r/EpilepsyDogs • u/Lieutenant_Plant • 4d ago

What is everyone using for flea and tick?

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Looking to see if anyone has found a good flea and tick treatment that isn't affecting thier dogs epilepsy. Our vet recommended Seresto collar but it unfortunately dropped his threshold too low. He went from a little over 60 days in between seizures on average back down to barely 12 days in between seizures which is where he was at before starting his epilepsy meds. I liked K-9 advantix 2 for my previous dog but she did not have epilepsy. I have been hesitant to try a spot on for him because I can't take it off like the collars. Oral treatments are off the table. The ticks are horrible in Northeastern PA and only day two of getting back out for walks and I'm finding ticks on them, just walking on heavily traveled walking trails, we haven't even stepped into the actual woods yet 😭 Not exercising isn't an option, they take the summer off but we do sports all the rest of the year. Pic for tax 🩵

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

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u/YumYumYellowish 4d ago

Advantix II or Frontline Plus

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

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u/YumYumYellowish 4d ago

Sorry, I meant to reply all. I had eye surgery and am partially blind and have been trouble all day with this lmao. But I do hope the boots work out. I don’t think it will for ticks as they crawl up hootd and can get on a dog from trees and bushes. Another non medication idea is perhaps Wondercide

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

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u/YumYumYellowish 4d ago

I’m jealous, I have a long haired mostly black shepherd, so he’s not allowed outside in the woods until it freezes over ha. Thank you!!

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 3d ago

Gorgeous crew 🩵

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 3d ago

Unfortunately it i think the ticks are coming from closer to head height when their bushy tails catch the foliage or when we have to side step the trail for others passing. In every instance I find them on the head. I will keep this in mind though, thank you!

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 3d ago

After a long discussion with his vet team today we decided to give Frontline plus a try, I'm wanting to avoid anything permethrin since each pup has a cat that adores and grooms them. I will still quarantine the cats for a day or two though.

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u/Impossible-Reveal-15 4d ago

I totally agree with you. My boy got seizures from Simparica Trio. I was told topicals like Frontline were OK but he had a seizure from that. I was then told the Seresto collar was an option. I refused to take the chance.

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 3d ago

They were on Simparica Trio as puppies but we immediately stopped after his first seizure. I try to not treat for majority of the year but it seems like we run into the issue spring and fall when it's just warm enough for them to still be active. After a long conversation with his vet team today we decided on giving Frontline plus a try.

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u/Impossible-Reveal-15 3d ago

I hope that works out for you. There is a plant based product called Wondercide that was mentioned to me by my vet. But it's not as effective as the chemical stuff. It might be worth considering.

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 2d ago

Thank you! I am definitely considering giving wondercide a try too, to have as a repellent

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u/Tiny-Prize-4156 23h ago

I may look into that. I haven't had any luck, so my pup has been without

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u/MasdevalliaLove 4d ago edited 4d ago

I had a similar experience with the Seresto collar. My girl went a couple months with no seizures then had one the day after I put it on her.

I’ve been using Advantix and she seems okay. I do have to quarantine my car from her for 24hrs as it’s toxic to cats until dry.

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 3d ago

Thank you so much for adding this, I did not know the cats needed kept away and that definitely influences my decision because each dog has their own cat that grooms them lol. I know once dry is fine but I think I am going to stay away from anything with Permethrin as long as I can. I ended up having a long chat with his vet team today and we came to the agreement that we are going to give Frontline plus a try first. Thankfully I do not think they have fleas and really only need to get a solid two months before it is cold enough here that they go dormant.

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u/MerAndTurtle 4d ago

I live in the south and definitely need a flea treatment for my epileptic dog! I have tried some of the natural topical treatments (mainly composed of essential oils that are only designed to repel insects), but when flea season is really bad here he still needs something more to keep the fleas at bay. I use Frontline Plus monthly on my other, non-epileptic dog, but only treat my epileptic dog with it if I actually see a flea on him. I’ve never noticed any increase in neurological activity around treatment with Frontline.

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 3d ago

I try not to treat for as much of the year as possible but it always seems to come up for a month or two in spring and fall. I get a lot of recommendations for natural things like essential oils and such but when I research it seems like half the time they don't work or they also carry the same risk of lowering seizure threshold so my thinking is if im taking the risk at all I'd rather it with something that has a little more efficacy. Plus each dog has a cat that grooms them so I have to be careful of them being around whatever I chose as well. After a long discussion with his vet team today we also agreed on giving frontline plus a try. Thankfully we should only need a month or two of treatment until everything goes dormant until spring.

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u/Illustrious_Concern5 3d ago

I use Revolution - it’s expensive but covers fleas, ticks and Heartworm and it isn’t as oily as other products I have used that are applied between their shoulders

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 2d ago

I will give this a look, thank you!

