Flea and Tick Medicine for Dogs
Fleas itch. Ticks kill dogs. In India the tick is the bigger problem by a wide margin, and most flea and tick medicine for dogs sold here is really tick medicine that also handles fleas. Animeal stocks 106 products across oral tablets, spot-ons, collars, sprays, powders and shampoos, from 25 brands, in every weight band from a 2 kg puppy to a 60 kg Mastiff. We are a licensed veterinary pharmacy, so the advice below is what you would get at our counter.
Read This First If You Also Have a Cat
Some dog flea and tick products can kill a cat. This is the single most important thing on this page and almost nobody in India says it out loud.
Permethrin is the danger. Cats cannot break it down the way dogs can. A dose that is routine for a dog can cause tremors, seizures and death in a cat. On this page, Effitix, Advantix, Flickout Spray and Flick Out Soap all contain permethrin. Deltamethrin and cypermethrin carry the same risk. And it is not only direct application: a cat that grooms a dog treated a few hours ago can be poisoned. If you have both animals:
- Never apply a dog product to a cat, whatever the weight looks like
- Keep them apart until the spot-on is fully dry, which usually means overnight
- If you cannot keep them apart, choose a product without permethrin. Fipronil, selamectin, fluralaner and imidacloprid based products are the safer choice in a mixed household
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Amitraz, sold here as Ridd, is for dogs only. Do not put it on a cat
If a cat is drooling, twitching or having tremors after any contact with a treated dog, that is an emergency. Our Parel store is open 24 hours and can direct you.
At a Glance
| Products in stock |
67 of 106 |
| Brands |
25, including Boehringer Ingelheim, Zoetis, MSD, Bayer, Virbac, Vetoquinol, Sava Vet, Veko, Vivaldis |
| Formats |
Oral tablets, spot-on, collars, sprays, powders, shampoos, dips |
| Weight bands |
2 kg to 60 kg |
| Actives stocked |
Fluralaner, afoxolaner, sarolaner, fipronil, s-methoprene, selamectin, imidacloprid, moxidectin, permethrin, flumethrin, propoxur, amitraz, plus herbal |
| Prescription |
Most are over the counter. We still check suitability before dispatch |
Related: Flea & Tick for Cats · Dewormers for Dogs · Skin & Coat Care · Medicated Shampoo · Home Cleaning & Disinfectants
Why Ticks Matter More Than Fleas in India
A survey of 525 dogs across Delhi, Mumbai, Sikkim and Ladakh found ticks on 53 percent of them. Almost half, 49.7 percent, were carrying a tick-borne parasite in their blood. In Mumbai and Delhi, every tick collected was the brown dog tick, which lives happily indoors in Indian flats.
| What the tick carries |
Dogs infected |
What it does to a dog |
Ehrlichia canis /
Canine tick fever
|
20.6% |
Fever, then nosebleeds and bruising as the platelet count collapses. Untreated, it kills |
| Hepatozoon canis |
30% |
Fever, weakness, weight loss. Caught by swallowing a tick while licking, not only from the bite |
| Babesia |
5.7% |
Destroys red blood cells. Pale gums and dark, tea-coloured urine |
Nearly 4 in 10 infected dogs carried more than one of these parasites at once, which makes a dog far sicker than any one of them alone.
That is why tick control in India is not cosmetic. A flea infestation is miserable. A tick infestation can put your dog on a drip. The medicine on this page is a preventative, and prevention is the entire point. Once a dog has tick fever you are treating a blood disease, not a bug.
The Four Types of Flea and Tick Products, and Who Each One Suits
Flea and tick treatments for dogs come in four formats. They are not interchangeable, and the right one depends on your dog's life more than on your budget.
Oral tablets, the current best answer for most dogs
A chewable tablet the dog eats. The drug circulates in the blood, and a tick or flea that bites dies. Nothing sits on the coat, so bathing, swimming and children stroking the dog do not affect it. This is the format most Indian vets now recommend first.
We stock NexGard and NexGard Spectra (afoxolaner), Simparica and Simparica Trio (sarolaner), and Bravecto (fluralaner). Spectra and Trio also cover intestinal worms, so one tablet does two jobs. The trade-off: these cost the most, and because the parasite has to bite before it dies, they do not repel.
Spot-on, the workhorse
A pipette of liquid you part the fur and squeeze onto the skin between the shoulder blades. This is topical medication, it spreads through the skin oils, and it is by far the biggest part of our range at 46 products.
