Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
I searched thru the forums and found a number of posts about flea and tick control but could not find anything specifically about using flea and tick control products during chemo.
My dog just underwent amputation a week ago and is scheduled for his first chemo (doxirubicin) treatment next week. He was due for his frontline last week. Is there a problem with using frontline while he is undergoing chemo treatments?
I would prefer not to use chemical flea/tick treatments at all, but several years ago I tried to lessen the frequency of the treatments and found that treatments for infestations seemed worse than prevention (we are in Florida which is ripe with fleas and ticks).
-- AJ
Oh that is such a tough situation when you live in a tropical place with fleas everywhere.
Vets have told us that it's OK to keep using it on dogs with cancer, that the risks of disease from fleas are far greater than those of the chemical itself.
I have also been told by holistic practitioners that they would never use it, especially during chemo, because their immune systems are so compromised at that time and introducing additional toxins is asking for trouble. Have you asked your oncologist their opinion? I would love to hear what they have to say.
We have written about fighting fleas (in general) in our Nutrition blog :
"The Flea Dilemma for Cancer Dogs"
"Fight Fleas Naturally with Cedar Oil"
My personal experience has been that flea prevention starts with really excellent nutrition. Dogs who eat whole, healthy foods have stronger immune systems that fleas stay away from. The Flea Dilemma article talks about that.
After I got cancer, I started eating even healthier. I didn't use flea products anymore, and I never had another flea outbreak, even when I was in Florida for a few months. Our Tripawds Spokesdawg Wyatt Ray has never used chemical flea products and we've only found a tick on him once, and he's been to Texas where fleas are terrible.
Are fleas an issue right now? If so, I wonder if cutting back on the dosage just a bit, maybe a half-dose (the next dose down for a smaller dog, perhaps?) on your regular schedule, would still provide protection while allowing you to take preventative measures at home and with his diet? Just a thought, I've never tried that.
Hope this helps.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We stopped using Frontline when Max was on chemo because our oncologist basically just didn't think it was healthy. We switched to an all natural product called Flea Treats (http://www.fleatreat.com/). They worked, so maybe that's something you want to check out. But I agree with Jerry, also ask your oncologist and get their opinion.
Our oncologist said that it would be ok to use Frontline during chemo. Since my dog is not outside much these days, I've held off for now. Maximutt, thanks for the pointer -- I'll check that out!
Are Flea Treats effective against ticks? Tate's never had fleas but ticks can be a problem when we're at the cabin (even with Frontline, so it has to be really good stuff.)
http://tate.tripawds.com/
August 16, 2006 to November 28, 2011
TATE ~ Forever in our hearts.
No, Flea Treats didn't work for ticks. Just fleas. In fact, it doesn't even kill fleas. What it does is causes an odor on the dogs that fleas don't like. So the flea decides not to be on that particular dog. It's not anything a human can smell, and it doesn't bug the dog at all; just fleas. I think it's explained a lot better on their website.
1 Guest(s)
