Aussie Vets Warn: "It Only Takes One Missed Treatment."

(And the natural 12-month layer that works before the bite, not after it)

By Dr Matilda Jones
With facts from Australian vets, the University of Queensland and the APVMA

Archie was meant to be protected.

The eight-year-old kelpie from the Macleay Valley on the NSW Mid North Coast was on regular tick treatment. Then his family fell a week or two behind.

On 18 September he collapsed. He couldn't stand. He was fighting for every breath.

Antivenom. Five days in hospital. Almost $3,000. Archie made it home 1. Not every dog does: in the 2024 season, 1 in 10 pets treated for tick paralysis in eastern Australia died 2.

…then what you're about to read could make the difference between a normal spring and a night in the emergency vet's waiting room.

The real problem isn't that you don't protect your dog. Most of us do. The problem is something vets see every spring, and hardly anyone talks about: the 72-hour window.

Most tick products only kick in after a tick has bitten. And a paralysis tick usually needs around three days of feeding before the first signs show 13. That window is where everything happens: the late dose, the tick nobody found, the wobbly back legs at 11 pm.

What Aussie vets are seeing this spring

The numbers back them up. The AWLQ clinic on the Gold Coast treated 33 tick paralysis cases in September 2025 alone. In one week, 6 of 14 patients died 6. Emergency vets in Cairns treated close to 70 dogs and cats between June and August this year 7, months before the usual peak.

None of the vets or clinics quoted here are connected with dogcare or recommend our product.

What the leaflets don't put on the front of the box

Most tick chews in Australia belong to one drug group, the isoxazolines: Bravecto, NexGard, NexGard SPECTRA, Simparica and Credelio. Here's what's on the record:

• All of them list seizures as a possible side effect on their own Australian labels 8.
• After Australian owners reported side effects, the APVMA had the labels of NexGard and Bravecto updated with new warnings 9.
• In 2018 the US FDA warned owners and vets about tremors, wobbliness and seizures across the whole drug group 10.
• The FDA's public database now holds over 3,000 reports of dogs that died after being given one of these drugs 11.

Owners on ProductReview put it in their own words: "Now I'm too frightened to give it to him." 12

Problem 1: The chew doesn't stop the bite. It punishes it afterwards.

A tick has to latch on and start feeding before the drug in your dog's blood can reach it. Bravecto says it plainly on its own Australian website: it kills over 95% of paralysis ticks "within 72 hours after tick attachment", and owners should still search their dog for ticks every day 14.

Seventy-two hours. The same window in which the first signs of tick paralysis can show.

And ticks still get through. A two-year-old lab cross on the NSW far south coast was on NexGard SPECTRA when his owner found an engorged tick at the base of his tail. The first sign: he stopped jumping onto her bed. The vet bill: about $1,700 15.

Problem 2: Spot-ons and chemical collars spread insecticide through the coat

They don't go into the blood the way a chew does. Instead, the insecticide spreads through the natural oils of your dog's skin and coat. That's how it reaches the tick.

It also means it's on the fur you pat every evening, on the couch your dog naps on, and on the kids' hands after a cuddle. And it still has to be redone every few weeks, or every few months for a collar, with a gap every time someone forgets.

And there's no real break anymore

And the edges are blurring. South Coast and Snowy vets now see cases into April and May 5, and a Sunshine Coast cat ended up in hospital in August after his chew was paused "because it was winter" 17.

The idea that's been working in Europe

In Germany, Austria and Switzerland the ticks are a different species, but owners face the same dilemma: the tick or the tablet. That's where a simple idea took off. Instead of putting a drug into the dog, put a natural scent barrier right where the ticks go: at the collar.

More than 15,000 happy customers later, the pendant is now available in Australia, under the name dogcare.

How it works

Instead of killing the tick after it bites, keep it from latching on in the first place.

What the first 72 hours look like

The maths nobody shows you

3× more for the chew, before a single vet bill. And the money isn't even the real cost. The real cost is the night you spend wondering whether you missed one.

Why now

Paralysis tick season on the east coast usually peaks until late November 13. Every week the pendant isn't on is a week of the season your dog relies on a dose being on time and a tick being found.

What owners in Europe say

Sandra M.★★★★★

"My dog got ticks every single year. Since the pendant, not one."

Monika W.★★★★★

"I was sceptical at first, but wow. My dog's back to relaxed walks in the forest without me checking her for hours afterwards."

Bianca M.★★★★★

"I love that it's natural and smells great. No pesky insects, no chemical meds that made her sick, just tail wags."

Your decision

You've got two paths in front of you.

Next time you watch your dog asleep on the couch, ask yourself: what's circulating in her blood right now? And what's keeping the ticks off her neck tonight?

Tick season offer

dogcare 12-Month Tick & Flea Pendant

★★★★★ 15,000+ happy customers

$64.95$89.95−28%

🎁 A free reflective collar with every pendant

Check availability →

• 60-day money-back guarantee
• Six plant oils, nothing to swallow
• Up to 12 months per pendant
• Waterproof, fits every dog
• No vet script needed
• Free tracked shipping on every order

Why the offer? Paralysis tick season is peaking on the east coast right now. We'd rather more dogs start it with an extra layer at the collar.