Summer has finally rolled around. For our family, this means fun in the sun, lazy days on the boat, swimming, and – of course – ticks! But this year, we’re using a new flea and tick collar on our dogs that have saved the day and allowed us to spend more time outside with them and less time worrying about flea and tick problems.
As I’m sure many pet parents can attest to, our two furry family members seem to attract every tick within a 50-mile radius of our wooded yard. Deke, our 4-year-old black Labrador, weighs about 65 pounds, and Annie, our 5-year-old Terrier/Chihuahua, is a whopping 7 pounds. We were concerned about using the same flea and tick product on both dogs because of their drastic size difference, but the Seresto flea & tick collar comes in two sizes to fit and protect them both.
We put the collars on in April as flea and tick season started to ramp up, and we have seen awesome results, especially on Annie. Since she’s a tiny dog, she’s a lot lower to the ground than Deke, which means she picks up ticks like a magnet. Last year, when we used a topical flea and tick preventive, we would come home from a stroll in the woods and Annie would be covered in ticks. We had to pull them off one-by-one before we went in the house. One time, we pulled 12 – yes, a dozen! – ticks off her!
During the summer, we spend a lot of time on or near the lake, which means our dogs are playing in the water. With other flea and tick collars, you should remove them before swimming because water can decrease the effectiveness of the product, but not Seresto flea and tick collars! They’re water-resistant, so they can be worn while our dogs are swimming. Music to our ears! That’s one less thing we need to worry about when we’re enjoying the outdoors with our dogs.
The collars are super easy to use, too. We just fit each collar around their necks, allowing for about two fingers to fit between the collar and their necks, and then snipped off any excess collar.
Deke and Annie have had the collars on for three months, but they work for up to eight months, so our dogs are protected the entire flea and tick season. This is great news for our on-the-go family because we don’t always remember those monthly topical applications. As a side note, in order to maintain an 8-month duration, dogs must not be bathed more than once per month. For dogs that swim once a month or more, the control duration is reduced to five months for fleas and to seven months for ticks.
The collars don’t have any smell, so we don’t have to worry about Deke and Annie being those stinky pets on the playground.
And they’re safe to use with existing collars, so we didn’t have to choose between our regular collars – that include our dog’s name and our name and contact information – and flea and tick collars. The dogs can still wear both collars.
Features of the Seresto flea & tick collar:
• An effective, reliable alternative to monthly flea and tick topicals
• Slow, continuous release of two proven active ingredients kills adult fleas and flea larvae, kills and REPELS ticks on dogs for up to eight months
• Odorless, water-resistant Flea & Tick Collars provide uninterrupted protection for up to eight months
• Each Seresto collar includes three clip-on reflectors to enhance your dog’s visibility
We are just so thrilled with the efficacy of these collars compared to topical treatment. No more of that what-are-you-putting-on-my-back-and-why-can’t-I-lick-it look from our puppies. Two paws up!
Did I mention they’re water-resistant? Time for a swim!
As a pet parent, you should always speak with your veterinarian about flea and tick preventives, and schedule wellness checkups for the overall health of your pets.