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Has anyone tried VetGuard?


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A Google search shows that it contains the same ingredients as Frontline Plus (and PetArmor). IIRC from the discussions on Tick-L, the difference is likely in the carrier ingredients, and there was some question as to whether it would work the same if not formulated entirely the same. ISTM that if the carrier ingredients are labeled as inert, then they shouldn't have an effect on the efficacy of the product, because inert should mean inert, but who knows? If Frontline works for you, I don't see the harm in trying this product and seeing if it works as well.

 

J.

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I know EPA labels lots of things as "inert" that really are not. According to EPA's definitions, anything that's a component of a pesticidal formulation that's NOT the active ingredient is designated as an "inert" constituent. It's deceptive, because it doesn't mean at all that it's biologically or chemically inert. (My group has studied "inert" constituents of herbicides that undergo transformations in the environment to (in one case) a compound that WAS an active constituent of a former herbicide that had been being removed from the market because of toxicity concerns - these so-called "inerts" increased in toxicity upon undergoing chemical transformations.)

 

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that different "carrier solvents" could exert an impact on the rate of penetration of the active ingredient through the skin. If that were the case, it could have the same active ingredient, but YMMV.

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  • 1 month later...

So are fleas specific to area?

I would really like to know why frontline works for some and not others. Us being in the other category.

We are battling fleas like mad. Advantage, advantic, and frontline are not working. I'm praying for vectra to do the job. I really don't want to have to resort to something like comfortis. :(

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Interesting question - I wouldn't disbelieve that subpopulations of fleas, like other critters can become localized in the same way that they can become resistant to a pesticide but I have no idea of what the literature would say...

 

The breeder from whom we got the boys swears that only Advantix works - and she lives only 10 miles from me. It drove my boys absolutely wild to the point where they were rolling on the hard kitchen floor to get it off their backs - not even waiting to go outside on the grass, or better yet, the living room carpet. Ladybug was unaffected (she got treated from the same dose pack) by the Advantix and got no fleas either...

 

Maybe it's the dog?

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P.S. -- I boughta neem/oatmeal shampoo from our local pet store to see me through last month. I bathed them twice in it over the month. I'm sure they still had some Advantix residual even after wiping it off, but I think the shampoo helped to keep the fleas and ticks away and they sure smelled better.

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You might be on to something with the idea that it's the dog. Like mosquitoes....I go out and will get 20 bites, DH goes out and gets none. Even if we eat the same thing...he gets none.

Same with my daughter, never gets a bite but her DH is like me a magnet to them.

 

But if we go with that idea then I think things can change, Ray who is bothered by lots of things fleas used to bother her way more, is not bothered this time with fleas. Only difference I can see is she's not rolling or laying around outside. But, they all sleep in the same areas. I really don't think we have them to bad just some sensitive dogs.


Neem? Runs to research....

I've also got some flea eating nematodes ordered for the yard. I've heard good things and with all the animals I don't want to spray.

 

Jesse the barn dog has none that I can tell and I used the last of the advantage on her. Is that because she lives with the chickens?

 

Bahhhhh I'm flea and itchy crazy. Haven't slept a whole night in quite some time, most of them sleep in our room and wake me up scratching!

 

I tired lavender and some other calming essential oil shampoo from the pet store. RDM was saying something about oatmeal have histamines in it, didn't want to add to our issue.

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No I didn't. I said that fish oils contain histamines and often make allergies worse, so we use coconut oil instead. I am not aware of oatmeal being a histamine risk, and in fact thought it was a low-histamine food.

 

I, however, am allergic to oatmeal. It gives me hives. I find this ironic.

 

RDM

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Subpopulations of fleas could develop resistance (or not) at different rates--that's completely biologically possible. From a survival standpoint, there will always be some individuals who are not as affected by a poison, especially when we have to walk to tightrope of killing what we want to kill while not harming, say, the dog (which means we can't just drench the fleas in poison because doing so would put the host and person applicating the poisons at risk of being adversely affected by the chemical as well. Those individuals who are able to survive the poison are of course the ones who live to pass on their genes, including those that conferred resistance to the chemical(s) in question, to the next generation. In areas where fleas/ticks are exposed more often to sublethal amounts of pesticides, it's not unreasonable to conclude that those populations would appear to develop resistance more rapidly--their enviroment is requiring it of them if they wish to survive as a population. <--This is the big problem that sheep producers have. We have a limited number of dewormers available to us, and many intestinal parasites have developed resistance, to one degree or another, to many of them. There are people who still use ivermectin, but at least in this region, dosing with ivermectin would be the equivalent of dosing with water when it comes to killing intestinal parasites. Yet, levamisole and cydectin still seem to work. When they stop working, there's nothing new to turn to, though I hear some people are using copper wire boluses or copper sulfate(?) to control the worms (again the tightrope, as copper in high quantities is toxic to sheep).

 

So yeah, someone living in one particular type of environment or a region of the country may have different results that someone living in another (localized) environment elsewhere in the country. And they needn't be separated by great distances. Frontline stoppped working for me years ago, and Advantage/Advantix still worked. More recently, I was finding engorged ticks after using Advantix.

 

Now I use Comfortis and it has worked great for fleas, but is not labeled for ticks. Some folks on Tick-L have reported that it does seem to have some tick killing effects, but I can't say that I have noticed that (though I no longer take the dogs in to the heavily tick infested areas around here). My vet said it likely did have tick killing ability, but that it probably didn't last more than a couple of weeks, FWIW.

 

J.

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This is the shampoo I used - though I paid 2x as much at the local pet store -- on the other hand, they were open when I needed it.

