Seresto Collar

[Ted Hicks]

First, I did some searching and did not find anything on this topic; I apologize if I missed it.

As has been mentioned on this site lately, tick season has returned at least up here in the Northeast and I've removed at least 50 live ticks from my setter over the past two weeks alone.

We have him on Nexgard which is effective at killing ticks that bite him and draw blood, but he still brings live ticks into the house regularly. I wanted to try something else that could help prevent that. After reading around and talking to my Vet, I decided to try the Seresto collar. It is supposed to repel ticks to prevent them from getting on the dog in the first place, but then it is also supposed to kill them on contact.

I was just wondering if any PGCA folks have experience or other thoughts on this collar or other options for controlling ticks. Feel free to chime in!

[Gary Laudermilch]

I used Frontline Plus for years with good success. But, as you say it only kills them when they attempt to attach. The ticks were so bad last fall that it was not uncommon to remove over a hundred after a run. So, I switched to the Seresto collar late last fall because of its supposed repellent ability. I have to say it does indeed seem to repel them and I have not found one tick attached. I put new collars on the dogs this spring at the first sign of tick activity and again it seems to do the job.

As an aside, my daughter-in-law is a vet tech and she states that they have had numerous cases where dogs had an adverse reaction to the Seresto collar. So, if you switch be on the lookout for problems. I have had none.

[Dean Romig]

We use Frontline (45lbs. - 88lbs) on Grace. It is effective at killing ticks on her - we often find dead ones in her hair and we encounter many ticks trying to find a way off of her, on the surface of her head and face fir and on her coat around her neck and shoulders.

But a few still come into the house on her and we spend time picking them off of her with tweezers and burning them over the gas range in the kitchen... but I won't keep her in a kennel so I guess it's just a fact of life that we simply have to be diligent.

Ticks are a big deal with us because of Kathy's compromised immune system so we're extra careful. Trust me, I hate to put these poisons on my girl but it is necessary so we do it and we're living with all these responsibilities.... and now Covid-19....





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[Harold Lee Pickens]

I like/use Seresto collars, but now change them every 6 mo. instead of the advertised 8 mo. I'll ask my brother which is his favorite, he's a vet. Maybe Shawn will weigh in with his opinion--don't know if Lyme disease is a big problem out west.(yet)

[Eric Eis]

I too have been using the Seresto collar and have been happy with the results and I change them out every six months like Harold. If you buy online be careful as there are counterfeits on the market, if the price is super low probably is a counterfeit. Check the Bayer website for more info.

I just went on line the collar sells $57 or two for $105 at retailers I trust, ie Walmart, Chewy, Petsmart etc., I saw others advertised between $18 and $30 these are the counterfeits (from China) if you look at the labels you can see the difference, wrong dog on the label, much wider white margin on another, so I guess it is wise to buy from a retailer that you know.

[Jay Gardner]

I’ve used both Frontline and Seresto with similar results but I prefer Seresto because I put on a collar and forget about it for 6-months. If I’m going to be running in a heavily tick infested area I will also use Adams spray on repellent. It lasts 2-3 days and doesn’t smell too bad.

[Dean Romig]

I don't know if Lyme disease is a big problem out west.(yet)


Lyme isn’t the only dangerous pathogen transmitted through tick bites. I was pretty sick for two weeks after a tick bite a few years back. It wasn’t Lyme but doc said it was a pretty rare bacteria almost always caused by a tick.





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[Harold Lee Pickens]

My brother Dale, the vet in Ashville, NC, has also warned me about the counterfeit Seresto collars out there--so I just have him get mine.

[Ted Hicks]

Lyme isn’t the only dangerous pathogen transmitted through tick bites. I was pretty sick for two weeks after a tick bite a few years back. It wasn’t Lyme but doc said it was a pretty rare bacteria almost always caused by a tick.

When I got Lyme disease a few years back from a tick bite, my doctor said the same thing...many types of bacteria are carried/transmitted by ticks. I saw the Doctor about 5 days after the tick bite when the classic "bulls eye" rash appeared. I said "Well, as long as it isn't Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever..." He replied: "We know it's not that because if it was you'd be dead by now."

Thanks for all the information about this!

[Eric Eis]

I’ve used both Frontline and Seresto with similar results but I prefer Seresto because I put on a collar and forget about it for 6-months. If I’m going to be running in a heavily tick infested area I will also use Adams spray on repellent. It lasts 2-3 days and doesn’t smell too bad.

