[SF Golden]

Hi All,

We've been applying Frontline Flea & Tick apx once per month on Biscuit and as far as we can tell, it's been working just fine. However, last weekend we went to the vet so he could get one of his annual shots and the vet mentioned something interesting, which I thought I'd share with the Forum.

Not sure she was trying to pitch a new flea control, but she said that some dermatalogists are saying Frontline/Advantix/etc are not as effective in lasting the entire month, that it should be applied every 3 weeks, (here comes the pitch....) and that there's a new oral pill they can take for a flea preventative only, then an anti-tick would be taken separately. I can't remember the name of the new pill. She also said that Frontline can come off faster if he's swimming regularly, etc.

For those who use Frontline/Advantix/etc...what do you think? Frankly, I'm inclined to stick with what works and I have yet to see Biscuit with an issue around fleas. Sometimes our vets have a hidden agenda...

Thanks!

 

[Oaklys Dad]

I've had very good luck with using Frontline just once per month on my two and they swim at LEAST weekly all Spring, Summer and Fall. Even once in a while in the dead of winter. Of course up here in the Northeast we don't have the fleas and ticks as bad as in other places.

 

[goldhaven]

I agree that vets do, on occasion, have a hidden agenda. I don't believe that to be the case with my vet because anything that she suggests, she knows that I am not going to buy it from her. If it is a prescription med, I ask her to write a prescription so that I can have it filled at a local pharmacy. I also ask her to see if she can use the $4 prescription. There are also some FREE antibiotic prescriptions at Publix. My vet knows which ones are free and if she can she will give me a prescription for the free medication. I also check online pharmacies for pet medications and have her call in a prescription to them if needed. That being said, I obviously don't purchase my frontline from my vet so she has no reason to stretch the truth. I have been having a hard time keeping fleas off my dog this year and I wanted to know how often I could use the frontline because it is not lasting the full 4 weeks. She said that I was not alone and that she had heard others with the same complaint. She advised not to use it more often than every 3 weeks. If your dog is not having problems, I would not worry about it. Frontline used to last all summer for me and I only applied it at the first sign of fleas. If I didn't see fleas for 3 months, I wouldn't apply it. I have considered switching to advantix to see if that helps. Maybe the fleas built up a tolerance to the frontline. I know that I went off on a tangent here but in the end I hope that I answered your question.

 

[Willow52]

Up until last summer I had never used any type of flea/tick preventive. We live in SW Ohio, in a rural area but never had a problem. Last summer the vet found flea dirt on my cat during his yearly checkup so we started treating both the dog & cat. I treated this summer as well. The vet said fleas have been really bad. Maybe it's because the past 2 summer have been wetter than previous, not really sure.

So far once/month Frontline has worked. I started flea preventive in April and will probably do Oct. I do heartworm year round.

 

[BeauShel]

I was using Frontline but last year it just didnt seem to do the trick. We have switched to the new pill comfortis and it has worked great. No mess or worrying about it washing off if they go swimming alot. My vet is not one to push new meds or try to get me to get anyone particular meds like frontline, advantage, or heartworm meds. He carrys ones he thinks are safe and tested. And he consults with University of Florida one of the best vet colleges around.

 

[goldhaven]

My vet mentioned that but she said that it didn't do anything for ticks

 

[SF Golden]

Hi BeauShel,

What do you do for ticks? Thanks for the feedback!

I was using Frontline but last year it just didnt seem to do the trick. We have switched to the new pill comfortis and it has worked great. No mess or worrying about it washing off if they go swimming alot. My vet is not one to push new meds or try to get me to get anyone particular meds like frontline, advantage, or heartworm meds. He carrys ones he thinks are safe and tested. And he consults with University of Florida one of the best vet colleges around.

 

[Andythom]

I use Zodiac topic flea stuff and i know for a fact it doesn't least 4 weeks. At MOST 3, but that even pushing it. I've been battling fleas with Cooper all summer and just this week started using the Bug Off garlic pills. I'm praying these help. If not, ill probably look into the comfortis pill since ticks are not a concern and it seems to have positive reviews.

 

[BeauShel]

We dont really have to worry about the ticks here unless we walk the pups in the woods but I dont like doing that.

 

[missmarstar]

The vet was probably talking about Comfortis. In general I prefer to administer flea prevention orally instead of topically and if Comfortis was a bit cheaper I would consider that route. Unfortunately it's EXPENSIVE!!

 

[coppers-mom]

I wouldn't change things if what you are doing is working.

I use frontline every month and it works fine. I have friends who use it every three weeks since they have more of a problem.

I used the Comfortis pill a couple of times last summer becuase we could not get the fleas under control, but frontline is appreciable cheaper and I can use it on my cats as well.

 

[HovawartMom]

Welll,I use frontline!.
Put it on every 2 mths,and I've never had a problem!.
As for ticks,we don't seem to have,a lot,down here!.

 

[Jingers mom]

HovawartMom

Your Hovawart is magnificent. He's so beautiful. I had never heard of this breed before tonight when I saw your photos. I looked it up and find that they also come in black and blonde (the blonde looks like a golden). Anyway just wanted to say your dog is beautiful.

 

[3 goldens]

I had used Frontline for years and it worked great--til about 4 years ago. Then it seemed they would hae feas back in 3 weeks, then 2 weeks. I tried Advantix, and it did no better.

okay, here was the problme for me. Since there was a warning on the label not to get it on human skin, that made me leery to use it on the dogs even once a month, and using it more often than that just didn't seem safe to me. I decided to go the Comfortis route since we hae no problme with ticks. It has worked great for Honey. I hae only had to gie her 3 tables in the past couple of years--give her one when we see a flea.

I ma sure hoping we do not develope a tick problem. Do spray our yard regulary, but have lots of birds, squirrels, and possums around here. Also nieghbor has two dogs in back yad and two cats running around that i know get nothing for prevention. She actually thinks moth balls keeps fleas ansd ticks away while her dogs are scratching themselves raw becaue of fleas.