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What's the Best Flea Medicine for Dogs?
When it comes to parasites, the only one that has nearly the same notoriety as mosquitoes are fleas. Now it’s true that mosquitoes torment dogs in the same way they torment humans, but we don’t have to deal with fleas. Fleas bite over and over again, and for the poor dog it’s really a bad situation that causes them excessive and ongoing itching. It can even lead to mange if the fleas are not dealt with, and so it’s natural that these owners will be asking as to what’s the best flea medicine for dogs? The truth is that there’s no one best medication for fleas and a number of very effective ones are available.
We’re going to take a look at how does flea medicine work for dogs here too, but we’ll begin by looking at what are increased risk factors for fleas and why there’s the potential for greater health risks if the dog owner doesn’t take action to get rid of fleas. Fortunately, most dog owners care very much about their pet’s well being so they’d never choose to do nothing if their dog has fleas. You can buy a flea collar, flea comb, or flea shampoo without a prescription, but if you’re wondering do I need a prescription for dog flea medicine then it’s good to know you almost always do need one.
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It is true, however, that for many dog owners the most complete way to treat fleas is to is a quality flea medication along with a flea collar, flea shampoo, and flea comb. It's more time consuming - especially using a flea comb to get rid of fleas - but it may be the best way to get rid of as many fleas as possible.
The Way Flea Medications Work
Some people won’t see any need to know how they work, just as long as they do. For more inquisitive types, however, they may want to know how does flea medicine work for dogs. Most of them take a combination approach to killing fleas and then preventing them from re-establishing their numbers. They do this by killing fleas that are feeding on the surface of the dog’s skin, and then also working to similarly eliminate the flea eggs and immature larvae so that the problem is entirely eliminated. Most of these medications are taken orally, and only need to be taken once a month.
For many owners, what’s the best flea medicine for dogs will also mean evaluating which of them can be a multi-parasite solution. There are flea medications that kill worms too, and most of them contain a topical parasiticide called selamectin that is capable of killing fleas plus also killing a number of other different parasites with the same application – ticks, ear mites, hookworms, roundworms, and heartworms. A medication that kills fleas and heartworms together is always going to be a popular choice given how very dangerous heartworms can be for a dog.
Exposure Risks for Fleas
There's not much more that's needed to be said here other than this; if you're dog is allowed to get outdoors and enjoy themselves (which they absolutely should be!) then they're almost certainly going to pick up fleas at some point. It's true that there are some areas of the country where fleas are going to be more prevalent, but dogs can get fleas anywhere. However, one of the most common ways dogs get fleas is by coming into contact with other dogs who have fleas.
No one should suggest you should prevent your dog from playing with other ones in the park, but one thing you should avoid is leaving your dog in a kennel if there's any way to avoid it. It's all too common for dogs to pick up fleas when they stay in a kennel. Perhaps a part of what's the best flea medication for dogs is to understand what you can do to keep them from being exposed to them. With that said, though, much of the time there's not much you can do to prevent fleas. Fortunately good flea medications aren't overly expensive and most only need to be taken once a month.
What's the Best Flea Medicine for Dogs - Here Are Our Picks
We’ve gone over how does flea medicine work for dogs, and do I need a prescription for dog flea medicine so all that’s left is to is to provide a list of the best flea medication. Many of these are the best flea and tick medications too, and as mentioned ones that contain selamectin will be able to kill fleas and worms at the same time.
So here are the best flea medicines for dogs:
Revolution – This is one of the more well known and regarded flea and tick medications that contains selamectin to also make it capable of eliminating ticks, ear mites, and all parasitic worms, including heartworms. It’s a topical solution that’s applied once a month and can be used for dogs any time after they’ve reached 6 weeks of age.
Advantage Multi – Same goes for this one, although its active ingredients are imidacloprid and moxidectin. These are also topical parasiticides that are equally effective for killing fleas and worms. It’s also applied directly to the skin once a month, but it’s approved for use from 7 weeks and up and one major difference between it and Revolution is that Advantage Multi does not kill ticks.
Sentinel – This good flea medication ticks nearly all the boxes in the same way Revolution does, meaning that it can wipe out fleas and worms but also doesn’t target ticks. It’s an equally effective medication with a similarly good reputation, and the main functional difference is in the administration method. Revolution and Advantage Multi are topical applications, but Sentinel is taken orally as a tablet.
If your dog doesn’t take well to anything being sprayed onto him or her then Sentinel may be your best choice when answering what’s the best flea medicine for dogs.
Frontline Plus – This one is also called Frontline Combo, and like Revolution and Advantage Multi it’s a topical application. When it comes to the number of different parasites it can eliminate, however, it’s this one and Revolution that are full-spectrum parasite medications for dogs.
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One of the major advantages when choosing Frontline plus as your flea and tick spray for dogs is that it’s the most waterproof effective of them. If your dog is an avid swimmer, Frontline Plus is probably your best choice as a flea killer medication.