Fiprofort Plus, Flickout F, Fixotic Advance and Vi-Fi Forte are fipronil and s-methoprene, the same combination as Frontline Plus at a fraction of the price. Fipronil kills adults, s-methoprene kills eggs and larvae, which is what actually ends an infestation. Advocate and Assurity Plus add worm cover. Radicate, Selamec and Selaforte are selamectin, which also handles ear mites and sarcoptic mange. The trade-off: no bathing for 48 hours either side.
Collars, for dogs that hate everything else
We stock Kiltix (propoxur and flumethrin) and Seresto (imidacloprid and flumethrin), the eight-month collar and the longest protection you can buy. Seresto is out of stock at the moment. Collars suit dogs that vomit tablets and react to spot-ons. The trade-off: another dog in the house can chew it off, and it has to sit snug enough to touch the skin.
Sprays, powders, shampoos and dips, for knocking down a live infestation
Fast-acting products for a dog already covered. Fipronil sprays like Fiprofort Spray, Fixotic Spray and Freedom Spray kill on contact. Propoxur powders like Bolfo, Notix, Proxurr and Big Boss are cheap and as useful on bedding and floor cracks as on the dog. Ridd (amitraz) is a dip for mange, under vet direction. Herbal options such as Erina-EP, Zerokeet, Nomoticks and Freossi Anti-Tick Spray are gentler and much less powerful.
None of these are a monthly plan. They clear what is on the dog today. You still need a tablet, spot-on or collar for ongoing prevention.
What Is the Best Flea and Tick Treatment for Dogs?
There is no single best product, and any site that names one is selling you something. There is a best answer for a given dog, and it comes down to four questions.
Does your dog swim or get bathed often? Then an oral tablet. Water does not touch it. A spot-on on a dog that is bathed weekly is money thrown away.
Do you have a cat in the house? Then an oral tablet, or a spot-on without permethrin. See the safety section above.
Is your problem ticks, fleas, or both? The isoxazoline tablets (Bravecto, NexGard, Simparica) are the strongest tick killers available. If your building has a tick problem, that is where to spend.
What is your budget over twelve months? A generic fipronil spot-on gives real protection for a fraction of a tablet. It is not as good. It is far better than nothing, and a cheap product used every month beats an expensive one used twice a year.
Short version: for most Mumbai dogs, a monthly oral tablet is the best flea and tick medicine available, and a monthly generic fipronil spot-on is the best value. Both work. Neither works if you skip months.
Find Your Dog's Weight Band
Weigh the dog. Every product on this page is dosed by weight, and the single most common mistake is buying one band too small. If your dog sits on the line, go up, never down.
| Dog weight |
Monthly tablet |
Monthly tablet + worms |
3-month tablet |
| 2 to 4 kg |
NexGard 2-4kg |
NexGard Spectra XS / Simparica Trio 2.5-5kg |
Bravecto 2-4.5kg |
| 4 to 10 kg |
NexGard 4-10kg |
NexGard Spectra S / Simparica Trio 5-10kg |
Bravecto 4.5-10kg |
| 10 to 20 kg |
NexGard 10-25kg / Simparica 10-20kg |
NexGard Spectra M / Simparica Trio 10-20kg |
Bravecto 10-20kg |
| 20 to 40 kg |
NexGard 25-50kg / Simparica 20-40kg |
NexGard Spectra L / Simparica Trio 20-40kg |
Bravecto 20-40kg |
| 40 to 60 kg |
NexGard 25-50kg |
NexGard Spectra XL / Simparica Trio 40-60kg |
Currently out of stock |
NexGard Spectra and Simparica Trio are both in stock in every size we list. If you want one tablet that covers fleas, ticks and worms, those are the two complete ranges right now.
For spot-ons, Fiprofort Plus and Frontline Plus both cover 0 to 60 kg in stock. Match pipette to band: 0.67ml up to 10 kg, 1.34ml for 10 to 20 kg, 2.68ml for 20 to 40 kg, 4.02ml for 40 to 60 kg.
Flea Pills for Puppies: What Is Safe and When
Puppies get fleas and ticks more than adult dogs, and a heavy flea burden on a small puppy can cause real anaemia. But almost every product has a minimum age, a minimum weight, or both. General rules, and your vet's word beats all of them:
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Most oral tablets start at 8 weeks of age. The isoxazolines also have a minimum weight, which is usually the real limit for a small breed puppy
-
Our smallest tablet bands are 2 kg (NexGard, Bravecto, NexGard Spectra XS) and 2.5 kg (Simparica Trio). A 6-week-old Indie or Shih Tzu will not weigh that yet
-
Selamectin spot-ons are usually the option that starts youngest, which is why vets reach for them in very young or very small puppies
-
Do not use adult sprays, powders or dips on a young puppy without asking. Amitraz in particular is not for puppies
- For a puppy too young or too light for anything, a fine comb, a warm bath with plain puppy shampoo and washing the bedding daily is the safe holding pattern
Weigh the puppy the day you buy, not last month. A puppy crosses a weight band in three weeks, and dosing to an old weight is under-dosing.
