Unsure of how to apply a topical flea & tick preventative to your dog or cat? Here's a quick lesson
I always stress how important it is to be mindful of using flea and tick preventative for dogs and cats, and due to the mild winter, this spring and summer are set to be a challenging time as far as the little buggers go, experts say.
Being the diligent pet owner that you are, it's likely that you've already gone out and picked up preventative for your furry friends. (Right?)
Do you ever leave the vet's office or other point of purchase with your pet's topical flea and tick preventative and think to yourself, "I'm not really sure how to put this on. Am I doing it correctly?"
You might feel kind of silly asking for a how-to from your clinician (although you shouldn't — they're happy to demonstrate), but you're not alone. Plenty of people are in the same boat!
If you haven't asked, and feel all thumbs when it comes to applying it, I've found a clear, concise video for you that's a great tutorial on how to do it right.
Lorrie Shaw leads the pets section for AnnArbor.com. Catch her daily dog walking and pet sitting adventures or email her directly and subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.
Comments
Tesla
Fri, Apr 27, 2012 : 1:21 a.m.
Lorrie what about splitting the dose and applying half on the back just in front of the tail of the animal. I always thought that was a decent idea. Yes. No?
Lorrie Shaw
Fri, Apr 27, 2012 : 1:49 a.m.
Great, great question, Tesla! Actually, the reason that the reason that dose is placed between the shoulder blades is so that pets can't lick it off. So for that reason, dosing elsewhere on the body seems like a bad idea. As RunsWithScissors says, follow label instructions - and check with a vet or other clinician. Thanks for pointing that out!
RunsWithScissors
Fri, Apr 27, 2012 : 1:32 a.m.
Good question. I've seen instructions that would have you split the dose and others that state you should apply it all between the shoulder blades. But when in doubt, follow the specific instructions included with the repellant.
Bear
Thu, Apr 26, 2012 : 5:37 p.m.
Back of the neck, where they can't lick; what's so hard about that? Been giving topical flea meds to my cat for 10 years.
Lorrie Shaw
Thu, Apr 26, 2012 : 7:41 p.m.
Bear: I'm glad that you are comfortable doing it, but other people are not. You would be surprised at the number of people who ask me exactly how it should be done. If that's the case, I know that there are plenty of others who don't ask. It really needs to have contact with the skin (and in the right area so that it's not ingested) and that's where I see pet owners make their error. Application on top of the fur isn't sufficient; the topical doesn't work and the effort and money is wasted. Thanks for taking the time to comment!