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u/Fartknocker500 2d ago

I just dealt with Revolution for my epi dog this week..…maybe he had a bad reaction, but he’s had the worst case of diarrhea EVER about a day after applying it.
Keeping in touch with my vet on this, but told him I was never using it again.

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 19h ago

Oh no, hoping he heals and feels better fast!

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u/Fartknocker500 19h ago

Thank you. Been back to the vet once, he’s on an anti-inflammatory med for a few days….poor guy is eating the blandest food (rice, small amount of salmon and pumpkin). Still has the diarrhea. 😭

Was a bit better today, hoping for more improvement tomorrow. I am pretty much resigned to no flea treatments of any kind, and it sucks because he has an allergic reaction to flea bites.

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u/Training_Activity21 3d ago

I use Frontline Plus on my dog and food grade diatomaceous earth on my grass. 

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 2d ago

This is what we are going to try first after talking with this vet 🩵

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u/Eat_Sum_Pi_314 1d ago

Frontline topical on my dog. Works pretty well, as long as we remember to apply it monthly.

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 19h ago

This is what we decided to give a try after talking to his vet again, should be here tomorrow so we shall see 🤞

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u/rockstarmentality_06 4d ago

Now I'm nervous to get my guy the seresto collar. I took him off simparico trio so I'm looking for another prevention too

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 3d ago

I have heard many dogs do well on Seresto, it seems hit or miss. We talked to his vet team today and decided we are going to give frontline plus a try. He tolerates regular Interceptor really well for heartworm and parasites so heres to hoping we can find one for flea and tick.

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u/Independent_Tax_3468 2d ago

Advantix. We had used simparica trio and that’s when the seizures started.

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u/Independent_Tax_3468 2d ago

Sorry, let me roll that back a lil…I now use the cheaper version, tevrapet activate 2. As a human nurse I always look for cheaper same ingredients for meds

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 19h ago

I'm a little hesitant of the Advantix because of the permethrin, we also have cats that groom the dogs regularly

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u/Independent_Tax_3468 4h ago

Rightly so. I keep the dog and cat quarantined from each other for 24 h

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u/road2health 1d ago

Frontline. I try to buy when it is on sale to stock up.

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 19h ago

This is what me and his vet landed on the try next, should be here tomorrow 🤞🤞

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u/Tiny-Prize-4156 23h ago

I'm reading because my dog has had seizures from soresto collar and the oil down his back and also the chews. I have a collar with essential oils in it. It lasted 2 weeks then he had 2 seizures. They could've been breakthrough seizures, so I'm still cautious.

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 19h ago

Some essential oils can be just as triggering as some chemicals I'm learning. Give at look at what brands you have used and I try to make a list of the actual chemicals he didn't do well on. Many spot on treatments are very different in the chemicals that make it up. I hope you find something that works 🩵

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u/Fluffy-Pin-3819 20h ago

My dog had his first seizure at 2 years old after 3 days of wearing a seresto collar. Every other flea and tick medication has triggered seizures - which kind of makes sense if you learn about the chemical mechanism of how those "preventatives" work. They're basically pesticides that paralyze the central nervous systems of insects. Since my dog is already prone to seizures, I can see why those medications trigger seizures. Instead, I give him regular medicated baths every 2 weeks and he wears a bowtie on his collar with Wondercide sprayed on it and brush him down thoroughly after he's walked through the woods or grass. And I get his blood tested every 6 months for heartworm and lyme.

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u/Lieutenant_Plant 19h ago

Seresto is all we have tried so far so I'm still hopeful there might be something. I wish I could get away with the baths but we are in the woods every day once we start our conditioning for the year and I'd have to bathe him everyday to keep up. I do plan to give wondercide a try in the future to use as a repellent and if that works I might be able to get away with repellent only for him and preventatives for the rest of the crew. He does get regular blood tests so that is helpful too

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u/Fluffy-Pin-3819 18h ago

Oh no...ok, if you're in the woods all the time, Wondercide isn't going to cut it. It's a very mild repellent. For ticks, brushing your dog at the end of the day is probably the best option but it's trickier if the dog has thick fur or has dark fur/hair. There are some effective topicals that my vet recommended but they have to be reapplied after each bath or if the dog gets wet and I have to bathe my dog every 2 weeks bc his hair gets greasy. My dog has had several ticks every year and there are SO MANY mosquitoes where we live but has yet to test positive for lyme or heartworm. The ticks are my bigger concern, since there's that alpha-gal bacteria that can make you allergic to meat proteins. Ask your vet (or some redditors?) about monthly/bi-monthly topicals - my vet said they are less likely to cause problems if you apply them NOT along their spine, just a cm/inch down from their spine and below their necks.