 

More recently, I also switched out their food to Blue though Brodie refused to eat it and is on a food called Source from Tractor Supply. I will probably switch them all to it once the Blue bag is gone as anything that keeps Brodie happy foodwise, makes the rest of us happy. What is it about mosquoitos and people eating certain foods? Perhaps fleas are the same way :).

 

 

ETA - if nothing else is working, perhaps some allergy meds i.e. benedril to stop the itching? I had to resort to this to get them calmed down after the Advantix episode because they just wouldn't stop itching. Kinda annoyingly funny, really because Brodie sleeps under the bed. Scratch, thump all night long. After I got the itch stopped, I used the shampoo to hopefully keep fleas/ticks away for the month until I could dose them again and it worked out pretty well.

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Sorry RDM I don't know how that got stuck in my brain, probably from the fish oil thread, but I am glad you set me straight!

I don't believe everything I read but I guess sometimes I just make things up in my head!

 

Then there's the your allergy to it............ Yes ironic.

 

Still itching but see nothing on anyone. I've been using Benadryl without much success. I put Mick on steroids to get the itch calmed down. It worked but as soon as I weaned him off they are back. I've switched foods, just in case I've washed bedding and vacuumed everything....AHHHHHH

 

3 dogs sleep in my bedroom. Only one is not itchy! That's Raven and I think she forgets to itch these days!

 

Sleep....lgd barking, dogs scratching, roosters under my window at 5am....yeah NOT!

 

OK so I'm a bit crabby lately!

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Do you think the itch has evolved into a bad habit? The only other possibility I could think of is some kind of mite? Or, perhaps - have you deep cleaned your carpets/floors lately? Maybe a floor cleaner is triggering it.

 

All that noise and the heat besides....entirely too much of a burden!

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We have no-see-ums really bad. They would only bite my mom, I could be out at the same time, in the same place without being touched. M would have 20 bites. We did some research and talked to the vet and found out they prefer people who are vitamin b deficient - guess they taste better. She took b over the winter. I had a kid and with nursing, have probably dropped in vitamin levels (didn't take supplements for medical reasons, don't get me started)... Now they bite me like an all you can eat buffet.

 

I don't know if the same goes for fleas, but it wouldn't surprise me if something like this were going on.

 

I'm trying to find the research I had on vit b and can't come up with it anymore... So all I have to go on now is anecdotal evidence.

 

Rebecca

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I've heard vit. B is a good thing. Also garlic. I took garlic pills and gave them to the dogs one year. They stunk, my eyes watered and and my breath smelled like sewer. I think I'll try the vit. B!

Good times today Rebecca. Nice dog!

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Crappy owner (cough cough, me) though! Poor thing might be worth half a hoot if her owner would get outta the way or at least stick the correct arm out! Had a blast being a bumbling idiot though! Thanks a so much for having us out!

 

I heard about garlic, never tried it. And I'm not sure if the vit b thing is only no-see-ums, or if it's all things that cause bites. I'll dig some more. I was trying to think - I haven't had trouble with mosquitos or anything until this year... I need to try more vitamins!

 

A casual google search also suggested brewers yeast, but that's a vit b source, so it makes sense.

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No crappy owners just steep learning curves that you will pick up quickly! Plus your a heck of a sheep worm assistant!;)

Did Greta take a long happy nappy? Faye did!

So yeast has vit. B in it? I did that the same year I did garlic. Couldn't tell at all.

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She has quite happy with herself all afternoon... Nice nap, too!

 

Brewers yeast contains some b vits, not b12, though. The supplement my mom took was really high in b12, I'm pretty sure that's just a coincidence... It might be worth looking into a complex. The stuff I read this afternoon said it makes you smell different/ changes the taste of your blood

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I think it's thiamin, whichever B vit that is, that you are supposed to take. It works for mosquitos too. I have to take a super B, so I get a mix of a number of them. Just a warning, after taking Bs, the next time you go to the bathroom, don't be surprised by the bright yellow color of the results.

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I am not sure how effective the garlic is, my poor DH is eaten by every living thing that flies, hops, and crawls. I on the other hand don't get bitten by anything except what isn't supposed to bite humans (think little black ants...). Flying insects ignore me and well we don't seem to be having issues with fleas on the dogs right now. I have hardwood floors that I use a steam mop on every other day thanks to my two boys. Though I do wonder if blood type might have something to do with it as well.

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I have declared war...WAR WAR WAR....

I decided maybe this isn't fleas. I see nothing. I've used spot on, treated the house the yard and thoroughly looked over each itchy dog every night. They have no hot spots, don't lick anywhere in particular except I noticed last night more leg licking than other places but not like the kind of allergies. They spent a long time playing outside yesterday since it was so nice out.

Raven is old she walks around outside but doesn't lay down out there. The other dogs lay around all the time. Jess the LGD isn't being bothered but she lives in a different area than these guys.

 

Maybe some kinda grass mite?

I'm ordering Flea eating nematodes from Arbrico, hopefully that will do the trick but if not I'm going to have my yard treated by a professional....That freaks me out though because of my chickens.

 

AHHHHHH....Crazy I am.... Driving me crazy!!!

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bcnewe2

 

I just took my girl to the vet last weekend. She had been in a chlorine pool the week before and had started itching and acting like she had fleas. Could not find a one but on her chest and under her legs and several spots also around her head were bumps. Other that the pool my GSD is in the same places she is but not affected. The vet said since I haven't changed her food and he could not find any fleas that it was probably an air born allergy. He gave her a cortisone shot and told me to give her 25mg 2 x a day of Benadryl and 1000 mg of fish oil 2 x a day. The raw spots are starting to heal and she is not itching as much. Might try it. Hope it helps.

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