Spot treatment for sensitive border collie.

[alligande]

I am having problems with spot treatments for my puppy, he seems to be incredibly sensitive to them. Living in Southern Spain it is essential that he has protection from Mosquitos because of leishmania. So I am looking for suggestions, many of the same products are available in the US and Europe. So far I have used Vectra3d twice and that caused him a lot of discomfort, today I used Advantix and he is still bothered by it, just not as much. I am trying to avoid using a collar, but will if I run out of options. Natural remedies are not an option for us as leishmania is a very serious disease and want to make sure I provide the best protection possible.

Thanks

[Blackdawgs]

Maybe contact the manufacturers of these products for advice or your local vet? You may need to pre-medicate him with something prior to application. My guess is that the sensitivity is from the carrier as opposed to the active ingredient.

[gcv-border]

Following.

 

I use Vectra 3D also, and one of three dogs RUNS to the farthest reaches of the house and hides. I am thinking that it may sting a bit? when I put it on, but am not sure since he doesn't whine or cry (maybe he is being stoic). Or is he being a big baby? [He also runs away when I get out the sheep drench (ivermectin).] Neither of my other two dogs have the same reaction - either before or after I dose them.

[teresaserrano]

I'm in Portugal, and I use Leishgard, an oral vaccine. There's also an injectable vaccine available here against leshmaniosis.

[alligande]

He is currently on leishguard and will get the injection next spring when he is one. My vet here, as do all my friends vets feel you need mosquito protection too, so you get double protection from the sandflies, as the reliability of the vacaccines is unknown. v

My local vet has run out of ideas other than a sorresto collar or gallons of citronella . I was basically wondering if there was another topical treatment available in the US or UK that might also repel mosquitoes.

 

Jovi, Fens reaction has been really obvious he was only 4 months when I first used Vectra and he hated it, a month later the reaction was much worse and I ended wiping as much off as I could, and it took 48 hours for him to be back to himself. This time with Advantix the reaction has been a lot less severe but you could see he has uncomfortable and has taken a day to get back to being a feisty puppy.

[Sue R]

I have not noticed that the Seresto collar is labelled in any way as a repellent for mosquitos or biting flies. If it helps with either of those, that's a plus.

 

Here's hoping you find something that will work for him and not adversely affect him.

[gcv-border]

alligande - Kiefer doesn't flinch or act like the solution is painful when I apply, and he is back to his normal self almost immediately after application. He just tries to avoid by hiding and then when I do find him, he hangs his head and will stay only if I hold his collar during application (which may take 10 seconds).

 

Still following.

[GentleLake]

If you want to go the essential oil route, there are other EOs that are much more effective than citronella. And citronella is apparently offensive enough to dogs that it's used in anti-bark collars, so I kinda hesitate to subject mine to it as an insect repellent.

 

Catnip essential oil is the most effective, and has been proved in university studies to be 7 or 9 times more effective than DEET in repelling mosquitoes (sorry, it's been a while since I did the research and I'm not positive which number is correct).

 

The downsides of catnip EO are (in no particular order) that it's hard to find, it's expensive, it has to be applied much more often than most commercial products containing DEET, and it stinks! Honestly, I find it really foul smelling. (Another possible unwanted effect may be that it could attract cats. )

 

In my experience lemongrass EO is also highly repellent to mosquitoes, and is both much more readily available (and less expensive) than catnip EO and much more pleasant smelling. So what I do is add just a little bit of catnip EO to the lemongrass. Fortunately, catnip is effective in small amounts, so this way it boosts the already great lemongrass even more without the reek. You can put it on a bandana or collar or just add some to a carrier oil (it also lasts longer this way) and rub it on the coat. I'd watch to make sure he's not licking it off though.

 

Bodhi absolutely hates EOs of any kind, so I don't use them as much as I'd like to, and I'm lucky I'm in a low HW area so I can get away without it. But I'd probably make him deal with it if I were in a HW incidence area.

[Liz P]

It's the carier agent that makes some dogs hate Vectra. It tickles as the product distributes over their skin. My old boy hides from it too. Different issue though from dogs who have true skin reactions. They are usually sensitive to the permethrins.

 

I am trying to think of ANY oral product that repels and can't come up with one. The topicals that truly repel (rather than just kill when the parasite bites) all rely on permethrins.

 

There are some herbal products that actually provide very good repellency, but they need to be applied every few hours.

[alligande]

Thanks Liz, that is really helpful. I think I might put a soresto collar on him for the rest of the bitting season and next year when he is grown see how he reacts, hopefully he won't be as sensitive and will have forgotten his bad experience with Vectra, and I can evaluate advantix better. I suspect he found advantix uncomfortable, but some of the reaction could have been because of his previous experience.

[Elwood]

Hi Alligande,

 

I live in northern Qld Australia which is tropical and we get mozzies all year round.

I personally don't like the side effects and cancers that a lot of chemical treatments can cause, so I have gone with natural alternatives as the mozzies here can give our dogs Ross river fever and nasty parasites.

 

I have successfully used a "raw Baltic Amber Collar" for 2 years now and when the mozzies are really bad I use an oil blend that I use on myself as well which is basically essential oils in grape seed oil that a drop on my hands and rub over his coat and belly, they avoid him and move on. Blend is oregano, citronella, neem, basil,and cedar wood.

 

I take off the amber collar when we are swimming at the beach more so in case he breaks it. It also works on my cat. We have not had a flea or tick for 2 years and we get into the bush regularly.

 

If you try one make sure you test the dollar first, there are loads of sites showing you how, yet the easiest is burning a lump and smelling the pine smell, if it melts and stinks like plastic...it is plastic.

 

Good luck !