Topical Flea Prevention

[Azzachazza]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering what opinions were concerning flea prevention. Currently both my dogs are on Advocate monthly. I was considering switching to Drontal all wormer monthly, and heartworm injections, and not using a topical flea prevention. This would however leave them unprotected against fleas, ticks and mange, which Advocate covered. I dont like the idea of topical flea treatment, as both dogs have dry, allergic, itchy skin. Im uncertain as to whether Advocate's topical flea-ridding ingredients are making this worse.

I was hoping people could share their schedules with me. That is, what would be in your opinions, "best practice," when it comes to flea prevention, heart worm prevention and worming. Has anyone had any bad experiences or side effects? I understand some people dont do any prevention and im interested to learn more, as im not too happy with the amount of chemicals and possible side effects of many products. Any feedback would be appreciated, particularly in regards to an alternative to topical flea treatments.

Thanks ,

Aaron

Edited May 3, 2010 by Azzachazza

[Roguedog]

why dont you try Comfortis? its a one a month chewable tablet to control fleas. it uses a chemical named Spinosad which makes it start working within 30 mins of ingestion and its completely effective within 4 hours, totally water proof and no mess. only thing is it hasnt been tested in breeding male dogs (so if you want to breed your male, dont use it).

[dee lee]

I use advocate on my dog and cat. It has been the only flea prevention that worked in my house.

I guess it would depend on whether you actually get fleas in your area. If they arent a big issue where you live, I would skip it and go with just the wormers and use tick prevention when you need it (btw Advocate offers no tick protection anyway).

If you do get fleas, personally I'd stick with Advocate if it works, because I find flea allergy is much worse than dry allergic skin. I had trouble over summer in trying to eradicate fleas, both on and off my dog, and she developed sores and hair loss, which were equally tricky to get rid of. I felt so bad for her.

As for natural remedies like garlic in the food and rosemary/lemon rinses, tried them a couple of years ago on my staffy x and had absolutely zero success.

why dont you try Comfortis? its a one a month chewable tablet to control fleas. it uses a chemical named Spinosad which makes it start working within 30 mins of ingestion and its completely effective within 4 hours, totally water proof and no mess. only thing is it hasnt been tested in breeding male dogs (so if you want to breed your male, dont use it).

If you are concerned about Advocate, you arent going to like Comfortis. Do a search in the health forum on it and you will get a lot of people complaining about the chemicals in it. It is basically a monthly Capstar.

Edited May 4, 2010 by ✽deelee

[Roguedog]

capstar and comfortis dont use the same chemicals so therefore are not the same... I thought the OP was concerned about the fact that advocate is topical, comfortis is pretty much the only long lasting one that isnt topical... I have had no ill effects from comfortis and neither have any of my clients... each to their own, thats why there are so many treatments to choose from... you cant escape chemicals when it comes to long lasting ectoparasite treatment!

edited: spelling!

Edited May 4, 2010 by rubeedoo

[Flick_Mac]

Have you considered Sentinel Spectrum (does everything except ticks pretty much) and Capstar (only if there's fleas on them)?

I use Sentinel, and have never had a flea on my dogs (touch wood), but have a couple of Capstar boxes here just in case as Sentinel doesn't actually kill the adult fleas directly.

Rubeedoo is right: Capstar and Comfortis are different chemical products, but are both oral, fast knock-down adulticides.

[SmoothieGirl]

I have a dog with skin problems and the last time I used Advocate she reacted very badly. I now use Comfortis and all is well again. Nice and easy to dose and not messy either.

Apart from when she was a little pup I have never had a flea problem since, but I think I'm in a relatively low flea and definitely low tick area.

[Fit for a King]

comfortis should not be used in breeding animals - male or female - there are still some questions re its effects on reproduction. In some dogs it does cause nausea also.

I wouldn't touch the 12 month HW jabs with a 40 foot barge pole.

[kiesha09]

Could you use Sentinel Spectrum AND Comfortis to be sure. Or is it not a good thing to mix the two?