TICK EMERGENCY!!!

[BellaNSophiesMom]

I picked up a very sweet mixed pup off the side of the road today. He is COVERED in fleas and ticks. These are some of the biggest damn ticks I've ever seen in my life. The poor dog is only like 6 months old. I got some tick spray from the vet but it is so strong, it took my nail polish off. And other remedies?? I'm not keeping him ... Just fostering.

[Curly_07]

Adams flea and tick is good. Also this organic stuff I use is great...I'll have to get the name of it when I go home. Apple cider vinegar helps too. Pull them all out and kill them, then spray/wipe the spray stuff on.

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[Misskiwi67]

Frontline or advantix.

[Ilovethepits]

Sweet of you to take him in. Uck. A few years ago in Florida I washed a few hundred ticks off my neighbor's doxie. It was horrible. I didn't know much better and just used some tick shampoo she had. The dog tolerated it well and then she was able to put some Advantix on him after. Good luck with the lil fellow.

[Curly_07]

Vets Best Natural Formula spray and chewable tablets is what I use.

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[BellaNSophiesMom]

I got frontline from the vet. They also gave me a bottle of Ovitrol Plus. I sprayed it allllll over him. It seemed to kill the Fleas and ticks quickly. I unfortunately had to have the dog with me in the car for a couple of hours, however, so I had to spray my car out too. This is a young chihuahua, not a pit, but I figured I'd ask anyhow. My pit Sophie had ticks when we got her, but nothing like what this chi baby had. He had at least 100. Some of them were just completely engorged. It was awful. And now I feel like I have bugs crawling all over me. Ick.

Also, the dog threw up in my car. Do from the spray maybe? He's eating and drinking fine. Doesn't seem sick at all. In fact, besides the fleas and ticks, he was pretty darn clean.

[Ilovethepits]

Maybe from the spray or maybe just 'nerves' or carsickness? My dog Lily gets car sick.

I still get a chill up my spine when I think of the dog I got all those ticks off...it was so creepy crawly.

I hope your little rescue is all better soon and maybe you have time to share a photo??

[Misskiwi67]

Lots of dogs get carsick - it might be from the spray or it might be totally unrelated.

[eddiewouldgo]

frontline and advantix contain pyrethrum. which is a derivative of the chrysanthemum flower. it's a very poisonous seed (however it gets extracted the name changes, pyrethrin, permethrin etc.) that has a high level of acute toxicity in cold blooded animals (insects, frogs, etc.) ... however, in MOST mammals the affect is not as dramatic, but it's still poison. it WILL kill a cat, but dogs (and most mammals) can deal with the compounds more appropriatley.

it's on you shoulders at the end of the day to know exactly what you feed your pet (and yourselves!!!) i can almost guarantee that this is why your dog vomited. it took their system some adjusting to deal with.

i would recommend incorporating garlic and 1 tbsp of apple cidar vinegar to water and/or food every day.

i wash with cal ben coconut shampoo (the same stuff i use) but i add rosemary and tea tree oil to his mixture. rosemary will kill whatever insect and being accompanied with the tea tree oil it will cure any rash or skin irritation your dog may be having (watch out for open wounds, scabs. it will burn like the dickens.) spray apple cidar vinegar (1 part acv 5 parts water) let that sit for 5 minutes, then rinse. then rub him down with coconut oil to restore integrity to the coat/skin and choke to death any remaining flea/tick.

the higher alkaline (7.0) your dogs pH is... the more prone they are to attracting bugs. be careful though, you wouldn't want the dog to start having ulcers for a trade-off for no fleas/ticks. and apple cidar vinegar will drop your dogs pH. you must monitor it before incorporating it in their diet.

if those don't work, then you gotta do what you gotta do for your buddy. this problem sounded terrible, and i would have done the same thing. now that they're healthy, try the organic route! it's much more work, but it's a lot more bonding.

[BrokenAquarian]

Tea tree oil is also poisonous to dogs, as is garlic. The danger is dose dependent. The dog may also be extra sensitive to some things, causing a more drastic symptom than normal.

[PITtsburgher]

Frontline is fipronil, not permethrin.

If I were you I'd be careful about telling people on the internet to feed or apply garlic and tea tree oil to their pets, since it is well known that they are toxic to dogs - especially since they are not dosed by weight like commercial flea products are.

http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/ask-the-e ... ic-to-pets
http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/ask-the-e ... e-oil.aspx

[BrokenAquarian]

If it's a tiny dog like a Chi, I'd just hand pick the bugs off.

Ticks can be removed by hand and there is no need for a chemical spray. Why poison your dog if you don't have to? They aren't like fleas(tiny and able to jump away). Ticks are much easier to manage than fleas.

[Sarah]

For the amount of ticks described, better to use the chemicals to remove them quickly. It would take a long time to remove that many ticks safely. Very stressful for the dog.

[BrokenAquarian]

Ew!!
Just went back and read how many - must have missed it. Poor little guy! I've never seen a dog with that many ticks. I used to live out in a tick infested area and still never saw a loose dog like that.

I'd imagine the little guy has anemia or something.

[eddiewouldgo]

Frontline is fipronil, not permethrin.

If I were you I'd be careful about telling people on the internet to feed or apply garlic and tea tree oil to their pets, since it is well known that they are toxic to dogs - especially since they are not dosed by weight like commercial flea products are.

hello there, i agree %100 on the "carefulness" of applying garlic and tea tree. however, everyone has to do their own homework on what's best for them and their buddy... i've done extensive research and have found that garlic and tea tree oil can be very effective if used properly. like most things in life, if you abuse em you'll and up on the buisness end of the bad news. people need to stop being idiot-proofed and get back to learning for themselves.

i find it extremely more repulsive to dose your dog with frontline/advantix and the lot. i use 4 drops of tea tree oil in a 1 quart bottle of shampoo. never had a problem, ever. talked to thousands of others who have had amazing results... search the net. they say 7 direct drops of tea tree oil will be poisoning (to a moderately sized dog, i'm assuming).. if you do that you are dunce. no human can even handle that without flipping out. it has and always will be recommended to be water down 1000 pct. i use one small pod of fresh garlic every other day and have had very positive results. http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/garlic_for_dogs.html

f.y.i. - my boy is 85lbs.

if you are scared to use these products... then use the others i recommended. rosemary, coconut oil and apple cidar vinegar are glorious! others have suggested replacing tea tree oil with niaouliit oil (which i'm not familiar with, do your own homework). any of these would still be ten times better of an answer than a man made extracted poison! *facepalm*

fipronil - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fipronil
permethrin - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin

until i get sound scientific conclusions from garlic and tea tree oil saying it causes more damage than the former (on a proper dosage). i will switch. until then, it's all just a witch hunt to me.