Puppies require year-round preventive care against fleas, ticks and mosquitoes in order to remain healthy and free from bites. Talk to your veterinarian about topical or oral treatments available as a preventative measure.
Oral medications are much safer and more effective than collars for handling stubborn puppies or aquatic canines, according to Gorman. But always read labels for any product claiming safety – including natural ones which claim they’re “natural.”
Contents
K9 Advantix
K9 Advantix is an effective flea and tick treatment option for puppies, designed to prevent fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, flies and biting lice from invading your canine’s body without causing harmful side effects. Containing powerful ingredients Imidacloprid and Permethrin that work to repel and kill pesky pests without creating adverse side effects in their surroundings.
This product is safe for dogs of all sizes, ages and breeds; however, we advise testing it first on a small patch of your puppy’s skin prior to applying it across its entirety. If adverse symptoms appear after use of this product consult your veterinarian immediately.
To achieve optimal results, distribute the entire contents of the tube evenly across four to six spots on your pet’s top back area – from shoulders to base of tail – using parting hair at each spot so the solution reaches skin. Repeat weekly.
Advantage Multi
Advantage Multi is an easy-to-use monthly topical solution designed to provide comprehensive parasite protection. It works to prevent heartworm disease by killing heartworm microfilariae circulating in the bloodstream and treating and controlling flea infestations and ear mites. Furthermore, Advantage Multi also aids in treating intestinal worms including roundworms, hookworms and whipworms, while being an effective defense against sarcoptic mange.
Advantage Multi’s active ingredients are imidacloprid and moxidectin. Imidacloprid works by binding to invertebrate receptors and disrupting nerve transmission causing paralysis and death of insects, while Moxidectin works by blocking an insect’s cholinesterase enzyme to protect essential neurotransmitters essential for normal nerve function and movement from being broken down by their bodies.
Advantage Multi is generally well tolerated by dogs when administered at its usual dose, though side effects may include damp or greasy appearance of hair, itching of the scalp or other parts of the body, loss of appetite, vomiting and slight irritation at the application site that usually resolves within 2 to 48 hours without treatment. One dog in a laboratory effectiveness study experienced weakness, unsteadiness and tremors for 18 hours post-treatment – these signs persisting even with postponed dosage administration.
Frontline Plus
Frontline Plus is an effective topical treatment for puppies and dogs that kills fleas and ticks to protect them against infestation. Featuring fast action, long lasting protection and waterproof construction, Frontline Plus delivers effective flea and tick protection up to 30 days with pipettes designed specifically to suit each weight group of pet.
Frontline contains fipronil and (S)-methoprene, two ingredients which work together to break the flea lifecycle and help prevent new infestations. Fipronil collects in your pet’s skin oil follicles before being released into their coat to kill adult fleas, eggs, larvae, chewing lice and chewing lice; while (S)-methoprene mimics growth hormone in flea eggs and larvae to stop them maturing into adults or reproducing further.
Holistic veterinarians such as Dr Chambreau and Dr Jennifer Ramelmeier caution against overusing Frontline as it can lead to skin reactions and neurological problems in some animals. Furthermore, they advise maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle for your pet as healthier pets have lower body temperatures which attract fewer fleas.
Simparica TRIO
Simparica TRIO, a monthly chewable tablet for puppies, provides comprehensive protection from fleas, ticks, intestinal parasites and heartworm disease in one easy treatment regimen. Additionally, adult hookworms can also be treated and controlled using this treatment, containing the active ingredients sarolaner, moxidectin and pyrantel. Sarolaner targets neuromuscular junctions in parasites while moxidectin interferes with chloride channel mediated neurotransmission causing paralysis and death while Pyrantel kills ticks by blocking their nervous systems and altering their movements to disrupt movement patterns of ticks that affect them throughout their lifetimes.
At the conclusion of a 330-day study, 246 dogs treated with Simparica TRIO and 119 with Ivermectin + Pyrantel showed no evidence of heartworm disease. Both types of chewable tablets killed existing fleas within four hours and stopped further ones developing within 24 hours, and also prevented new flea larvae from hatching within that same period.
This product also helped protect dogs from flea allergy dermatitis (FAD), quickly decreasing pruritus – one of the main clinical signs seen with FAD – as quickly as possible. Furthermore, this product reduced Lyme disease risk by eliminating Amblyomma maculatum, Dermacentor variabilis and Ixodes scapularis ticks by killing them and inhibiting microfilariae development within them.