Monthly or Three Monthly?
Bravecto is the three month tablet. One chew, twelve weeks of flea and tick cover. Everything else on this page is monthly, or in the case of Seresto, an eight month collar.
The main reason flea and tick control fails in India is a missed month. Four doses a year is much harder to forget than twelve. If you are the kind of person who finds an unopened pipette in a drawer in November, buy the three month tablet. Monthly wins on cost control and flexibility: you can go heavier through the monsoon, when tick numbers climb, and it spreads the spend.
Whichever you pick, put it in your phone calendar as a repeating reminder. That one habit does more for tick control than upgrading the product.
Mange in Dogs: What It Is and What Actually Treats It
Mange is mites, not fleas or ticks, and it needs different medicine. That is why people searching for a cure for dog mange land on flea and tick pages. There are two kinds and telling them apart matters.
Sarcoptic mange is intensely itchy, spreads fast, hits ear edges, elbows and belly, and is contagious to other dogs and to people. Demodectic mange is usually not itchy at first, shows as bald patches around the eyes and muzzle, is not contagious, and often points to a young dog or a weakened immune system.
You cannot reliably tell which is which by looking. A vet does a skin scrape and sees the mite under a microscope. It takes ten minutes. Treating the wrong one wastes weeks while the skin gets worse. Once you know:
-
Isoxazoline tablets (Bravecto, NexGard, Simparica) are now widely used for both types of mange and are the easiest option, since it is a tablet rather than a dip
-
Selamectin spot-ons (Radicate, Selamec, Selaforte) treat sarcoptic mange
-
Amitraz dips (Ridd) are the traditional treatment for demodectic mange. They work, but amitraz needs correct dilution, a ventilated space, and care. It is not for cats, not for puppies, and not for a dog on certain medicines. Ask before you buy
- A medicated shampoo alongside, for the secondary skin infection that usually comes with it
Honest answer to "what is the best cure for dog mange": get the scrape done first. The medicine is the easy part. Anything sold as a mange cure without a diagnosis is guesswork.
Treating the Dog Is Half the Job
Roughly 95 percent of a flea population is not on your dog. It is eggs, larvae and pupae in bedding, sofa seams, floor cracks and the car. No flea killer, however strong, reaches them. This is why people say the medicine did not work. It worked. The house reloaded the dog.
Do all of this in the same week:
-
Wash all bedding at the hottest wash the fabric allows. Dog bed, your bed, sofa covers, the blanket in the car
-
Vacuum daily for two weeks, edges and under furniture especially, emptying it outside each time
-
Use a powder or spray on the environment, not just the animal. Notix, Bolfo and Proxurr powders are cheap and made for this. Nomoticks Home Spray is made for rooms rather than dogs
-
Treat every pet in the house on the same day, using the correct product for each species. One untreated animal keeps the cycle running
Pupae sit dormant in floor cracks for weeks and hatch when they feel vibration. Expect the odd flea for three to four weeks after you start. That is normal, not a failure of the medicine.
What Flea and Tick Control Costs in India
List prices, before the discount that shows at checkout.
| Option |
Roughly |
Covers |
| Propoxur powder |
₹147 to ₹260 |
Knockdown and environment only |
| Generic fipronil spot-on |
₹197 to ₹525 per pipette |
One month, fleas and ticks |
| Fipronil spray, 100ml |
₹398 to ₹450 |
Knockdown, several applications |
| Imidacloprid + moxidectin spot-on |
₹412 to ₹1,206 |
One month, plus worms |
| Monthly oral tablet |
₹616 to ₹1,250 |
One month, strongest tick kill |
| Bravecto |
₹1,875 to ₹2,063 |
Three months |
| Kiltix collar |
₹680 to ₹788 |
Several months |
The cheapest real protection is a generic fipronil spot-on used every single month. At the small end that is under ₹200 a month. The most convenient is Bravecto at four doses a year.
What is not worth your money: a strong product used twice a year. A gap of a few weeks in the monsoon is enough for a tick population to re-establish.
