt to get a tan :laugh: so gives the impression of a tough hide but I've been worried about the chemical reaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCresties Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 I did kind of wonder just where you put it as I figured it would just run down his shoulders / back, with nothing to halt its progress Sorry should have said, yes it does run a bit so just do it a tiny bit at a time and have some cotton wool handy to smear it in the right direction :) Nemo and cute, hmmmmm. He has the head of a sucked mango as he never got the traditional flowing mane of a Crestie. He's been known to stop traffic in the street when we walked him (people have thought that he was diseased or a hyena) :laugh: but then again they also think our Iggy is a by product of our two whippets whom they think are greyhounds *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowstarin Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 Just curious...but is the reason you can't use a spot on treatment, because the dog has no hair follicles for it to adhere to I have a friend with cresties, & I will ask her tonight what she uses on hers :) The spot ons work their way into the lymph system and spread through the skin, so lack of hair follicles shouldn't matter it would be more the sensitivity of the Crestie's skin that would be a problem. Spot on treatments do NOT go into the lymph systems. They disseminate and go to the lipid layer of skin. Re a Cresty being hairless, the actives would go to the lipid layer. however May I suggest a call to the customer information line on 1800678368 to get correct technical support from the vets re this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 Just curious...but is the reason you can't use a spot on treatment, because the dog has no hair follicles for it to adhere to I have a friend with cresties, & I will ask her tonight what she uses on hers :) The spot ons work their way into the lymph system and spread through the skin, so lack of hair follicles shouldn't matter it would be more the sensitivity of the Crestie's skin that would be a problem. I always thought that too, till my vet told me that it spreads & adheres to the base of the hair follicles & that is why it does not work so well on places where there is little or no hair, like inside the ears, on the mouth, anus or armpits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiecuddles Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 It wouldn't work well on cresties as it has no hair to stick to I would imagine. Since he has hair around his face I would be inclined to double check it with the company and then just use a partial dose up high between his ears so that it goes through the hair around his face which is where he mostly gets ticks anyway, you'd still need to check him though. If it's OK to use on him you could mist the rest of him lightly with permoxin before you go walkies. Tick pick up the heat signature of animals walking past. Since his has no fur to trap body heat he would be letting off a higher heat signature than a regular dog which explains why he's a magnet for them :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowstarin Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 (edited) It wouldn't work well on cresties as it has no hair to stick to I would imagine. Since he has hair around his face I would be inclined to double check it with the company and then just use a partial dose up high between his ears so that it goes through the hair around his face which is where he mostly gets ticks anyway, you'd still need to check him though. If it's OK to use on him you could mist the rest of him lightly with permoxin before you go walkies. Tick pick up the heat signature of animals walking past. Since his has no fur to trap body heat he would be letting off a higher heat signature than a regular dog which explains why he's a magnet for them :) Lipid Layers not only produce hair follicles but also skin cell development. Most topical applications that disseminate to and from the lipid layer, also reside on the hair and dander and skin surrounds. However reiterating my original suggestion of contacting the customer service helpline and the vets can advise you correctly. An interesting question and I will be studying more for my own interests on this. Also for further environmental tick contol you could use Solfac Pro diluted and sprayed around your yard for 3 month residual effect for treatment of ticks. Have fun gardening and I hope you Cresty is safe in the interim. Edited September 20, 2013 by nowstarin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormy Posted September 20, 2013 Author Share Posted September 20, 2013 http://www.scalibor-usa.com/ Stans Mum - I'd be interested to hear how you go with this. If I can get over my aversion of collars I might use it on my other three as most other tick treatments need to be reapplied every two weeks, or so we were told. Sorry should have said, yes it does run a bit so just do it a tiny bit at a time and have some cotton wool handy to smear it in the right direction :) Good to know, thanks :) Spot on treatments do NOT go into the lymph systems. They disseminate and go to the lipid layer of skin. Re a Cresty being hairless, the actives would go to the lipid layer. however May I suggest a call to the customer information line on 1800678368 to get correct technical support from the vets re this. Will do, thanks :) It wouldn't work well on cresties as it has no hair to stick to I would imagine. Since he has hair around his face I would be inclined to double check it with the company and then just use a partial dose up high between his ears so that it goes through the hair around his face which is where he mostly gets ticks anyway, you'd still need to check him though. If it's OK to use on him you could mist the rest of him lightly with permoxin before you go walkies. Tick pick up the heat signature of animals walking past. Since his has no fur to trap body heat he would be letting off a higher heat signature than a regular dog which explains why he's a magnet for them :) Well that makes sense, thanks. Nemo is like a little furnace, we all want to be his best friend in the cooler months :D Lipid Layers not only produce hair follicles but also skin cell development. Most topical applications that disseminate to and from the lipid layer, also reside on the hair and dander and skin surrounds. However reiterating my original suggestion of contacting the customer service helpline and the vets can advise you correctly. An interesting question and I will be studying more for my own interests on this. Also for further environmental tick contol you could use Solfac Pro diluted and sprayed around your yard for 3 month residual effect for treatment of ticks. Have fun gardening and I hope you Cresty is safe in the interim. Thanks, I'll look into that too :) all for your replies, it's greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazyWal Posted September 20, 2013 Share Posted September 20, 2013 Stormy I don't like collars left on either and I did say this to my vet. These would break fairly easily if caught on something though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliwake Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 We've been using the scalibor collar since April and haven't seen a single tick on our pup... Our vet has seen several paralysis tick cases recently, so we're definitely in a tick area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 Sorry slightly off topic but I'm a bit confused with these Scalibor Tick collars. Went onto their web site & it says that they work when wet but when I went to purchase from VetnPet direct a couple the site said that you must remove them before swimming So are they still effective when wet or not does anyone know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliwake Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 I think they stay effective, but can be harmful to fish etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliwake Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 We usually just take it off for swimming then put it straight on again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiecuddles Posted September 21, 2013 Share Posted September 21, 2013 We sell the Scalibor ones at work and get really good feedback on them. They are fine to wear when swimming but it is recommended to remove them as they are harmful to aquatic life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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