Flea/Tick medication

[JenBKR]

Hi, I am just wondering what kind of flea and/or tick medication you guys use. I had planned on asking for advantage, but that doesn't work on ticks, right? Someone told me that frontline is harsh, especially if you have cats (I have two). Any suggestions? (My dog doesn't actually have any fleas yet, I want something for prevention).

[sammy101]

I have never heard of Frontline Plus being harsh Lots of people on here use it,including me.I would recommend Frontline Plus,and mabye some natural stuff.I also have a cat,and never had any problems....Frontline Plus is OK!

[JenBKR]

Great, I think I will try frontline. Is it difficult to apply? I just found out that the son of a lady I work with just got Lymme (spp?) disease...and she lives right down the road from me. I know now that I need to get him on something fast (I used a flea dip, but I am sure that won't be enough, and it does nothing for ticks!). Thank you!

[sammy101]

no its not too difficult to put on,but you have to make sure you get it on the skin,not just the fur(i always have that problem )You apply it between the dogs shoulders on their back,on one spot on the skin...so its not to hard.
I ordered mine off 1800 Petmeds Its alot cheaper than just buying to from your vet,but if you want it right away,just get it from your vet

[JenBKR]

Great, thank you! I just ordered some frontline, the prices are a lot better!

[dragondawg]

at least down in NC.

I found it difficult to apply Frontline initially. I actually clipped a small area of as much hair as I could, and that seemed to get most of it on the skin. However, I still found ticks on the back legs of my two dogs after applying Frontline between the front shoulder blades as recommended. Those that attached on the front of the dog died. Those on the back of dog were alive. Thus Frontline despite the claims may not protect the entire dog. It's difficult for me to imagine a product that indicates it's for a 50-100 lb dog would protect a 100 lb dog much at all given the results I have seen. Still I suppose it's better than nothing.

I have run a little experiment once, and will repeat it again when given the opportunity. I found a very small tick on my one dog, and instead of immediately taking it off with tweezers, I smeared an ample drop of liquid hand soap over the tick. When I came back to it 12 hrs later, the tick was dried out (attached) and dead. This may be an easier way of removing them (???).

In general you have 24 hrs to get the tick off after it attaches before the potential of infections occurs. It takes that long for the tick to secrete anti-coagulant and to plug into a capillary in the skin.

[HollywoodNVegas]

One thing you need to remember with all topical treatments is that fleas and ticks can still jump on your dog. It is when they bite your animal that they die. Frontline is definitely the best, followed by Advantage. Avoid products such as Hartz - they are detrimental to your dogs health!

[dragondawg]

is that all Insecticides be it in a Hartz product, or in Frontline (e.g. fipronil) should be viewed as a potential carcinogen. It then becomes a trade off of potential future cancer per use of Frontline or other product in the pet vs the dangers of Rickettsia (tick borne) disease- which can be serious in itself.