Jay, what is Adams spray, never heard of it before and where do you get it?

[JAMES HALL]

Talk about tick born diseases google Q fever. It might make you think of what's happening in the times we are in.

[legh higgins]

I had a puppy client call me to see if any others in the litter had SEIZURES?
No not any- but hers had been using seresto collar and 2 times when putting on a fresh collar the adult dog had a seizure. she went to a topical and no more worries.:bigbye:

[Dean Romig]

Thanks Legh, that clinches it for me. I'll stay with Frontline - it works well enough for me.

Also Google Alpha gal Syndrome from a bacteria delivered by the Lone Star Tick... which by the way, I have found in my area for the last three or four years, in addition to the Texas Red Tick more commonly known as the Deer Tick, which is the predominant carrier of Lyme.





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[Eric Eis]

I had a puppy client call me to see if any others in the litter had SEIZURES?
No not any- but hers had been using seresto collar and 2 times when putting on a fresh collar the adult dog had a seizure. she went to a topical and no more worries.:bigbye:

That's why you need to watch your dog regardless of what medication you put them on. I have a friend that can't use Frontline too, every dog is different just like humans.

[Ted Hicks]

I had a puppy client call me to see if any others in the litter had SEIZURES?
No not any- but hers had been using seresto collar and 2 times when putting on a fresh collar the adult dog had a seizure. she went to a topical and no more worries.:bigbye:

Thanks for the warning Legh. I've read that that can happen and other more minor issues too. Grayson has had his Selesto collar on for about 20 hours now and is showing no signs of any change in behavior or other issues. It's easy these days to keep a 24/7 eye on him as we are cooperating with the self-isolation so we'll stay vigilant.

[Harold Lee Pickens]

There is not a medication made for man or beast that does not have side effects, most minor ,but for some serious. Hey, I love peanuts, but they will kill some people.
I also spritz my dogs down with this before hunting: Permectrin II, a 10% permethrin solution . You can buy an 8 oz bottle bottle for under $10 at animal supply stores like Southern States. You add 5cc to a quart of water, so that 8 oz bottle will make over 32 gallon of spray. I also spray my pants legs down with it to protect me.
BTW, checked with my brother, a veterinarian , he ok'd it. (use it with the seresto collars)

[Timothy Salgado]

I use Bravecto with my dogs, an oral chew that’s good for about three months and kills ticks and fleas, but like the other oral meds the bugs need to bite in order to kill them. It’s worked well for us, I crate my dogs overnight and after and the next day after I hunt I’ll find deceased ticks on the floor of the crate. When I inspect my black Labrador on the tailgate right after a hunt I pick off the ones I find, I can usually spot their brown body sections pretty well on her black hair.

[Hal Sheets]

We used the Seresto collars on our french brittanys a couple of years age. My wife is a vet. tech., so we know we had the real thing. The dogs didn't have any problems with the collars. (The good thing about the collars is if the dog has a reaction you can take it off.) In our case, I'm the one that had THE REACTION. If I fell asleep, with one of the dog's collars against my arm, I'd awake with an itchy red rash on that arm. Quite using the collars, problem solved. Now we are using Revolution (Selamectin topical).

[Eric Eis]

There is not a medication made for man or beast that does not have side effects, most minor ,but for some serious. Hey, I love peanuts, but they will kill some people.
I also spritz my dogs down with this before hunting: Permectrin II, a 10% permethrin solution . You can buy an 8 oz bottle bottle for under $10 at animal supply stores like Southern States. You add 5cc to a quart of water, so that 8 oz bottle will make over 32 gallon of spray. I also spray my pants legs down with it to protect me.
BTW, checked with my brother, a veterinarian , he ok'd it. (use it with the seresto collars)

Harold is the 8oz bottle a concentrate that you add to water to get a 10% solution or is it a 10% solution and you cutting it down further with water. Also once it dries is safe for dogs if they lick their fur?

[Harold Lee Pickens]

Hi Eric, yes, the bottle is a 10 % solution that you further dilute 5cc/quart of water. This a very common ingredient in many ticl/flea sprays

[Ted Hicks]

Just an update for those who may have been interested. I put the Seresto collar on the dog near April 1 after a couple of weeks of finding many live ticks on him in the house daily for over two weeks. The next full day I had Grayson out on our property in the brush looking for woodcock but did not find any. When we got back in the house I did find two ticks on him which were removed and properly dealt with.

