Fleas and Frontline...........

[Hound dog]

I think we have the Frontline resistant fleas. grrrrrr.

Poor Molly. I put Frontline Plus on her about 2 wks ago after a really good flea bath. She felt better for maybe 3 whole days. Since Betsy is allergic to the frontline, she got her flea bath and a dose of Bio Spot that I got via online for free. (3 mos worth of doses for free!)

Betsy's seems to be working fine. Molly is miserable. She has chewed the fur off her tail. Poor baby.

Bruce the cat isn't much better off. We tried Hartz for him cuz once we did the dogs all their fleas jumped on him. He's now covered. His isn't working either.

So, for all of you "in the know" about such things...............

I'd like to re-bathe Molly and either use the spray that I used to use (awesome stuff-- for horses, dogs, and cats). But do I risk over dosing her on the pesticide if I do that? She still has 2 wks to go with the frontline. And I'd like to use the spray on Bruce too if we can get him to hold still. Otherwise we'll have to make a trip to the vets and pick up Revolution for him.

And does anyone know who carries Bio Spot? Cuz Walmart used to, but ours doesn't.

Thanks

 

[meowbunny]

Just saw an ad by Petco for Biospot. I'd call the vet and ask about the overdose potential, sorry.

 

[donna723]

I wouldn't use another product, even a flea shampoo, on them until about a month after you used the Frontline. It may not be working to kill the fleas but your pets have still absorbed it in to their system and another dose of something else that soon would be too much.

I always used the Frontline Plus on mine with very good results, but this year it didn't work nearly as well. Supposedly, the fleas are building up an immunity to it. Mine didn't have that many fleas, but it never did kill them all and about two weeks later they were right back where they started.

 

[flutterbee]

My vet had me reapplying the Frontline every 2 weeks instead of 4. He did say not to bathe her in between. We did that until we ran out of Frontline and then we switched to Advantage and it's working much better. The lady at our local pet supply store has said that she used to only carry Frontline, but it's not working so now she carries Advantage, too.

I would worry more about using flea shampoo and then the Frontline or Advantage. You really don't need to do both. Either use the shampoo or the Advantage. The Advantage kills the fleas within 24 hours.

 

[flutterbee]

Oh...and don't use the Hartz or other products like that on cats. Only use the stuff like Advantage on the cats....and make sure you get the Advantage for Cats (as opposed to dogs) and get the one for the right weight (the cut off is 9 pounds, so I have to get one kind for Abbey and another for the other 3 cats...Abbey is only 6 pounds.) The Hartz and other similar products have been known to make cats really sick and some have died. They are much more sensitive to this stuff than dogs.

 

[OpenWindow]

Frontline's not working on ours either, and our little dog is now allergic to it. We use DeFleas natural spray and it kills them, but they come back. It's supposed to be safe enough to use on anything, so it doesn't hurt to spray about once a week.

I've also recently discovered (thanks to this board I think) that original Dawn kills those suckers instantly. Of course they are in our house now so they come back within a couple of days.

I haven't tried Advantage or Biospot because we are way broke.

 

[flutterbee]

Linda, have you tried garlic pills for dogs? You can get a large bottle at walmart for like $3.00. It's not gonna fix it all, but it helps. And it's inexpensive.

 

[Hound dog]

Heather, I didn't know about the Hartz and cats. Course you can put what I know about cats into a thimble. lol Nichole is peeved because for just a couple bucks more we could've got the Revolution one instead and it does work.

Linda we're broke too. Go to this link. Fill out the form. And Bio Spot will send you 3 month supply for FREE. It'll take a few weeks. But they DO send it.

http://mybiospot.com/signup.aspx?f=country&l=living

I can't reapply the Frontline Plus, as the one I did was from last year, and like Linda I can't afford it this year.

Guess I'll do the Dawn baths for her until the Frontline dose time is up then use the spray. I can do it more often with the spray, and it certainly seems like the darn fleas are in super abundance this year. I have to buy the spray anyway for Rowdy cuz it also keeps the flies off him, out of his dog house and kennel.

Bruce will be a problem because bathing him is like well........bathing a razor someone set on superhigh. :O Guess we'll have to do the Revolution for him.

 

[flutterbee]

Advantage might be cheaper than Revolution. Might want to check.

 

[donna723]

Our vet also told us not to bathe the dog for several days before you apply any flea medication. They said it works best on "dirty dogs" - if their skin is dry from a recent bath, the medication doesn't spread out and absorb nearly as well as it does if there is a bit of natural oils on the skin.

 

[Star*]

To rid any animal of fleas inexpensively -

Put and old towel at the bottom of the tub for them to stand on and not feel like they are going to slip, wet the towel, then put them in a tub, use a hose sprayer and soak them to the bone with plain old water - (temp. just warm) and then in an old butter tub mix about three squirts of DAWN. The blue cheap old dollar store regular stuff, not the fancy enhanced, spendy oxy stuff. Cheap $2 a bottle. Blue.

Mix 1/2 a butter tub with water and the Dawn and make a paste so to speak. Pour it on the dog and then add MORE Dawn and not much more water so that the dog is literally WHITE and slimy from Dawn. While there - massage the Dawn in between the pads of their feet, under the tail, around and behind the ears and THOROUGHLY coat your dog in a thick solution of Dawn. THen let the dog sit for about 10 minutes and sit there with them if they shiver? Wrap them in a towel.

After 10 minutes RINSE THOROUGHLY until you literally hear their hair squeek - you will ALSO have TONS of fleas in the tub drain - so you may want to cover it with something to catch the fleas like a nylon stocking and THEN BAG THAT. Check the dog again and if there are MORE fleas STILL HANGING ON? REPEAT.

