When I removed a second tick from one of our dogs during a cold week in March, I knew something had to be done. With the exponentially increasing deer population in our area comes an increasing population of the vile deer tick. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lymes Disease are just two nasty illnesses carried by these blood-sucking bugs. Needless to say, I don’t want ticks on my dogs!
My dogs regularly receive Sentinel, which covers heartworms, hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms. Sentinel also breaks the flea’s life cycle by inhibiting egg development. Unfortunately, Sentinel does not cover ticks. After a discussion with my vet, I decided to give the Seresto collar by Beyer a try for preventing ticks.
Pros:
- Convenient: no monthly application to remember
- Durable
- Cheaper than many monthly topical tick preventatives
- Odor free
- Easy to use
- No grease
Cons:
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- Effectiveness can be decreased by shampooing more than once per month
- Needs to be tight enough to stay in contact with your pet’s skin
Quality: Durable – Our dogs wore their collars for the full eight months, and they held up great. Our dogs swam, hiked, and rough housed with other dogs in them.
Functionality: Easy to use, adjustable, removable
Effectiveness: Research indicates that slow release flumethrin/imidacloprid collars are very effective
Best for: Flea & tick prevention for dogs that are not already infested with fleas or ticks. For use with dogs >7 weeks old.
Where to Buy: Seresto collars are available at most vets & pet supply stores. I personally found them the cheapest at 1-800-PetMeds but have noticed that the best prices varies between there & Amazon depending on the current promotions.
The Seresto collar comes in two sizes: a small dog collar for dogs <18lbs and a large dog collar for dogs >18lbs. I ordered the large size for all three of our dogs. The Seresto collar is very easy to use. It comes wound up in a tin case. Simply fit it to your dog’s neck and cut off the excess. I’ve never had a problem with the collar accidentally coming off, yet it is easily removed when needed. I chose to remove the collar for baths and grooming since the effectiveness can be decreased by frequent bathing but left it on for romps in the river. My dogs didn’t even notice they were wearing the Seresto. When walking two dogs side by side through the woods, we found a tick on the one without the Seresto collar on several occasions and none on the dog wearing the collar. My dogs did not acquire fleas, mange or lice while wearing the Seresto (although they’ve never had any of those parasites while not wearing the collar either). The collar comes with optional attachable reflectors, which we chose not to use.
Please note: my dogs were not infested with fleas or ticks prior to the collar application, and they also receive oral Sentinel, which is a flea preventative.