The Chemical Free Way To Keep Fleas At Bay (CatanDogs Anti-Parasite Collar Disc)

Member Name: FourPaws

Product:	CatanDogs Anti-Parasite Collar Disc
Date:	17/04/09 (483 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: No chemicals, suitable for any breed of dog, fairly good

Disadvantages: Not as effective as I had hoped, limited availability

*What is the CatanDog Anti-Parasite Collar Disc?*
This chemical free pet collar tag is produced by a company which exclusively makes these collar tags, designed for owners of cats and dogs looking for a more natural way of parasite control, excluding the use of chemicals.

*The product itself*
All you lovely loyal people who have been reading my reviews since I first started here may remember that back in my early days of dooyoo, there was another canine that featured quite heavily in my reviews, and that was Ruby, my old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

Ruby was an amazing dog, she really lived up to her name- a true gem in every way and I loved her to bits, I still do infact. She was my first 'all mine' dog who I got just after I moved here to England from my home town of New York. She had got off to a horrible start in life- her previous owner, and I use that word loosely, had kept her outside all year round with just a box for shelter, he use to beat her and she came to me petrified of pretty much everything and he had allowed her collar to become so tight that her skin had actually started to grow over the top of it, she had the scars to prove that for the rest of her life. She was also half the weight a dog of her breed should be, and he kept her like that for a gruelling five years before he was finally reported, and poor Ruby was brought to a rescue centre, where I adopted her from.

I had seven wonderful years with Ruby, proving to her not all humans were bad, before I devastatingly lost her to cancer on the 28th May 2008.

Only now though, am I getting round to writing about a product that saved us both a lot of heartache and hassle whilst she was alive.

Ruby was allergic to a lot of things- maybe as a result of her neglect and mistreatment before she came to me, or maybe she was born with them, but either way, there were certain foods she couldn't eat, many different grooming products I couldn't use on her and even many different detergents I couldn't wash her bedding in. Her most serious allergy however, was that to chemical flea treatments, and this is where the CatanDog Anti-Parasite Collar Disc came in.

The gold coloured aluminium collar disc, that measures just 2.5cm in diameter and is suitable for use by both cats and dogs, is a completely safe, highly effective and chemical free method of preventing fleas and ticks which works by being 'charged' with escalating magnetic waves which repel fleas and ticks and also kills any existing ones already on your pet. It claims to be 95% effective and will not harm your pet in any way and remains effective for up to 2 years, after which, it must be replaced.

To allow the collar disc to work to its best ability it is recommended that you attach the disc to your pets collar after they have been treated with your usual flea and tick treatment, as the disc does not become active until after 7-20 days of being on your pets collar, as it is activated by your pets movement, and then it is recommended that the disc is never removed from your pet for the entire two years.

The disc is water repellent so there is no need to remove it whilst bathing your pet and it is also completely safe to touch, even by children, and there is no need to wash your hands after handling like there is with normal chemical flea treatments, it can even stay on your pet if they have to be x-rayed. The CatanDog disc is suitable for all ages and breeds of cat and dog, and is safe for use on pregnant animals and those with failing health, it has no nasty smell to it and looks simply like a regular pet collar tag, with four small squares and the CatanDog logo etched into one side of it.

*Packaging*
The CatanDog collar disc comes supplied in a clear plastic case, similar in appearance to that of a CD case which has a small red paper leaflet inserted which gives full directions for usage and also some information about how the collar disc works. There is also a contact provided for CatanDog should you have any questions or comments about the product, this however is a Spanish address and telephone number so any liaising with them may best be done via the internet.

*Price & Availability*
If you are living in England, you will probably only be able to find the CatanDog disc online, although they are available much more readily from pet shops in mainland Europe and the United States. I purchased Ruby's disc from www.noticksorfleas.co.uk for £28.75, including postage and packaging.

*My opinion*
For the first four or five years of owning Ruby, every month when it came to applying flea repelling products I was faced with the tricky task of trying to bath her in stinking natural remedies and then applying messing herbal flea control, which was unpleasant and time consuming for the both of us, not to mention expensive and not very effective anyway, and I longed for something that would actually work, and not be so awful to deal with every month.

I finally thought my prayers had been answered when I came across this CatanDog disc online, I was a little sceptical at first, thinking there was no way a metal collar disc with no chemicals or anything could stop my dog from getting fleas, but I took a chance anyway and ordered one as anything was worth a try if it meant an end to the horrible herbal remedies I had to use on her. When the disc arrived I set about using it straight away.

Initially, the disc does sound quite expensive at nearly thirty pounds but if you add up all the usual flea treatments you would normally buy within those two years at £10 or so a pop, you realise that the disc will actually save you an awful lot of money in the long run.

It was a nice size- very thin and not too big, suitable for pretty much any breed of dog, but would have been very bulky on cats I personally think and when attached to Ruby's collar it looked quite smart, the CatanDog disc however cannot be engraved, so your pet will still need to wear their regular tag with their identification on. It came with a split loop to attach to the D-Ring on her collar and once in place, I doused her with her herbal flea remedy for the last time hopefully, as the instruction stated that it works best if your pet is treated for fleas as soon as the disc is attached, as it takes a little while to become effective seeing as it is activated by your pets movement.

The disc was very lightweight and seeing as Ruby was a small breed dog it did hang quite low on her chest but it didn't bother her in the slightest and she never seemed unhappy wearing it. For the first 8 months, I'm pleased to say that Ruby didn't get one flea on her, so it obviously did work as living in the countryside, fleas are always around ready to jump on the dogs if they aren't treated, and I wasn't using any other flea products on Ruby. Over the next couple of months however Ruby did get one or two fleas on her but I was able to remove them with a flea comb and I think the disc helped in preventing them turning into a full blown infestation, but during the next month or so she have a few more unwelcome visitors, so unfortunately for me the collar disc seemed to lose its effectiveness much sooner than the two years it claimed it would last. I replaced it and Ruby kept the second one until she passed away, and it worked in the same way as the first- preventing the majority of fleas but not stopping them completely and becoming less effective towards to the end. Ruby never once got a tick though whilst wearing the disc and she would occasionally pick them up when I was using the herbal remedies on her, so the CatanDog disc certainly did well at preventing those.

Overall, it was a quite a good product and I'm rather pleased with the results it had with Ruby, as it enabled me to stop using the horrible, smelly herbal remedies and the disc prevented the vast majority of fleas. I'd use it again if I was to ever own another dog with allergies to chemical flea products but I wouldn't ever use it on Grace and Benson, my two current dogs. They have never been use to wearing collars in the house, they only wear them on walks and they actually wait upon returning home for me to remove them so they wouldn't ever really be happy wearing a collar constantly and the disc requires staying on your pet all the time to be effective. Also, an infestation of fleas would be an absolute nightmare with Bensons thick coat, I can't take any chances and I need something almost 100% reliable that will stop them getting fleas, so I'll definitely stick with Frontline for Grace and Benson, despite the chemicals.

All in all, a reasonable product at a reasonable price which is worth a try if you have a pet with allergies or is sensitive to chemical flea products, or even if you are looking for a more natural method to prevent fleas or if you need a flea repellent to use on pregnant animals but in the vast majority of cases, I'd say it would probably be best sticking with the likes of Frontline, it may be chemical based, but remember it has been vigorously tested to be safe for your pets and at the end of the day, it is so much more effective in preventing and dealing with fleas and ticks.

Summary: It helped me with Rubes, but I wouldn't trust it with my current two.