Since then we've not seen another tick. I have him out regularly in the same areas where he was picking up lots of them and now none. I can't think of anything else that may have changed other than his collar and I can't believe that the ticks are suddenly gone for some reason. And, I've found ticks on myself, but none on the dog.

Grayson's behavior or demeanor has not changed at all and no family member has had any sort of troubling reaction...so far, so good.

[Harold Lee Pickens]

Seresto collars are on all 3 of my setters

[Jay Gardner]

Jay, what is Adams spray, never heard of it before and where do you get it?

Eric;

Sorry that I didn't see this earlier. You can find this at Tractor Supply and most pet supply stores. It has a smell but it's not horrible.

https://i.imgur.com/w8FKknXl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/YOuwqQul.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/a0XhO1Ml.jpg

[Mike Koneski]

We use Seresto collars on three setters and our oldest shepherd. The youngest shepherd will take an oral treatment until she's a year old, then she will have a Seresto collar too.

[Jay Gardner]

I heard rumors of dogs having seizures but never from anyone who owned a dog that actually had seizures. I checked with my vet and she had also heard rumors but had not seen it personally and she assured me that my dogs shouldn't have any problems. That was 4-5 years ago and none of my dog have had problems. I put them on in early March and keep forget about them until the first of January. Easy as can be.

There are oral meds that also protect against heart worm and that's tempting but like I said, I haven't had a problem with seizures, ticks, or fleas and so I'm pretty settled.

[Scott Chapman]

I am blessed that I don't currently practice where we have a lot of ticks, but in North and South Texas where we hunt during tick season I use:

Seresto collars (has flumethrin which is a synthetic pyrethrin that repels the ticks)

Bravecto (oral med that kills any ticks that bite the dog; lasts 3 months for deer ticks and 2 months for lonestar ticks -- our Texas ticks are tougher!!). You can use other similar oral products such as Nexgard, Simparica or Credelio, in place of Bravecto, but they are not labeled to last as long per dose. The others are labeled for 30 days.

Adam's flea/tick spray: Apply to the day of the hunt (another synthetic pyrethrin that repels the ticks.)

This is a boot and suspenders plan, but it is everything you can do to get rid of those blood suckers.

I have seen zero problems with seizures either new cases or directly attributed to any of these products, but there are reports. FWIW...

[Kerilynn Viccione]

This is an important topic-

My son nearly died from 5 late-stage tick-borne illnesses in 2015. He was 16 and bedridden with physical and cognitive impairment, fever, fatigue, and debilitating panic attacks. Just an FYI he never had joint pain or any classic lyme symptoms and all his preliminary tests came back negative. He had babeisiosis, bartonella, erlichia, anaplasmosis, and borrelia bergdorferi (classic lyme). (He is fine now, after 2 years of treatment, and he is a third year engineering student in college :))

We have 3 dogs. I have always sprayed my yard and used the collars and shampoos without much luck. We now use Simparica- a once a month tablet that has an ingredient to kill ticks before they even bite the dog but the agent is benign for dogs to ingest. Kind of like the vitamin K effect to rodents is not harmful to other animals. I worked in a veterinary hospital years ago and went to school for animal veterinary science the first time around, so I am always trying to learn about and investigate the new treatments.

Simparica has worked so well that we have literally not seen a tick in our home or on our dogs in over 3 years. Maybe one dead one on the floor. A drastic change from the hundreds of ticks each spring and fall on our dogs. I cannot recommend it enough. I works on our terrier and our great dane to the same degree of success. It is prescription only, but I get the handwritten script from the vet then order it from chewy.com for half the price.

Worth every single penny...

Kerilynn

[Dean Romig]

That's great advice Kerilynn from one who is obviously 'in the know'. Thank You!





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[Kerilynn Viccione]

Jay, what is Adams spray, never heard of it before and where do you get it?

Hi Eric,
Adams is a spray or shampoo that is very safe for puppies and dogs. It works very well and has a nice scent when dry. It used to be available only at the vet, but now you can buy it anywhere- I know Walmart carries it. You have to keep the shampoo on for a few minutes to get the effect, or you can dilute the water with the shampoo and submerge the dog in the bath up to the neck for the same effect. The spray is also good, but you have to make sure to cover areas such as folds of skin under arms, around the hock joint, behind the ears, etc.