Hello all.


Although it is still winter outside (and my husky love it ) I am preparing for the spring already. Our first spring in CH...


I am quite worried about ticks here in Zurich as I read that they are very well presented here and usually they are infected.


So I am looking for an effective tick control.
It doesn't matter if this is spray, spot-on, collar or any other repellent, more important for me is that it is not a “real poison” as my poor Freya had very bad reaction on Expot and now I am terrified of everything. I know I will need to give her something so will you be so kind and tell me what are you (well, your dogs ) using against ticks? And if your dogs had any reactions on any of those repellents?

I suggest you go and discuss this with your vet. Ticks are a major problem here and if they're around your dog will find them so you must treat it. We've used "Frontline" and "Expot" with no problems despite one of our dogs being quite sensitive but one thing I would say is that Frontline isn't as effective as Expot. Frontline is more of a combi treatment for ticks and fleas whereas expot is just for ticks. But there a number of other treatments and I'm sure your vet will be able to recommend one that will suit your little friend.

True.

Not true in ZH - but obviously not worth the risk.

The spot-on's etc are not really repellents - they work by being drawn up into the dog's hair and the tick is killed as it moves through the impregnated hair - and of course they are chemical based. They do not 100% stop the tick biting.

You can use repellents but whether they really work or not is probably an individual feeling.

Spot-on with no adverse reaction that we have observed.

I have used Frontline for years with excellent results. For it to be maximally effective against ticks, you (or rather, Bowser) should use it monthly (for fleas only, every 3 months will do).

We use Scalibor collars for our dogs (available only at your vet) and found them to be very effective. Ask your vet about them.

You might also want to talk to your vet about the vaccine against Lime disease (transmitted via ticks). Lime disease is a major issue in the Swiss German area (a bit less so in the Swiss French area).

Our vet recommends the combi vac and tick/lyme desease treatment best give in March/April to be most effective during the season. We also use a tick/flea collar which is changed every 4 months even tough, the pack says 5-7. I have 3 labs and they have yet to pick up a tick here with this regeme.

We use Frontline monthly on the dogs, starting as soon as the snow melts until the cold weather sets in for good.

With the Hooligan, who spends a lot of time in water, we switch to a Scalibor collar as soon as it's warm enough for swimming. My oldie would not dream of getting his precious paws wet , so a Scalibor collar isn't necessary for him.

Still, I rigorously check for ticks after every excursion.

I understood you have to remove the Scalibor collar when they go swimming, not that this is an issue for our dogs. Apparently Bassets are terrible swimmers.

Our vet suggested this collar specifically because she spent so much time in the water...

ETA: OOPS.... I'm wrong. Just checked my records - it's not a Scalibor, its a Virbac collar.

(We use the Scalibor against sand flies/Leishmaniaisis when traveling in southern countries.)

Thank you all for your answers. You are the best

We used scalibor collar previous autumn, but I think we did't use it right It is probably necessary that dog wears collar all the time? Well, we used it only when we were outside (just for few times, then winter arrived), so I think I will try this year Scalibor again (but she will wear it all the time), also because it prevents from Leishmania (we travel a lot to Italy - Tirren sea - and there are many mosquitos).

Has anyone noticed any problems/reactions to Scalibor? I think in Scalibor they use the same active ingredient as in Expot and Advantix...

I hope I will find something for her.

Have a nice day - it is Friday.

Our dogs have never had a problem with the Scalibor. They did have a problem with X Spot. When you first put the Scalibor collar on your dog, you must leave it on continuously for the first 10 days, if I remember correctly.(might be 14,,,I can't recall and I don't have the instructions on hand) After that you can remove it when the dog goes swimming or has a bath and then put it back on when the dog is dry. Initially you may notice a fine white powder residue but this disapears quite quickly. The collar may stretch a little bit after some time but it can be tightened.

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Big time this year!
We live out in deer country and find ourselves removing 1 or 2 from each dog every evening.
Must get some repellant now. It´s really bad this year - don´t know why especially.

For those living near an infected area (Dübendorf ZH) maybe you should give some thought to the Borriliosis jab. We nearly lost our dog to this infection and she was never the same again. Also the antibiotics cost us about 500sf. Money well spent as long as you've got it.

Whereabouts are you? I take my dogs walking in the forest above Dietikon and Spreitenbach every day. There are loads of deer in there and the vet has warned that this is tick hotspot. Although I check the dogs carefully after every walk I've not once found a tick. I'm starting to worry that they're there but I'm not seeing them. I use Advantix once every 4 weeks but if ticks are as prevalent as I've been led to believe, surely I would have found at least one. I'm absolutely paranoid about them and now I'm at the point where I think I'd be relieved if I actually did find one. Or maybe Advantix really is that effective??

Out of interest, where on your dog do you usually find the ticks?

Can be almost anywhere but head, belly and where legs join the body are hotspots. Pay close attention to ears and around the mouth.

That's where I've been checking, and around their eyes. I'm spending longer and longer looking everyday. I saw some pictures on the internet showing how small some of them are - I thought they'd be big obvious things, like sugar puffs. Not little pin heads!

They are like pin heads when they settle but once they are engorged with blood they get much bigger and sometimes drop off.

My dogs have never had so many ticks, they have flea and tick collars on, have had the jab, and I've gone back to using Frontline Combo. I hate the damn things, but all you can do is give the treatments and check them after everywalk.

I feel a bit better about this now - Boris is getting ticks all the time and I am doing him every 3 weeks now. I will try one of the collars I think but it's horrible pulling the things out. Its better now he's had a hair cut and I can see what I am doing now!!