Flea Medication

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AngelsMom
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Flea Medication

Post by AngelsMom »

I just got K9 Advantix and applied it twice in 3 weeks (after a stop at the groomer and an "okay" from the vet) and we have fleas everywhere! It's disgusting... I wrote them a nasty email which made me feel better but now I have an itchy puppy.

What do you use and why?

Any side effects?
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Boogie and Linda
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Re: Flea Medication

Post by Boogie and Linda »

I hate using anything but it is a must. I have two that get staph infections from itching the flea bites. I was using Advantage but was finding I had to use it more often than once a month so I switched to Frontline Plus. It costs more but it seems to work a little better although it is not 100%. I was very happy when I found it at Costco though for a lot cheaper than the pet stores.
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Re: Flea Medication

Post by summer_rose03 »

You must also treat your yard, any and all other pets, vacuum the house regularly (cut up a flea collar and put it in the vacuum bag), wash all bedding.

If you don't do all this, as well as keeping up on flea preventative, you will never get rid of them. A bad infestation can take months to fully get rid of them. You may also want to get the heartworm meds that sterilize the fleas (meaning they can't reproduce). I believe it is Interceptor. This will also help get rid of them faster as any fleas that bite, can't make more, so you will get rid of them faster.

(I am a groomer, and I have to go over this all the time). Yard and bedding is very important!
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kingalls
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Re: Flea Medication

Post by kingalls »

I have used Frontline Plus but with some cases of heartworm in our area, I switched to the Advantage Flea/Heartworm stuff from the vet. Frontline Plus has worked for our two. Check with your vet if heartworm might be an issue. If it isn't then I would think Frontline Plus would be a good product to use.
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Re: Flea Medication

Post by vicster605 »

I used K9 Advantage on both of my girls from the beginning and it worked well, do to the mosquitos down South and the fact that Advantage repells mosquitos....BUT I ordered the last batch I got online and got the Advantage from the UK (Live & Learn, didn't know there was a difference and they advertise the same packaging :roll: ) it doesn't work AT ALL and have treated my girls every other week with the same results IT DOESN'T WORK. So I will have to buy more of the REAL stuff. I also treat my yard every 3 months down here.
Hey Kingalls, they make a combo drug or did I read your post wrong??
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Re: Flea Medication

Post by Mochi_Yoshi »

For fleas we use frontline plus for both our pups, which we pick up from Amazon, seems to be the best price. We actually get the higher dose and split it between them. It is a lot more cost effective, for example, our pups are 30lbs each, so I get the 45-88lbs 3 pack and that will last them for 6 months. I split the dose between the two since they only need 1.34ml each (2.68ml per tube). I pour the whole tube in a small container and use a syringe that doesn't have the needle to ensure I get the exact amount. I order it from amazon, so it basically cost me $32 for 6mos of flea protection for two dogs! Check online for more resources regarding this, many have been doing this way for years.

FYI: Here's the dosage guidelines:

Dosage per dog:
-0.67ml for up to 22lbs
-1.34ml for 23 to 44lbs
-2.68ml for 45 to 88lbs
-4.02ml for 89 to 132

I then use IVERHART MAX for their heartworm med. $23/12 tabs (there was a $20 coupon for petmeds, \:D/ so normally it'll be $43). One thing that took me forever to decide on the meds was that there are quite a few out there now that is a combo (meaning heartworm + flea). BUT they don't all prevent the same thing (esp heartworm side), so you will have to figure out what is the common issue in your area. I picked the combo of Iverhart Max and Frontline because they seemed to compliment each other well, like they don't do the same thing on any level thus double dosing them for one thing or another.

They have been on this combo for 3 mos now and is doing well. I do the 1st and 15th of the month approach (on the 1st frontline and 15th iverhart max), so they don't get overwhelmed.

So all in all, it cost me about $55 for total protection for 2 dogs for 6 months! =D=

I've attached a pic version of the chart I created when I was trying to decide. Please verify with your vet or your own research, this is my own research from online only when I wanted to find something that complimented Frontline Plus.

