Fleas

[Guest Jakestheman]

So we just found a few fleas on jake this past evening. We picked some of them off, shampoo'd him, rinsed a few more off, and dried him. Threw out his old bed and washed his blankets. We have no carpeting in the house, so there's no worries about them festering there.

 

I just applied Frontline to Jake 2-3 weeks ago. The fleas seemed to be congregating down by his paws and shins, maybe where the frontline wasn't as strong. Should I re-apply some frontline to his neck again, or is it too soon?

[OwnedBySummer]

All I can say is... everyone seems to be complaining about the ineffectiveness of Frontline. Perhaps a different product would be a better idea?

[Hubcitypam]

If you have fleas and no ticks use Advantage -- it works wayyy better on fleas.

[Guest eaglflyt]

We use Comfortis for any fleas. It works better than anything we previously tried. We used it once last year and haven't seen any fleas since. We're ready to treat again at the first sight or hint of a flea.

[OwnedBySummer]

If you have fleas and no ticks use Advantage -- it works wayyy better on fleas.

Advantage works great! If you want the heartworm medication combined with the flea medication, you can use Revolution. If you want flea AND tick protection, you can use K9 Advantix.

[Guest KennelMom]

I'd use something other than Frontline. Haven't used it in years b/c it didn't keep the fleas away. We use comfortis now.

[Guest Jakestheman]

all i have withme at home now is frontline plus. I did apply a about 1/2 of an applicator to 2 separate spots on his back this morning. If it doesn't seem to work in the next couple of days I'll research something else. I think he is picking them up from the ground outside, which is why they are always on his paws and lower legs.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Frontline was never great at fleas, it's designed to deal with ticks. When people weren't complaining about fleas having acclimated to it, it was half ad effective overall as the Bayer products at treating fleas.

[Guest KennelMom]

all i have withme at home now is frontline plus. I did apply a about 1/2 of an applicator to 2 separate spots on his back this morning. If it doesn't seem to work in the next couple of days I'll research something else. I think he is picking them up from the ground outside, which is why they are always on his paws and lower legs.

 

Frontline uses the oils on a dogs skin to disperse over the body. It's not recommended you use it after a bath b/c you've stripped the natural oils off of the skin and it will be less effective. Also, frontline requires fleas to bite the dog, so you may actually still find fleas on them that haven't been killed yet. So, you could have a couple issues going on....I like comfortis and capstar - one pill, an hour or two and they're all dead.

[Batmom]

Also, frontline requires fleas to bite the dog,

 

Nope. It's a contact insecticide, no biting required. Comfortis and Capstar require the flea to bite, Frontline doesn't.

 

If you pick up fleas from the environment, you're going to see some no matter what product you use.

Edited June 17, 2011 by Batmom

[Guest d0ggiem0mma]

Like Batmom said- If they're in the yard, they're going to be continually tracked in. Any product will take a little while to kill the buggers.

 

If you do switch products please make sure to wait a few weeks before applying. Frontline is relatively safe but you don't want to overdose a dog on flea products.

[Batmom]

Most of the internal products such as Comfortis and Capstar are safe to use along with a topical (Frontline, Advantage). If in doubt, check the product insert, usually available on the manufacturer's website -- IIRC most of them tell you what else you can use at the same time.

 

If you prefer topical to internal, might have better results from the Frontline spray as opposed to the spot-on -- you can distribute it more evenly over the dog.

 

From what friends, family, and folks here report, if the fleas are in your own yard, Comfortis might indeed be a more effective product for you. If they're fleas you pick up on random walks, YMMV.

[Guest avadogner]

I am having flea issues with my big boy Augie. Ava has always remained flea free with Frontline Plus. She is an average size female where he is a large male (90 lbs). I preordered 12 months worth or Frontline during the winter at a discount. I keep finding fleas and eggs on Augie's tail and legs despite treating him two weeks ago. He isn't spending much time outside since he just got his cast off and is on light activity. I guess it's going to be one of those summers. Thank goodness we are tick free so far.

Ava & Augie's mum

[Guest KennelMom]

Also, frontline requires fleas to bite the dog,

 

Nope. It's a contact insecticide, no biting required. Comfortis and Capstar require the flea to bite, Frontline doesn't.

 

If you pick up fleas from the environment, you're going to see some no matter what product you use.

 

yep, your right. I don't know where I pulled that from...this is why I shouldn't post before caffeine kicks in

[Guest Swifthounds]

Also, frontline requires fleas to bite the dog,

 

Nope. It's a contact insecticide, no biting required. Comfortis and Capstar require the flea to bite, Frontline doesn't.

 

If you pick up fleas from the environment, you're going to see some no matter what product you use.

 

yep, your right. I don't know where I pulled that from...this is why I shouldn't post before caffeine kicks in

 

You were probably thinking of it's effect on ticks.

 

If you have fleas in a yard, you're better off with Advantage, which will do a better job of killing off fleas on the dog and in the environment. It's much better at preventing or eliminating home infestation and it just plain kills fleas faster.

 

You can get some food grade DE and sprinkle it in your home and yard. Washing your yard with dish soap is also a good way to rid it of fleas so there's leas to track in.

[Guest sc1911cwp]

I'd like to know more about Frontline Spray. How do you use it and how often? I really don't have a flea problem as I treat the yard and house for insects. Problem is I destroy the food of lizards and birds. Yea, I love to see them. I have more of a problems with ticks and mosquitos as I live in the South. Two years ago I took my two guys for a walk in the woods. Ten minutes later I pulled off 32 ticks in an hour. Yikes!

[Batmom]

Frontline Spray: You use once a month, like the topspot type. IIRC it's @ 1 spritz/lb.? It says on the label. You can distribute it over the dog's whole body, rather than relying on their skin systems to spread it around. So, better than the topspot for preceding (or following) a walk in the woods, a trip to an area likely to have ticks, etc. Not always easy to find. omahavaccine.com usually has it; has to ship by ground, tho.

[Guest katethegreyt]

I've used Revolution with great success (in Houston), and I have a lot of friends that use it too. When my cat got a really bad infestation (not even an outside cat, and this was before I had a dog - we think the neighbor dog tracked some in), the Revolution killed EVERYTHING within hours and I never saw a live flee anywhere in the house again. I didn't use anything else to fix the problem, but maybe I was one of the lucky ones.

 

It seems a lot of people on here have really liked Comfortis as well.

 

Overall, Frontline seems to not get so great reviews these days. Sad, because I'm pretty sure you can get Frontline Plus for mega-cheap at Costco now. I like the idea of a spray for ticks though if you can use it in addition to another monthly flea treatment. We don't really have tick issues with the dog, so I have no advice there = )