Using Advantax Ii For 10 Years, And Tick Was On Head

[LadyGrey]

Bella came in the house with a tick on her head. I touched its butt wiith a hot blown out match. It died. I took it off with tweezers. I am mad. I hope the companies have not been federally forced to dumb down the formulas. My vets have always told me that the chemical will REPEL the ticks away from the skin - or they will die and fall off.

 

I have never seen a tick on any of my dogs using Advantax or Frontline. I changed from Frontline to Advantax about 6 years ago. This is scary.

 

Truthfully, do the ticks attach first to the skin and then fall off? That is not what I have been told by my vets over the years.

[OwnedBySummer]

I hope this is an unusual situation. I switched from my preferred Revolution to using K9 Advantix along with Heartguard SOLELY because of the tick protection.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Was the tick attached? If not, then possibly it just dropped onto Bella and might have left on its own (the "repel" part of Advantix). Once a tick attaches, it only "falls off" (I think) when it's dead.

 

If a tick is attached, do NOT use hot matches, alcohol, or painted-on nail polish to get ticks off your dog--and don't use your bare fingers. You do not want to stress the tick to the point it expels its toxic saliva into your dog. See here for more information. Also here (if you want to use tweezers). I bought one of the Ticked Off devices from my vet. I've used it twice (on dogs where I work). It's too big for ticks in ears or between toe pads; in other places, it's worked well.

Edited July 19, 2012 by KF_in_Georgia

[LadyGrey]

Yes it was attached - that is why I used the match in the first place. However, I was suprised as I have never had this before - especially only five days after the monthly application. I called Advantix company and they stated that unfortunately it happens sometimes where they get attached.

[Guest kirstenbergren]

I use Frontline and have found a tick in the house, on my sock, and on PJ's leg one time. The one I found in the house was quite slow and seemed like it was dying, I'm assuming that one came in on PJ. The one I found on my sock, hitched a ride on me and was moving pretty normally. The one I found hanging out (not attached to him) on PJ's leg was looking and acting like he was dying. I'm assuming that the Frontline is working on killing the ticks that come in on PJ. I just have to look myself over good when we come in. I also, just to be safe, check PJ's legs whenever he comes in from outside.

[Guest Adrianne]

I've used Advantix for years, and it worked great up until last year. It worked so great that I never had to treat my cat with anything; just treating the dogs with Advantix kept our home free of ticks and fleas. Last summer, I noticed a difference. Chevy is allergic to flea bites, and he was going crazy itching & biting even after being treated. Ollie was scratching, and we pulled ten ticks off her over the course of the summer--she had never had a tick before then. Even the cat was scratching. I took Chevy to the vet, and she found a couple fleas on him. This was just days after being treated. We thought maybe it was just a bad batch of Advantix, plus the fleas were extra bad last year. I gave all the animals a Capstar, bought new Advantix, and even bought Frontline and treated the cat--the first time I've ever had to treat Riley in six years. I've not had great results. Chevy starts itching a couple weeks after being treated, and I wonder now if something in the formula has changed.

Edited July 20, 2012 by Adrianne

[KF_in_Georgia]

I've heard a vet say that fleas (and presumably ticks) can build up a bit of a tolerance to the preventatives. You might ask your neighbors what they're using that's working for them (that was the vet's advice).

[LadyGrey]

I've used Advantix for years, and it worked great up until last year. It worked so great that I never had to treat my cat with anything; just treating the dogs with Advantix kept our home free of ticks and fleas. Last summer, I noticed a difference. Chevy is allergic to flea bites, and he was going crazy itching & biting even after being treated. Ollie was scratching, and we pulled ten ticks off her over the course of the summer--she had never had a tick before then. Even the cat was scratching. I took Chevy to the vet, and she found a couple fleas on him. This was just days after being treated. We thought maybe it was just a bad batch of Advantix, plus the fleas were extra bad last year. I gave all the animals a Capstar, bought new Advantix, and even bought Frontline and treated the cat--the first time I've ever had to treat Riley in six years. I've not had great results. Chevy starts itching a couple weeks after being treated, and I wonder now if something in the formula has changed.

 

Yep! Just as I thought. They have federally forced Bayer-Advantix line to dumb down their formulas. It is happening with EVERYTHING now. And I mean everything. I feared this would happen when other products went down. Now Advantix. Too amazing.

Edited July 20, 2012 by LadyGrey

[cleptogrey]

• call customer service and ask them what's going on....it's a free call and you will get to the end of it. most likely it was dying or on it's way out from the toxicns.
  

[Guest Diadado]

I just bought Advantage II today because Frontline is no longer working on the fleas. No ticks this year on the dogs at all, but this is the first year we've had fleas on them.

 

How long after a bath do you have to wait to apply Advantage II? I asked when I bought it if I had to wait a few days before applying (like you have to with Frontline) and she said yes but there's nothing in the directions in the box about waiting. It just says it's waterproof. Bathed all 4 dogs today so was curious.

[JJNg]

Since these products rely on the skin oils to spread, I recommend waiting 1-2 days after a bath before applying. Frontline can actually be applied as soon as the dog is completely dry. The same might be true of Advantage, but since I haven't heard a specific recommendation from the manufacturer for Advantage/Advantix, I figure waiting a couple days won't hurt.

[Guest Diadado]

Thanks! I've always been told you had to wait several days after a bath to use Frontline, even by the vet's office.

[JJNg]

That's what we always used to tell people too. I think the "as soon as completely dry" is a fairly new recommendation by the manufacturer. We heard it within the past year or so from our rep, and it's on the Frontline website FAQs now.