This will NOT interfere with the chemicals of the frontline. And you may have to lessed the intensity of the soap thickness /per flea ratio - but it works. The Dawn smothers the fleas and rids the entire body of oils, but I CAN NOT STRESS ENOUGH THE RINSING OF THIS IS ALMOST MORE IMPORTANT RINSE UNTIL YOU HEAR THEM SQUEEK _ ALL OVER or the soap will make them itch like a banshee (visions of itchy banshee).

Take them outside - dry thoroughly and IMMEDIATELY wash the towels in hot water to kill residual fleas and eggs.

This WILL get rid of fleas and is safe for puppy and kitty. (however bathing a CAT is not necessarily safe for YOU and battle attire may be necessary -I'm thinking battle armor, jousting shield, heavy gloves)

This WILL NOT KEEP fleas off of them - but if they are walking back in your house with fleas - they have /may have dropped the fleas off and you need to bomb the house (Adams makes an excellent bomb) Then vacuum, and THROW out your vacuum bag and leave your vacuum sit outside for a day or so in the heat.

If they are outside dogs and the fleas are in the yard? Sevin dust done early in the morning and left all day (NO DOGS at all) then hosed into the soil and left will help.

I got the biospot freebie too!!!!! The Petsmart Stores and PetsPlus sell it.

I think you need to wash all their bedding too.

Good luck fleas are such a pain!!!!! Pootie is SOooooooo Soooooo happy that she doesn't live in fleaville anymore - but I will say that she too had Frontline plus on her - and in 2 days at the foster home she was COVERED - they did nothing to the yard or house and are still infested. She's been at our house where both boys get Frontline and Heartguard as well as the cat - who gets something cheaper as she is usually outside - and Frontline was like putting lighterfluid on her. I think it's Bansect or something OTC. Hartz? I have never found ANYTHING of Hartz that worked =maybe nice fish food. And Pootie? I have not put flea treatment on her since I did the Dawn bath and she is flea free.

Fingers crossed for you.
Lots of work to get rid of the flea circus.

 

[threebabygirls]

We use K9 Advantix for our Lab and I've never seen a flea on her. However, k9 Advantix is extremely toxic to cats, so if your cat is on good terms with your dogs, you should not use it. (Our cat would rather die than be friends with the dog.) Good luck. Fleas are hard (but not impossible) to get rid of.

 

[mrscatinthehat]

been battling this at our house also. ugh, ugh, ugh.

beth

 

[Kjs]

I use Frontline plus too. I religiously put it on the dogs because we take them to the woods and lake to run and swim.

Last year I found a large tick. Vet told me that Frontline does not necessarily kill ticks on contact, rather prevents them from attaching and burrowing in. So, the dogs could actually be bringing fleas and ticks into the house.

Also, vet told us the same thing as mentioned prior, No swimming or bathing 4 days prior or 4 days after applying Frontline. Needs to absorb into the skin/hair/fur.

I checked into the others, Chloe is 75 pounds, Revolution is for smaller dogs. There is NO WAY either dog would let me lather them up and then stand there for ten minutes. Chloe might, as she does pretty much anything we tell her. But the first trick is how to get her into the bathroom without "helping" her. She would rather go curl up in a corner than enter that dreaded room. And I swear both dogs know how to MAKE themselves heavier.

 

[Hound dog]

Well, maybe it's not the Frontline Plus, then.

We bathed Molly then put the frontline on her once she was completely dry. Normally wouldn't do it that way, but she was filthy and miserable. So that might be why it's not being affective this time.

I'm going to bathe her in the Dawn this evening. Molly likes baths, always has. She also likes to swim in swimming pools and creeks. lol

husband just got told he's going to get lots of overtime for the next few weeks. So maybe I'll be able to afford trying the Frontline Plus one more time once this dose wears off.

 

[Star*]

Daisy -

Someone here put a web site up that had CHEAP Frontline Plus -

Anyone remember (sorry)

 

[donna723]

Daisy, if I were you, I would try something else and not the Frontline Plus. Usually they change the formulas slightly every few years to keep the fleas from working up an immunity to it, but the Frontline Plus just is not working this year. This was discussed to death on the dog board that I frequent and the general concensus among many, many dog owners was that the Frontline Plus just wasn't doing the job this year!

It always worked very well for us in the past so at the beginning of flea season this year I spent $48 on doses for each of my three dogs. None had been bathed since the week before I put it on them. They all had a few fleas, but weren't over run with them. It never did get rid of all the fleas, they each still had a few, and within two weeks they actually had more fleas on them than they did before I put the Frontline Plus on them! Other brands still seem to work very well from what I hear, just not the Frontline for some reason. Next year they'll probably change the formula and it will maybe work well again, but not this year. That's a lot of money to waste on something that doesn't work, and then you can't use something else on them for a while without the risk of making them sick.

 

[susiestar]

There is an oral medication called Capstar that works for 24 hours straight on fleas. Our vet lets us use it for a week or more, even with Freckles delicate system. I found it to be great when teh topicals didn't work well. And our vet is excellent, very up on the latest info. It might be good to use between the medications?

Sorry frontline isn't working well. Go with advantage if you can.

 

[flutterbee]

If you have the extra money, Lisa, I'd get the Advantage. It's cheaper than Frontline Plus, anyway, and is working much more effectively. I'm afraid if you give the Frontline Plus another chance you'll just be throwing your money away.

 

[scent of cedar]

It was: www.joespetmeds.com

Frontline Plus is not working for us, either.

Barbara