Buy Flea and Tick Medicine for Dogs from a Licensed Pharmacy
Animeal is the online store of Goodman Pet Chemist, a licensed veterinary pharmacy chain with four branches across Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Our pharmacist checks that the product suits the weight, age and species before dispatch, and if something on your order looks wrong we call you rather than shipping it. That is the difference between a pharmacy and a marketplace listing.
Our Parel branch is open 24 hours, behind KEM Hospital. If your dog reacts to a product at 2 AM, there is somebody to talk to. Also at Mahim, Sewri and Seawoods, Navi Mumbai. Free delivery above ₹499 in Mumbai, with same-day delivery across Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
Looking for a Product We Do Not Stock?
Ask us and we will arrange it. If you need a brand, active or pipette size not listed here, or something temporarily sold out, tell us. We hold direct supplier relationships, so a specific request is a phone call rather than a dead end.
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WhatsApp +91 90044 85093 with the product name and your dog's weight
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Email bark@animeal.in
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Call any branch. Parel is on +91 90041 57093, 24 hours
We will confirm availability, price and timing before you commit to anything. If we cannot get it, we will tell you straight and suggest the closest equivalent.
When to Stop Buying Medicine and See a Vet
Flea and tick prevention is something you handle yourself. These are not:
-
Fever, lethargy, or a dog that will not get up. With a history of ticks this is tick fever until proven otherwise, and it needs a blood test the same day
-
Nosebleeds, bruising, or pinpoint red spots on the gums or belly. That is a platelet crash. Go now
-
Dark or coffee-coloured urine, or gums that look pale or yellow
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Bald patches, crusted ear edges or thickened skin. That is a mange or skin question and needs a scrape, not another spot-on
-
Any tremor, twitching, drooling or wobbliness after applying a product, in a dog or a cat. Wash the product off with dish soap and lukewarm water and call immediately
-
A dog with a history of seizures. Discuss the isoxazoline tablets with your vet before starting one
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best flea and tick medicine for dogs?
For most dogs in Indian cities, a monthly oral tablet such as NexGard, Simparica or NexGard Spectra, or the three-month Bravecto. They are unaffected by bathing and are the strongest tick killers available. For value, a generic fipronil spot-on used every month protects from under ₹200. The best product is the one you actually give on time.
Flea meds, flea medication, flea medicine, flea pills: are these different things?
No. People search for flea and tick meds, flea medication, flea med, flea treatment and flea pills, and they all mean the same category. The only real distinction is oral (a tablet) versus topical (a spot-on, spray, powder or collar).
Is there a flea and tick pill that lasts 3 months?
Yes. Bravecto is a single chewable tablet that covers fleas and ticks for twelve weeks. We stock it from 2 kg up to 40 kg. The 40 to 56 kg size is out of stock at the moment.
Are flea pills safe for puppies?
Most oral tablets start at 8 weeks of age and also have a minimum weight, usually around 2 kg, which is what actually limits small breed puppies. Selamectin spot-ons generally start youngest. For a puppy below the limits, use a fine comb, wash bedding daily and ask us or your vet before applying anything medicated.
Do these products kill ticks that are already attached?
Yes, but not instantly. An attached tick has to bite and take in the drug before it dies, which typically takes several hours. Do not pull a tick out with your fingers or burn it. Use a tick hook or fine tweezers, grip at the skin, and pull straight out.
Can I use a dog spot-on on my cat if I use less?
No. Never. Several dog products contain permethrin, which cats cannot metabolise and which causes seizures and death in cats. Dose is not the issue, the molecule is. Buy a cat product for a cat.
What is the best cure for mange in dogs?
Get a skin scrape first. Sarcoptic and demodectic mange look similar and need different handling. Once diagnosed, isoxazoline tablets are used for both, selamectin spot-ons treat sarcoptic mange, and amitraz dips such as Ridd are the traditional demodectic treatment. Amitraz is not for cats or puppies.
Why do I still see fleas a week after treatment?
Because about 95 percent of the flea population is in your house, not on your dog. Eggs and pupae keep hatching for three to four weeks. Wash bedding hot, vacuum daily, treat the environment with a powder or home spray, and treat every pet the same day. Seeing the odd flea in week two is normal.
Do I need a prescription?
Most are over the counter. We still check that the product suits your dog's weight, age and species before dispatch, and we will call you if something does not add up.
Can you order a flea and tick product you do not stock?
Yes. WhatsApp +91 90044 85093 or email bark@animeal.in with the product name and your dog's weight. We will confirm availability, price and timing before you commit. If we cannot get it, we will say so and suggest the closest equivalent.
Shop More
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