Your dog might look adorable when it scratches its ears or tries to get something “invisible” on its back, but if this is more than an occasional itch and your beloved pooch seems withdrawn or inactive, there’s a serious situation at hand. There are high chances that your canine’s lustrous coat might have had recent visits from fleas, ticks, or both. Fleas and ticks are stubborn pests that hide in your pet’s coat, feed off it, and multiply in no time. What’s made matters worse is that fleas and ticks have developed resistance to certain medications that were earlier used to get rid of them.

Flea and tick bites can cause severe irritation to your pets and even trigger skin infection if left untreated. To get rid of fleas and ticks and to ensure that your dog remains protected against them in the future, you can opt for certain flea and tick medications for dogs. These medications are available in the form of oral pills, chewables, and topical applicants. It can be tough to get your overzealous canine to stay still while applying medication, and dogs being dogs, can sniff out the tablets hidden in treats. So, to ensure that your pooch does take the medication, you can opt for chewables.

Here are certain chewable flea and tick medications for dogs that have proven to be effective in controlling and preventing fleas and ticks:

NexGard® chewables : This chewable flea and tick medication is available in a delicious and chewable beef-flavored tablet, which your dog would have absolutely no problem in consuming. In addition, your pet dog cannot even sniff it out if you hide it in their food. It is completely safe and can be administered to dogs and puppies that are over 8 weeks old and weigh more than four pounds. Each tablet kills adult fleas before they can lay eggs. It is quite effective in killing several species of ticks like the black-legged tick, American dog tick, and the Lone Star tick. It should be administered once every month and will remain effective for the whole period in between.

Trifexis® chewable tablet : This chewable flea and tick medication for dogs is a multi-ingredient treatment and combines compounds that treat flea and worm infestations. It is quite effective in preventing heartworm disease in dogs and can treat and control adult hookworm. This medication can get rid of pesky parasites that can trigger skin infections and other fatal diseases in your beloved pooch. It is available in the form of a beef-flavored tablet and is to be administered once a month. Also, it starts working in the first 30 minutes, and all the fleas are killed within 4 hours.

Bravecto® Chews : Bravecto® Chews is the first oral chew for dogs that offers up to 12 weeks of protection from fleas and ticks. This pork-flavored chewable provides broad-spectrum and long-lasting protection to your pet dog; it starts killing fleas within 2 hours and controls 4 tick species: black-legged tick, American dog tick, brown dog tick, and Lone Star tick. This chewable flea and tick medication for dogs also eliminates current flea infestations and prevents new ones from developing for the next 12 weeks.

advantus™ flea soft chews : If you wish to opt for a fast solution for your dog’s flea and tick problem, advantus™ flea soft chews help you do just that. It is advisable to weigh your dog before you decide to administer the medication as it is suitable for dogs of specific weight only. This chewable tablet is easy to administer and can be fed to your dog once a day. The best part of opting for this chewable is that it begins working in just one hour of administration; the ingredients used in this chewable flea and tick medication for dogs work to paralyze the fleas and kill them within 1 hour of treatment. It takes about 30 days to break the entire flea life cycle, and you need to ensure that you treat sources of new fleas as well.

Comfortis chewables : This is an FDA-approved chewable that is available in the form of a beef-flavored tablet derived from pork protein and hydrolyzed soy. This chewable flea and tick medication for dogs can kill fleas and prevent flea infestations on your pet for a full month. The active agent in Comfortis can kill the pests by causing excitation of their nervous system, paralysis, and rapid death. To prevent flea infestations, it is advisable to start the course of this medication one month before fleas become active and continue it through the end of the flea season.

Credelio chewables : Credelio is one of the leading chewable flea and tick medications for dogs. It is known to offer monthly protection against ticks and fleas and can also treat flea infestations. This medication is best-suited for puppies 8 weeks of age and older, that weigh at least 4.4 pounds. It takes just four hours to start working and provides 100 percent monthly efficacy against fleas and 97 percent against ticks. Since this is available in the form of a chewable tablet, it is easy to administer it along with your dog’s favorite food.

All these medications are effective in controlling fleas and ticks that pester your dog, but it is essential that you visit a vet instead of self-medicating. Do not skip this part as the vet is the right person to gauge your dog’s health condition and will prescribe medications according to it.