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Multi-use product that kills adult fleas, prevents infestations, prevents heartworm disease, and treats ear mites Last up on our list of the best flea treatments for dogs is Advecta II Flea Treatment. This product is specially formulated to effectively break the life cycle of fleas. In other words, it is made to kill fleas during all stages of their life cycle, including eggs, larvae, and adults. It contains the same active ingredients as other products on our list, but it’s sold for a fraction of the price, which makes it an attractive option for pet owners who want to find an effective flea treatment for dogs but don’t want to spend a lot of money.
Preventing flea infestations, veterinarians say, is much easier and more cost-effective than treating them. “The longer an infestation goes without treatment, the more environmental contamination will occur which can make resolving the infestation more difficult,” says Dr. Ashley Barnes, medical director at Louisville Family Animal Hospital in Louisville, Colorado. “It also increases the time the pet will be uncomfortable and increases risk for secondary skin infections.” NexGard is available in four sizes and you should select weight range that best aligns with your dog. For prevention of cutaneous dirofilariasis, the product must be applied at regular monthly intervals during the time of the year when mosquitoes (the intermediate hosts which carry and transmit D. repens larvae) are present. The product may be administered throughout the year or at least 1 month before the first expected exposure to mosquitoes. Treatment should continue at regular monthly intervals until 1 month after the last exposure to mosquitoes. To establish a treatment routine, it is recommended that the same day or date be used each month. Simparica Trio requires a prescription from a veterinarian and is available in six sizes according to weight. It's safe for puppies as young as eight weeks old and weighing at least 2.8 pounds. All featured products are chosen at the discretion of the Great Pet Care editorial team and do not reflect a direct endorsement by the author.Prescription topical medications are typically more effective, and non-prescription topicals vary in their effectiveness. “If I know someone who wants the cheapest medication, I try to steer them toward Frontline Plus or Advantage because they are over the counter and known to be safe and usually effective,” says Jeffrey. Flea Collars With a range of flea treatments available, you have a choice to make. Will your canine fare better with a flea collar, a spot-on treatment, a chewable tablet or a chemical-free shampoo? As every dog’s behaviour and lifestyle is different, it’s worth trialling a few different methods to find one that works best for you both. Flea powders are only active for the few days that they remain on the coat and only kill adult fleas, not the larvae. For these reasons they have no long-term effect, so are not a good choice for treatment. Flea collars Although experimental overdosage studies have shown that the product may be safely administered to dogs infected with adult heartworms, it has no therapeutic effect against adult Dirofilaria immitis. It is therefore recommended that all dogs 6 months of age or more, living in areas endemic for heartworm, should be tested for existing adult heartworm infection before being treated with the product. At the discretion of the veterinarian, infected dogs should be treated with an adulticide to remove adult heartworms. The safety of Advocate has not been evaluated when administered on the same day as an adulticide. While effective at killing fleas, we’re less convinced of its preventative effectiveness. Adams Plus contains an insect growth regulator that the manufacturer claims can prevent flea development for up to 28 days. However, Dr. Melissa Hall, Dutch vet specialist and board certified veterinary dermatologist advised that the shampoo is better used in conjunction with other preventative treatments, telling The Spruce Pets that it’s "good for a current infestation but will not be an effective preventative."
Not only are fleas annoying, but they can also carry tapeworm eggs that can cause a tapeworm infection in your dog, which would require a dog worming treatment to get rid of. For some dogs, flea allergy dermatitis is also a risk, this is where your dog is allergic to flea bites. S-methoprene: Sometimes referred to by a trade name, Precor, this chemical is an insect growth regulator which disrupts the hormone levels of insects rather than killing them. Like we said, there are a number of flea treatments for dogs on the market. So, how can you tell which options are the best? Below, we highlight some of the most important features that the best flea treatment options will offer:
Flea collars
After 24 hours, the fragrance free, non-greasy solution is waterproof so it's a solid choice for dogs that love spending time outdoors. Vectra 3D comes in five sizes that correspond with a dog's weight, from five to over 95 pounds. It's also suitable for use on puppies as young as eight weeks. The use of the product should be based on the confirmed diagnosis of mixed infection (or risk of infection, where prevention applies) at the same time.
Like spot-on flea treatments, the strength of Bravecto depends on the size and weight of your dog: a 250mg chew for small dogs (4.5-10kg), a 500mg chew for medium dogs (10-20kg) and a 1,000mg chew for large dogs (20-40kg). The chew tastes like pork (apparently!) and will still administer the same results if it’s crumbled up into your dog’s food. Cost and convenience are, of course, important considerations when choosing a flea medicine. Other factors like your dog’s medical history and size, as well as product reliability, are critical to consider, too. What to Do When Purchasing a Flea Medicine First up on our list of the best flea treatments for dogs is Bayer Advantage II Topical Flea Treatment for Dogs. It’s one of the top flea treatments that are recommended by vests. This product is designed to combat fleas at multiple stages of life; one of the ingredients kills adult fleas, and another kills eggs and larvae, preventing them from developing. Prevention is when you give your dog flea medicine on a regular basis to prevent infestations, says Jeffrey, “But it can also mean the product has ingredients that will repel fleas.” Treatment, she says, is when you use a product to kill fleas already known to be present on your dog.
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Capstar—a tablet that is available without a prescription—only targets fleas and is only effective for a short time. Capstar kills fleas that are on your dog at the time you administer the tablet, but it doesn’t have the long-lasting benefits of other flea preventatives. (It only kills adult fleas as opposed to other oral products that have growth regulators, in addition to adulticides.) “In really bad infestations, we will sometimes use Capstar along with a preventative so we kill the fleas faster but prevent reinfestation,” says Barnes. Ivermectin-sensitive Collie dogs tolerated up to 5 times the recommended dose repeated at monthly intervals without any adverse effects, but the safety of application at weekly intervals has not been investigated in ivermectin-sensitive Collie dogs. When 40% of the unit dose was given orally, severe neurological signs were observed. Oral administration of 10% of the recommended dose produced no adverse effects.
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