Topical flea and tick medicine not working?

Hi everyone,

A friend of mine just told me that her dogs have been getting fleas even though she uses Frontline. She asked her vet, and her vet said that the topical flea and tick preventative is becoming less effective, similar to what is happening with antibiotics. The vet switched her dogs to Trifexis for the fleas and Frontline Plus for the fleas and ticks. She is worried that it is too much medicine, and I agree that it seems strange. The Trifexis is $23 a pill, and then she has to pay for more Frontline on top of that. I am wondering if her vet is trying to gouge her. Has anyone else heard this?

 

I am not familiar with Frontline and I would be worried too if our dog would need to take or must have such medicines. If she could get another vet opinion, there could be better treatment if ever there is.

 

Frontline doesn't work for us either, my Homer doesn't have fleas, but ticks are a real problem here, in our area. Anyway, in my opinion both Trifexis and Frontline Plus is too much. If I were your friend, I would look for a different vet. It's always better to be extra careful.

 

Our Vet only recommends one or the other. Chacha had a tick infestation a while back when a stray cat decided to camp out in our garden. Our Vet asked us if we wanted to use Frontline or Trifexis. Accordingly Trifexis is quite strong which is why he recommended Frontline first and if that did not work we could use Trefexis. My sister on the other hand used a herbal soap on her dog for consecutive 3 days. She also did not rinse the soap well and left some soap suds on her dog after a daily bath. That worked for her dog.

 

Using a herbal soap sounds like a nice and natural solution. But I would be afraid afraid that my Homer would keep licking himself or would roll in dirt if I didn't rinse the soap well. I guess other dogs are more patient

 

Try Advantix... Frontline has never worked with the pack. The ticks were as big as tiny prunes. Fortunately, after 2 doses, they were tick and flea-free.

But then, a week later, they showed signs of mange infection. We use Advantage (still Bayer), and the two who had bald spots had their fur grown back. My Shih Tzu also had a bad case of demodex mange which needed Ivermectin shots. That's what the vet injected him with, anyway.

 

I had no luck with Frontline and it was very expensive because my dog was a biggie. I ended up using BioSpot, buying it online from petsalotpetsupply.com. Not only did it kill the fleas but it repelled more insects than Frontline and it cost A LOT less. It also has a companion shampoo with it and can be purchased at places like Petco.

 

Do they ship outside the US? We still use Frontline, but it really doesn't work, so I keep looking for something else. BioSpot sounds like a good product!

 

Frontline hasn't work for my dog either, and they are expensive! Like you, I don't like to give Capone too much chemicals if I can find an alternative. Now, I just add a few drops of Apple Cider vinegar to his drink, and spay him with a mixture of vinegar and water. It seems to work so far, and I am happier to know I am not giving him chemicals.

 

I have heard about the fleas and ticks being so bad this year. I'm still trying to find the most effective treatment. but I wouldn't use both. I just worry about over medicating, and them getting sicker