In recent years, preventative medicine for pets has really come a long way. This also means that there are plenty of options when it comes to finding the best tick & flea treatments for your furry friends.
Two of the most common flea and tick treatments include topical spot-on treatments and oral chewable tablets. Topical treatments are applied to your dog’s coat from shoulder blades to tail. Chewable medicines provide long-lasting barriers from the inside out.
In this post, we’ll be comparing the two options to help you understand which one is a better choice for your pet!
Comparing chewable versus topical tick & flea treatments
Chewable Treatment
We recently had the opportunity to review the range of Bravecto chewable and topical treatments. The chewable tick & flea option is administered orally and contains fluralaner. It can only be used for dogs to help kill ticks, fleas, sarcoptic mites and ear mites. This medicine starts working after 4 hours of being administered. It promises to kill up to 95% of fleas within 12 hours. For flea and tick protection, chewables give you up to 12 weeks before you need to give your dog another chewie.
Unlike most tick and flea products, Bravecto’s chews are safe for pregnant, breeding, and lactating dogs. It’s also safe for pets with an MDR 1 gene mutation. They are safe for puppies too, as long as they’re older than eight weeks and weigh at least 2kg.
There’s no guesswork to be done since pet owners can choose between suitable dosages for toy, small, medium, large, and extra-large breeds. Since dogs love the taste of Bravecto chews, they’re effortless to administer and non-messy.
If your dog happens to get sick and vomits after he or she ingested the tablet, it won’t offer any protection. You also need to keep in mind that these chews don’t repel ticks and fleas. The pests die when they bite your dog. Another thing to keep in mind is the price. Bravecto Chews are not the cheapest on the market. They’re much more expensive than spot-on treatments. But they’re one of your most effective solutions.
Spot-On Treatment
Bravecto’s spot-on treatment also contains fluralaner but is applied topically. This isn’t a product that’s as specific as the chews since it comes available in variants for both dogs and cats. The spot-on treatment takes a little longer to kick in. It’ll also only start working around 8 hours after it has been applied.
Protection wise, you can rest assured that your dog or cat will be protected against fleas for up to 24 weeks if they’ve been treated with Bravecto spot-on. As far as ticks are concerned, the treatment offers roughly 16 weeks of protection.
Just like Bravecto chews, the spot-on treatment can be used for pregnant, breeding, and lactating dogs. It’s never a good idea to treat puppies with tick & flea products before the age of 8 weeks or until they weigh at least 2kg.
The downside to spot-on treatments is that they can be messy because they have to be applied topically. The solution also needs to dry for at least 30 minutes. This means you need to prevent your pet from licking the treatment area and getting wet during this time.
After you’ve applied the treatment, your pooch (or purr baby) also needs to stay away from kids and water for at least three days. Although this option is cheaper than chews, it works well to repel ticks and fleas.
Which option is best?
Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide which option better suits your needs and budget. If you own a cat, there are no two ways about it. Spot-on is about your only option in the Bravecto range.
Keep in mind that spot-on might not be the best idea for dogs that have sensitive coats, avid swimmers, and dogs that basically live like members of the family.
Bravecto chews are convenient than topical tick & flea treatments, but the protection doesn’t last as long as the topical spot-on treatments. Chews are mess and fuss-free, but spot-on treatments offer direct, parasite-repelling and killing action that’s also long-lasting.
