OK, here's the deal. No matter what, I can't keep these little mother fuckers off of my little guy.

OK, back story. I have two australian shepherds. My girl, 4.5 years old, and until today have only have pulled like 6 ticks off of her, ( tonight I found two ). Little guy, I get one to five a day off of him.

I have gone a more natural way of tick/flea control after my girl had a bad reaction to medicine.

I used FurLife pendent on them, and Wondercide now even day. I feed them a healthy raw and home-cooked diet with garlic and diatomaceous earth in their food, and rubbed into their coats, and in the yard with diatomaceous earth. I also spray them down with a mixture of ACV, water and mint around 45% ACV, 45% water 10% mint. Yet, especially my little guy gets ticks!

Even with the perception, chemical flea and tick meds he still got them with all other Io the preventive measures.

I'm at my last wits! It seems like no matter what I do, my little guy has ticks, and this year, my girl has gotten almost as much as the rest of her life combined!

I live in a very rural area. We hike, walk in grass/weeds, rivers, creeks and streams. Woods, open fields and the like.

I treat my immediate lawn with diatomaceous earth and Wondercide. Yet, every year it seems to get worse! Any recommendations, thoughts, or suggestions? Really, I'm at my wits end here!

They have never had one flea. My girl rarely gets ticks, but my little guy, it is unbelievable! No matter what I do he gets ticks, I pull at least one a day off of him!

Thinks in advance for your suggestions, and lessening to my rant!

I fucking hate ticks!

ARman

Early Spring to Mid Summer is the highest time for ticks. They can be anywhere, but brushy trails & long grass are the worst.

I talked to a breeder years ago, whose dogs hardly left the kennel. Her advice was to just ‘pick the ticks off’. Don’t how you’re going to even see a deer tick in thick fur.

There are all kinds of ailments a dog, or person, can catch from ticks, Lyme disease is just one.

My procedure is a ‘Frontline’ type product between the shoulder blades. There are lower cost generic types available. Also during high occurrence, I give her a bath in tick/flea killing shampoo, periodically.

If your dogs have a reaction to certain meds, try another. I’d think something would work, bouncing reactions against the chance of catching an ailment. I’ve cut firewood in the brushy May woods, WI, very heavy tick numbers. One would have to do something to mitigate the threats.

We use permethrin I bough from tractor supply, 3 drops between her shoulder blades. I spray the yard once a month because we back up to a power line and coyotes wander thru. Don’t want wild fleas or coyotes.

You need some birds. Turkeys, guinea hens, bantam chickens.

I have tried the drops that are put on their back/neck, tablets, and Hartz and other brand flea and tick collars, and while they may have helped I was still finding ticks on them.

The ONLY thing I've tried that has worked is Seresto flea and tick collar which was developed by Bayer. At around $50 and lasting 8 months they're not cheap but since it's so effective that's all I've used for the last 7 years or so.

quote:

We hike, walk in grass/weeds, rivers, creeks and streams. Woods, open fields and the like.

That’s the problem right there. I have acreage in the mountains and it’s tick city in the forest. I have a Mal and she isn’t allowed in the forest. No hiking allowed whatsoever. She is allowed in the lake there so she is free to swim as much as she likes.

You can do the medicine from the vet. You can do all the herbal shit you want. It’s not going to change. Keep them in the yard only. Do some ball training. If that doesn’t work, toys. You can train just about any k9 on ball work with persistence. Then let them go wild in the rivers, creeks, and streams.

Since I switched to Seresto flea and tick collars, my dog has never gotten either. Its been about 6 years.

Uugh. I feel your pain. I grew up in the South. Now I live in NM and don't recall seeing a tick on any of my dogs.

Has anyone noticed a difference in the Seresto collars? They do not seem to be as effective as they have been in the past. The collars we had were well within the expiration date and sealed when we purchased them. I had heard the formula has changed and maybe that is the reason. We were still pulling live, bloated ticks from our dogs.

“I feed them a healthy raw and home-cooked diet with garlic and diatomaceous earth in their food, and rubbed into their coats…”

You probably know this already, but in case you don’t, garlic (and onion) can be toxic to dogs.


“ Can dogs have garlic? Garlic might be good for people, but dogs metabolize certain foods differently than we do. Garlic and other members of the allium family (including onions) contain thiosulfate, which is toxic to dogs but not to humans.

Thiosulfate causes oxidative damage to red blood cells, resulting in hemolytic anemia. Symptoms of anemia in dogs include pale mucous membranes, rapid breathing, lethargy, weakness, jaundice, and dark urine. Garlic toxicity also causes symptoms of gastrointestinal upset, including vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, depression, and dehydration.”

https://www.akc.org/expert-adv...can-dogs-eat-garlic/

They're everywhere around here.

