Q. My canine is allergic to many of the topical flea and tick preventatives on the market, including Frontline, Hartz and Advantage. In place of these, I heard if you give your dog a small amount of garlic every day, it would protect him or her.

I went online to get a recipe for dog biscuits and it mentioned that garlic was not good for dogs.

I am now confused as to what I should do for her. I want to protect her from fleas and ticks, but I don't want her to suffer from me doing so.

Please tell me if it is safe to give her the garlic, and if it isn't, what else I could do.

It is unfortunate that your dog is allergic to topical flea preventatives. The good news is that there are oral flea preventatives that also can be highly effective.

One oral preventative is lufenuron. This is available in the product called Program or in combination with a heartworm preventative in the product called Sentinel. Both of these products are manufactured by Novartis.

Lufenuron works by preventing flea eggs from developing into adults by inhibiting chitin (the outer covering of the flea) — thereby breaking the life cycle and preventing a flea infestation. It does not kill adult fleas.

Another oral preventative is nitenpyram. This is available in the product called Capstar that is also manufactured by Novartis. When given orally, Capstar kills adult fleas quickly — within six hours. Capstar has no residual effect so it is commonly combined with another product such as lufenuron to provide longer-lasting protection from fleas.

Comfortis is manufactured by Elanco and is a chewable, beef-flavored tablet that is given monthly. It kills fleas and is effective for one month.

Garlic is not recommended as a flea preventative for dogs. Large amounts of garlic may be toxic to animals and it is questionable whether it actually works.

Using a flea preventative is highly recommended. It can prevent a costly and uncomfortable flea infestation.

I suggest that you discuss these options with your veterinarian. Your veterinarian can recommend which of these highly effective and safe products would be best for your dog.

— Laura Bucklan

DVM