Hope this helps!
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Re: Flea Medication

Post by shandilady »

Hi , there is also a new one that can be gotten from your vet, it is called Vectra 3D, seems to be working in cases where frontline is not. I am leary of it because it is new on the market for pets but so far I have only heard that it works well. I work at a vet's office. We are not carrying the advantage anymore , switching to this. Just a comment , not really promoting it since I am not using it myself though my boss is.
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Re: Flea Medication

Post by Lobis Cunami »

All of my dogs are on Frontline ! It gets applied once a month and I have never had a flea in our home, so this stuff works !
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Re: Flea Medication

Post by chowpups »

I've used frontline plus for years and never had flea problems (never saw a flea on them). I have seen where costco is now selling frontline I must check it out for pricing.
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Re: Flea Medication

Post by summer_rose03 »

I guess I should have said, I use Vectra 3D also. It takes care of fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes. It is supposed to work faster than Advantage or Frontline. I have had no problems with it at all.
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Re: Flea Medication

Post by Zhuyos mom »

My chows use Revolution and an occasional Heartguard chew. Why Revolution? Because *I* was allergic to the other flea meds Zhuyo was on. The scent it emitted was too harsh for me. No side effects with Revolution were experienced chow wise (Zhu, Keiko, Lao, Miss PB, Tiggy and Bruin) and no scent to aggrivate my allergies. Although it has been written that some cats have had fatal reactions to it when applied. The Heartguard... because our vet attended a seminar on worms and wouldn't let me leave the office without telling me what he learned. He gave me free Heartguard.
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Re: Flea Medication

Post by AngelsMom »

Wow so many responses! Sounds like most people use Frontline... I will have to ask our vet about that to make sure it won't aggravate Angel's allergies. We had a dog who hated Frontline... he was a Golden and whenever we put it on him he would hid and try to rub his back on the floor. None of them have done that with the K9 Advantix. I'm curious about the heartworm/flea med combo, too! What a great idea!

Thanks for all of you help!!

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Re: Flea Medication

Post by Sharons Chows »

I have always used Frontline, however, with my unemployment being a factor and my little old boy JR, having some bad reactions in the past, I decided to go Holistic this summer. I really hate the chemicals on my Chows!!
I made up a batch of lemon oil and keep it in the fridge. I cut up a whole lemon and poured boiling water over them...about a quart and overnight it brings out the oil. I soak a cotton ball with it and squeeze it onto the furkids about once a week. I also take pure eucalyptus oil and dab that onto their collars. And put table salt on the carpets and bedding before each vacumn...fleas cant deal with that at all.
So far, so good....no fleas anywhere and we are having a very hot summer here with lots of moisture.
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Re: Flea Medication

Post by AngelsMom »

Wow Sharon! THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!

I wil try this!

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Re: Flea Medication

Post by Cinders mom »

I use to use Frontline Plus on my chow girl, but it seemed to just stop working. We live in Florida where fleas are a problem all year long. Even my Vets say that the Frontline is not working as well as it use too. I have been using a pill called "Comfortis". You give it once a month and I have not seen a flea on my baby since I've been using it. In fact I seem to only need to give my Cinders one pill every 2 or 3 months, thats how well it keeps the fleas at bay. As far as heatworm meds, we use Heartguard, my Cinders likes the taste of them.
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Re: Flea Medication

Post by adain »

sounds so delicious! Thanks
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Re: Flea Medication

Post by Tsunami22 »

In the past for other dogs I've happily used whatever my vets reccomended me. I had a basset hound and used advantix. Now with penelope my vet suggested Frontline.

The day I gave it to her was when she got REALLY sick. While it COULD have been a coincidence and she was sick for some other reason not the flea meds, it did really worry me. Penelope was miserable.

I googled Frontline problems and adverse affects of Frontline and found a lot of information I wouldn't even have considered researching. When it comes MY health I research every medication I'm given. With Penelope I read hours of reviews for dog foods, I fret over treat choices and their list of ingredients. I take all the precautions I can. But for this one thing I didn't even bother looking it up. I wish I would have. There's a lot of information on various dog forums across the breed spectrum. The company that makes Frontline was investigated and they almost recalled all products but didn't.

I guess a LOT of dogs have had bad reactions to Frontline. AngelsMom, your Golden retriever's reaction is really common. Some dogs experience a burning sensation, others form abcesses at the application spot, while extreme cases lose a lot of their hair or get really sick. It's obviously not EVERY dog that will have a reaction like this, but in the the Frontline information packet they should AT LEAST have a full list of side affects and warnings, so an owner can be prepared. I hear that Revolution has less negative reactions or cases reported, but that could just be because it's used less than Frontline or Advantix. I'm hoping to try either of the other two to see how Penelope handles that.
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