Yesterday, I just walked around our completely fenced yard and when I came back in the house there was a tick on me.
It must have come off a squirrel or other small animal, because that's all that can get into the yard.

I despise those things, especially since they carry a bunch of different diseases now.

I picked one of those little fuckers dug in on my thigh the other day, now I'm on Lyme disease watch.

Dr. Karen Becker is the one to follow.

https://vitalitymagazine.com/a...rom-ticks-and-fleas/

https://littlebigcat.com/dr-be...ick-repellent-spray/

I carry a bottle of Tea Tree oil with me and put it on the tick which suffocates the tick and causes him to let go in most cases.

The funny thing is they have been qurinteened because of a Karen ( they didn't do what they were accused of ) for 10 days so they haven't been outside very much at all, bit I have found as many if not more than usual. They haven't spent much time outside, and that time has been mostly walking on pavement.

I got one off me, and three more off the little guy today.


Like I've said, I have tried all kinds of things, nothing seems to work for the little guy. He's sweet meat and they love him.

So far no problem with fleas, but the ticks. Little bastards, nothing stops them.

ARman

quote:

Originally posted by petr:
Has anyone noticed a difference in the Seresto collars? They do not seem to be as effective as they have been in the past. The collars we had were well within the expiration date and sealed when we purchased them. I had heard the formula has changed and maybe that is the reason. We were still pulling live, bloated ticks from our dogs.

Are you positive it's not a counterfeit? I ask because 2-3 years ago I received 2 Seresto collars that I ordered on sale (I believe) from Amazon and told my sister since she needed one for her dog. She said "be careful" she'd read that there were a *lot* of counterfeit Seresto's that were coming in from China and that the collar and packaging look practically identical to the real thing. I compared the new cans to the old one, which I'd saved to store finish nails, and they looked the same. Until I looked very close and the slight embossing on the lid present in the logo on the old can was not present on the two I had recently received. When I told this to her she said yes that's one of the differences, the other is the sealed clear plastic bag the collar comes in is of a slightly plastic that doesn't quite feel the same. Those are about the only two things people had noticed, other than the collar didn't repel fleas and ticks.

I second getting some fowl. Turkey, chicken, guinea hen, peacock.
I hate ticks with a passion. 2 of my pups tested positive for Lyme’s after faithful application of flea and tick meds, and both are suffering serious repercussions. I also don’t trust the collars- I’ve no idea how it could reach the whole body when they wear around their neck… so either the neck gets supersaturated, or the rest of the bod gets underdosed… If I lived in an area that allowed it, I’d have chickens.
I use DEET on myself.

My neighbors have ivy - lots of ivy ground cover.
Rats think it's a hotel complex. Rats have fleas and ticks.
Round about April, I modify where we walk the dog, no parks or grass, but still the ticks come.
We get kennel ticks, no deer ticks here thanks to the Lord, but still...
Fuggers really creep me out!
We give our little girl Simparico trio and I spray the yard with a hose end pyrmethin sprayer and typically it wipes out most of the blight.
Still, this time of year the ticks are out in force.
They don't bite her, but we find them crawling around on us or in the house.
Ticks and mosquitos are an evolutionary blunder IMO.

I swear by the Sawyer brand Permethrin this time of year on clothing. Try their spray for dogs. Sawyer Permethrin for Dogs

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:

quote:

Originally posted by petr:
Has anyone noticed a difference in the Seresto collars? They do not seem to be as effective as they have been in the past. The collars we had were well within the expiration date and sealed when we purchased them. I had heard the formula has changed and maybe that is the reason. We were still pulling live, bloated ticks from our dogs.

Are you positive it's not a counterfeit? I ask because 2-3 years ago I received 2 Seresto collars that I ordered on sale (I believe) from Amazon and told my sister since she needed one for her dog. She said "be careful" she'd read that there were a *lot* of counterfeit Seresto's that were coming in from China and that the collar and packaging look practically identical to the real thing. I compared the new cans to the old one, which I'd saved to store finish nails, and they looked the same. Until I looked very close and the slight embossing on the lid present in the logo on the old can was not present on the two I had recently received. When I told this to her she said yes that's one of the differences, the other is the sealed clear plastic bag the collar comes in is of a slightly plastic that doesn't quite feel the same. Those are about the only two things people had noticed, other than the collar didn't repel fleas and ticks.

Hmmm... I don't remember where we got the last ones from. I don't remember purchasing any from Amazon, but I do remember purchasing from Petco and Tractor Supply in the past.