Flea and Parasite Prevention

Fleas are found year round in Bellevue Washington.  There are two ways to prevent flea infestation in your pet: 

1. Kill adult fleas with an insecticide.

2. Block the flea's reproductive cycle with an oral medication.

Our recommended topical insecticides include PARASTAR for dogs and CHERISTIN for cats.  These products kill 98–100% of adult fleas on your pet within 24 hours and also contains an ingredient that kills flea eggs and larvae to keep ALL stages of fleas from developing and pestering your pet and your family.

PARASTAR completely breaks the flea life cycle by effectively stopping the development of new fleas. And, PARASTAR kills all stages of 4 major ticks including the one which may carry Lyme disease.

For those clients that would like an oral option for flea and tick control for their dogs, there are a few other products we recommend.  One is NEXGARD, a chewable tablet given once a month that can be administered with or without a meal.  NEXGARD may be safely given in combination with other parasite preventatives if needed, such as a heartworm preventative.

SENTINEL SPECTRUM is an option for flea and internal parasite control.   It is an oral chew used for the prevention and control of flea populations, the prevention of heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) disease and the treatment and control of roundworms (Toxocara canis, Toxascaris leonina), hookworms (Ancylostoma caninum), whipworms (Trichuris vulpis), and tapeworms (Echinococcus multilocularis, Taenia pisiformis Echinococcus granulosus) in dogs.
SENTINEL contains the active ingredients milbemycin oxime, lufenuron, and praziquantel.  It must be administered with a meal.

Where heartworm transmission is not seasonal, SENTINEL SPECTRUM is given throughout the year. Dogs traveling to heartworm risk areas should be treated within 1 month of the beginning of the exposure to transmission.  Administration should be repeated monthly for 6 months.

Prior to initiating heartworm prevention, dogs should be tested for heartworm infection.  This is a simple blood test done in our office.

Another option for flea control in cats is PROGRAM Injectable. This is an injection that is given in our office every 6 months for the prevention and control of flea infestations in cats.

All dogs and cats in a household must be treated in order to prevent the build up of developing fleas in the environment, thus establishing an infestation.

The manufacturers of each of these preventatives guarantee their products for safety and efficacy when purchased through your veterinarian.