What flea meds do you use for your dogs?

mommy2allyandaveri

DIS Veteran
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
I'm having such a hard time. My vet is recommending Nexguard but for a year for both of our dogs it is about $400!

There are less expensive options such as advantage and frontline plus (which we have used in the past) but she says they aren't really effective anymore.

I just don't know what to do. I want something that works but goodness, $400 per year! There are too many choices.

What do you use? And where do you buy it?
 
Seresto collars! You can buy them on Amazon or through your vet. Good for fleas and ticks. They last for about 8 months and I buy one for my dog every spring. I've found they work great. We also have them on our two barn cats who are outside full time. I use to see ticks on them often but rarely ever do now that they wear the collars.

I've also heard good things about Bravecto, which you give orally, though I'm not sure how often.
 
I have also heard good things about Bravecto, but that's even more expensive. It's a tablet that is given every 12 weeks, it is right around the same price as Nexguard
 


I see Amazon currently has Seresto collars for $34.99 for large dogs. I've never once had an issue with mine. Any ticks I have found on my dog have been dead (we live in the country, so LOTS of ticks and Lyme Disease out here). My dog also has sensitive skin/allergies and the collar has never bothered him.
 
I'm hesitant to use a collar because one of my dogs skin tends to break out even with just a regular collar on her. I only put it on when taking her for a walk because it irritates her so bad, so quickly.
 
We have tried the topical stuff (Frontline Plus and Advantix) and Nexgaurd and I didn't care for either. Frontline definitely made our littlest dog act funny becoming very very lethargic after applying and lasting for 24-48 hours after. Nexgaurd they were fine the first 2 applications but on the 3rd they both got really sick so IDK what to do with my two.
 


I use trifexis we don't have to worry about ticks because we live in a subdivision and they spray for that. It is not any cheaper though we spend $600 a year for our 3 dogs but it is also heartworm. Before we move here we did heartworm and k9 advantix separate which end up being a little cheaper but I don't think it worked as well.
 
Well now to make it even more complicated. Bravecto and Nexguard require an rx. One of my dogs hasn't been seen in forever because he just hasn't had a reason to go to the vet. I'm not just throwing $55 out the window for an office visit where they will tell me he's fine (I know this) so now I can't even get those meds unless I make him an appointment.

I'm so frustrated. It should not be this complicated!
 
Well now to make it even more complicated. Bravecto and Nexguard require an rx. One of my dogs hasn't been seen in forever because he just hasn't had a reason to go to the vet. I'm not just throwing $55 out the window for an office visit where they will tell me he's fine (I know this) so now I can't even get those meds unless I make him an appointment.

I'm so frustrated. It should not be this complicated!

How long has it been since your pup has seen a vet? Even healthy dogs usually go in once a year for check ups and booster shots.

If they currently have fleas and you need a quick easy solution capstar is one. Outside of that almost everything else except the over the counter stuff form a pet store needs an RX. Sometimes you can find the pills at a feed store if you live in a rural area.
 
Well now to make it even more complicated. Bravecto and Nexguard require an rx. One of my dogs hasn't been seen in forever because he just hasn't had a reason to go to the vet. I'm not just throwing $55 out the window for an office visit where they will tell me he's fine (I know this) so now I can't even get those meds unless I make him an appointment.

I'm so frustrated. It should not be this complicated!

Most of these are prescription and dogs should see the vet yearly. All heartworm medication needs prescription how were you getting it all this time ?
 
I take mine to VIP, which is using a vet and getting shots and the meds for that at a discount. Sometimes they have them on groupon. I give mine revolution, which covers heartworm and fleas. The vip also does fecal testing, blood work for the stuff. And you get discounts for more than 1 animal. It is a clinic that send you the results by email, you can call them as well. Look on the website and check it out. The clinics are open at certain times which is about 2 hours and we get there to be first in line and get out quick. I love it , that way the vet is for other things that are needed.
 
I take mine to VIP, which is using a vet and getting shots and the meds for that at a discount. Sometimes they have them on groupon. I give mine revolution, which covers heartworm and fleas. The vip also does fecal testing, blood work for the stuff. And you get discounts for more than 1 animal. It is a clinic that send you the results by email, you can call them as well. Look on the website and check it out. The clinics are open at certain times which is about 2 hours and we get there to be first in line and get out quick. I love it , that way the vet is for other things that are needed.


VIP is also what we use for all vaccines and heartworm. If there is a problem we go to the vet. VIP ended up pricing matching nexguard at a cheaper rate so that was nice. My total was almost 400 for 6 months of flea and 12 months heart worm. yikes!
 
My dog uses Bravecto. More expensive, yes, but it's well worth it. She was on a topical and became infested with fleas... and so did our apartment. The Bravecto kills almost everything if they even look at the dog. They have coupons through the vet, too.
 
VIP is also what we use for all vaccines and heartworm. If there is a problem we go to the vet. VIP ended up pricing matching nexguard at a cheaper rate so that was nice. My total was almost 400 for 6 months of flea and 12 months heart worm. yikes!

I paid a little over 300 for 2 dogs and the meds with the blood and fecal testing.
 
I use trifexis we don't have to worry about ticks because we live in a subdivision and they spray for that. It is not any cheaper though we spend $600 a year for our 3 dogs but it is also heartworm. Before we move here we did heartworm and k9 advantix separate which end up being a little cheaper but I don't think it worked as well.

We use trifexis too. We use a Preventic collar for ticks also. Due to the hot weather and copious of amounts of landscaping with mulch ticks are present despite spraying.
 
We use trifexis too. We use a Preventic collar for ticks also. Due to the hot weather and copious of amounts of landscaping with mulch ticks are present despite spraying.

We have cedar mulch in the back landscaping we have been here close to 3 years and never found a tick in our dogs in fact I haven't seen one anywhere at all. But when we were in our old house our backyard backed up to a wooded area and we found dead ticks on them often besides the city spraying for it. We also keep the landscaping trimmed and had no issues. If we are traveling with them often to the mountains we buy some k9 advantix to apply before we leave. I don't like collars our dogs are older but very playful and there is chance that they might it get it their mouths plus they sleep in our bed and furniture. Even the vet agreed in our case the collars are just not a good choice. If/when we move we will have to re visit the idea.
 
We have cedar mulch in the back landscaping we have been here close to 3 years and never found a tick in our dogs in fact I haven't seen one anywhere at all. But when we were in our old house our backyard backed up to a wooded area and we found dead ticks on them often besides the city spraying for it. We also keep the landscaping trimmed and had no issues. If we are traveling with them often to the mountains we buy some k9 advantix to apply before we leave. I don't like collars our dogs are older but very playful and there is chance that they might it get it their mouths plus they sleep in our bed and furniture. Even the vet agreed in our case the collars are just not a good choice. If/when we move we will have to re visit the idea.

I hated the idea too. I used topical for years and though it shouldn't have been an issue being in a very manicured suburban area. Then we had an ordeal where my dog had probably 100+ ticks. We had to have the inside treated (our ticks don't have a lot of disease but can establish indoors). Every morning there were about a dozen where she slept. They told us she most likely stepped in a nest. It was seriously awful.

Our vet told us that the ticks are in the mulch and not so much the manicured grass. The mulch around community planting gets replaced often. While it was a bit of a freak accident,I'm sure, we switched to the collar because it's better at killing the ticks and I read the pesticides weren't as harmful. Plus my dog gets a bath every week so the topical was likely weakened.

We haven't had any problems with it rubbing off on our furniture or anything (though it could be slowly attacking me and I don't know lol).

I think you definitely has to do what makes the most sense for you situation :)
 

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