Flea & tick prevention for Irish Setters

Moving near forested walking trails is exactly the right time to get serious about tick prevention — wooded areas with dense undergrowth are prime tick habitat, and an Irish Setter with all that feathery coat is very good at collecting them. The most effective option really does depend on your dog's weight, how often they'll be in the woods, and whether you'd rather apply something monthly or want longer coverage. Quick questions: how much does your Setter weigh, will they be off-lead in those trails regularly, and do you have a preference between a spot-on, a collar, or an oral tablet?

Great — that's really helpful. At 28kg, daily off-lead trails, and swimming involved, a collar isn't the right fit anyway. They lose effectiveness when wet and can be a snag risk in undergrowth. Between spot-on and oral for a dog with her activity level and coat, I'd lean toward a spot-on over a tablet for one key reason: with a long-coated breed going into heavy vegetation every single day, you want something that works systemically but also has some repellent activity, which oral treatments don't provide. Ticks still have to bite before an oral kills them.

For your situation — large active dog, high tick exposure, swimming — I'd go with Bravecto Spot-On for Dogs. It's a single application that covers 12 weeks for ticks and 12 weeks for fleas, so you're not scrambling for monthly reapplication. At 28kg she'd be in the 20–40kg range. It uses fluralaner, which is one of the most effective active ingredients available, and it's waterproof after 72 hours, so swimming is fine once it's settled. It's prescription-only in the UK, which means you'll need to go through your vet or an online vet pharmacy — but that's actually a mark in its favour. The over-the-counter spot-ons you see widely sold are noticeably less effective, especially for ticks.

Yes — Bravecto Spot-On is available on Amazon UK through registered veterinary pharmacies, so you can order it there. You'll usually need to confirm your dog's details and answer a short health questionnaire, which a registered pharmacy runs through before dispensing. It's straightforward and most people do it entirely online. Just make sure you're buying from a seller listed as a UK licensed vet pharmacy — Bravecto is a prescription product and the genuine thing should always come through that route. Once you've got it, apply it to the skin at the back of the neck, wait 72 hours before any swimming, and you're covered for the full 12 weeks.

Start it before you move — ideally a week before you begin the new walking routine. That gives the fluralaner time to fully distribute through the skin oils, and you won't be taking her into high-risk woodland on day one with no coverage. There's no benefit to waiting, and with Bravecto's 12-week window you won't be caught short. Set a reminder for the reapplication date the moment you apply it — it's easy to lose track with a quarterly product.