It’s Not Dog Dander, It’s Flea Poop!

It’s 9 pm. You hit the couch and slowly conform to the stillness of the evening. The family dog is curled up beside you, asleep. Little do you know that there are many little black specks on that dog. Fleas. One jumps from the dog onto your bare arm. Your cat-like reflexes smack at the bug that has just landed on your arm. It doesn’t die; you look closely and see that it’s a flea. Those few minutes of solitude and relaxation are over. You reach over and run your fingers through the dog’s fur to find flea poop, lots of it. Your mind races, do we have any flea and tick treatment left from last year? So, you check the cupboard and the medicine cabinet, nothing. The vet is closed; it’s 9 pm.

Okay, well you can call in the morning and see if we can refill our Bravecto prescription. You settle back into the comfort of your couch the dog is now laying at your feet, but that sensation that something is crawling on your skin does not wain. At least the dog is comfortable right now.

Sound familiar? Some pet owners keep their pets on flea and tick medication year round as our winters are mild enough to see fleas through some winter months.

Have you brought your dog or cat in for an office visit within the last year? If so, you can come in and pick up prescription flea/ tick medication for your pet. If we have not seen your pet recently, give our reception team a call at 250-743-3223, and they will book you an appointment to see one of our veterinarians Dr. Heidi Clouse, Dr. Jill Keogan, Dr. Susan Calverley and Dr. Bacty Turi.

Some of our more popular ectoparasites products are:

1. Simparica – A flavoured tablet that is given orally once a month to your dog, killing adult fleas before they have a chance to lay eggs. It breaks the fleas life-cycle, which is important to prevent flea infestation. Simparica also kills five species of ticks. With the population of ticks growing in Canada, preventing ticks on your dog helps prevent diseases that can affect both humans and dogs. This flavoured tablet lasts for the full 30 days, and dogs love the flavour.
2. Next on the bestseller list is Bravecto, another flavoured tablet that is given orally, which kills fleas and ticks, lasting for 12 weeks. Dosing every three months can be handy for those busy households. Bravecto now has a topical application available, for cats and dogs that kills fleas for twelve weeks and ticks for eight weeks. Does your dog hide when it’s time for medication? Try the topical application! Apply the full contents of the tube to the back of your cat or dogs neck, and Bravecto will do the rest.
3. Nexgard is chewable tablet used to prevent fleas and ticks, given once a month. This product can be used for puppies and adult dogs.
4. If a topical product is what you prefer, we carry Revolution for both dogs and cats. Revolution is applied once a month and kills fleas, ticks, and some internal parasites.
5. For those pets who haven’t had a visit with their veterinarian in the past year, we also sell Advantage over the counter. Advantage is a topical solution applied once a month to a dog or cat, sold in packages of four or six month supply.

Written by: Meghan Seal