Bit of a rant let me start by saying that both frontline and advantix makers insist that there are no problems with their products.

I've been using Frontline plus for years and never had any problems. This april my sister watched my dog for 2 days while I was out of town. He came back with some fleas, but I did not think it would be a problem because I would do a fresh frontline treatment and they would go away. No luck, they have just been getting worse. The frontline also does not seem to be working on ticks at all this year.

When I went to the vet for vaccinations at the begining of august, I asked the vet if it was possible for the fleas to develop a resistance to frontline. She told me "officially no, but we have seen some cases where frontline does not seem to work."
She suggested that I switch my dog to advantix. Well the reason I had been using frontline instead of advantix, was because I had been warned by my previous vet that some small white dogs (Fizzgig is 12lb and cream colored) had reactions to it. I asked my vet about this and she insisted that this was not true, and that she used advantix preferentially on small dogs as it has doses for smaller dogs(dosing is 5-15lb instead of 5-25lb). I agreed to try it.

When I gave it to Fizzgig he immediately jumped up like something was biting him and ran around. Rather than getting better when the medicine dried, it kept getting worse and by 2 days later he had started wheezing. I looked online and found tons of cases of dogs reacting, and even dying from advantix. The recommended treatment was a bath in dawn soap (this removes the remaining pesticide but does not treat the symptoms). Several days after his bath he was all better, thank goodness. When I returned the remaining advantix for a refund the receptionists insisted that there had never been a reaction before.

I went back to frontline hoping since the advantix had at least killed all the live fleas, it might have decreased their numbers enough for frontline to work, no such luck. Online it looks like researchers have found the gene for resistance and some areas up to 75% of fleas have the resistance.

Petsmart knew about the advantix problem. The vet reception staff at petsmart told me that there was no resistance to frontline and that none of the over the counter stuff worked. A store employee told be that there had been lots of bad reactions to some of the over the counter monthly stuff (no surprise it has the same ingredients as advantix, but less quality control) why the hell are they still selling that stuff?

After looking at the vast array of scary pesticide warnings I tried "natural defence" by sentry it combines various oils from edible spices to treat fleas. It works to kill the ones I directly spray and seems to repel the fleas for all of 2-3 days. Fizzgig hates how strongly it smells and immediately starts rolling in dirt. I now have a strongly eggnog scented dog with a slightly milder case of fleas.

Does anyone have any suggesting for something that works a bit better? I am planning on getting pregnant soon and don't really want to be around very toxic stuff, but I have to get rid of these **** fleas Fizzgig is so itchy.

--Rebecca

sorry i dont have any help but i just had to reply and tell you that your dogs name is awesome
i had a very special rat named fizgig
we are big dark crystal fans *ahemnerdsahem*

good luck with the fleas, im really allergic to them and one bite will swell up like crazy

We had the worst case of fleas ever a few years ago. My two dogs lived outside and no matter what we used the fleas would not go away. We tried ALL the flea medications, from the basic ones at Walmart, to Advantix and Frontline, right up to prescription pills ($5 per per pill, per dog, several times a week). Some of the medications were so strong that one of my cats seemed to hallucinate whenever she was treated. One of our dogs developed severe flea allergy dermatitis and started losing all her fur.
We had pest control spray the house and yard. NOTHING WORKED. We finally just moved. I truly believe that fleas build resistance to pesticides. We went to several pest control places and several vets. We couldn't take it anymore and had to just vacate the house.
I guess I don't have an answer, unless just move, which is not an option for everyone. If it's any consolation, I was pregnant at the time of the flea fiasco, and the fleas refused to bite me. I don't know if it was the hormones or what, I did not get a single bite, and they swarmed all over! My poor husband was not so lucky.
I hope you find some flea relief. Those are nasty creatures.

I use Revolution on my dog and Advantage on my cats works great. It kills them as soon as they bite the pet!

OK, now you can stop ranting for good and use the good stuff.

I learned about this when I adopted my Savannah.
She came from a no-kill shelter and it had to be the cleanest place I'd ever seen. When I left there with her, they gave me a 3 months supply of REVOLUTION. It kills fleas, mesquitoes and ticks.

When she gave it to me, she told me it was the BEST, (and the most expensive thing on the market, then she told me what is actually is and how to get it soooo much cheaper!

It is the same thing as Iver-On which is liquid cattle wormer (Ivermectin). It's abot $22 a bottle and lasts about a year unless your dog is huge.

I get mine at Tractor Suppy, but Co-ops and other farm supply places will probably have it to.

Here's how to use it. Get a regular syringe, minus needle of course. Use 1 1/2 cc of the liquid for each 14 pounds of dog. Start between the shoulder blades...same place you squeeze the other stuff.

Start there and squeeze it all the way down the back to the tail I have used it for over 2 years with both my dogs and the old dog that moved in from next door 3 years ago and I never see a tick, a flea or anything.

Another plus. You do not have to go to the vet for a heartworm check before starting this treatment. It's safe to start anytime. It will prevent mosquitoes from biting and you don't have to worry about heartworms.

Before I started using this I used Twenty Mule Team Borax and sprinkled it around the house and for 27 years never had a flea! Sprinkle around dog beds and on carpets lightly with it. If you don't vacuum for 3 days, it will kill ALL the flease in carpet. then wait 2 weeks and repeat. The flea eggs in the carpet hatch in 2 weeks and it will kill those, them vacuum again and it's over.

Along with feeding my digs RAW DIET, I have the healthiest dogs in my area. Mine never see a vet (except for rabies shots) til they are old old old and dying
Info on RAW DIET:
www.rawlearning.com

Does the Iver-On work on cats? Or would it even be safe to use on cats?

Frontline doesn't work for us at all, but the Advatage worked wonderfully on the cats. My MIL Is always looking for something to use on their cat. He is allergic to fleas and all spot on treatments, Capstar only kills adult fleas and the liquid Program doesn't really work either and only takes care of the eggs.

As an alternative to Borax you can use salt. Seemed to work a lot quicker for us and we didn't have to worry as much about the cats eating it.

Yes, the Iver-On works on anything that Revolution works on. It's the very same thing as Revolution.

That animal shelter has used it for many years and they have NO fleas. If the cat is allergic to the spot-on treatments, it may also be allergic to Iver-On. Some dogs are allergic to spot-on treatments as well. They will make Collies and Shepherds drool for about 3 to 5 minutes, then all is OK.

SALT is a GREAT alternative for fleas, but doesn't take care of ticks and heartworms.

You might try Capstar. It is an oral medication that vets give to all animals before boarding or even admitting for surgery to prevent the spread from all of the pets in and out. It literally works instantly - you can watch them fall off the animal. I'm not sure how long its good for but it would at least wipe out what they have and individual doses are very cheap. My dog and cats have had it with no ill effects when they have been admitted to the hospital and when I was in school, it was recommended to me by my vet to give to ground squirrels (less than a pound each) before bringing them into our research labs. So it's safe for litte ones. In the midwest, fleas and ticks have been extra bad this year due to all of the rain. They seem to thrive in moist conditions. Firmly believe in NOT using any over the counter flea products. I've heard too many stories of seizures, permanent hair loss, and even death. Especially stay away from the Hartz brand (at Wal-Mart) - they have been investigated by the EPA.

OK. Since I have been working in vet clinics for MANY years (volunteered in my first at age 11, so 22 years now), and my mom is a vet, AND I have 5 dogs and 3 cats, I know PLENTY about this topic!

Firstly, if you don't really need the tick treatment then ADVANTAGE is my preferred topical treatment. It kills fleas within minutes to hours, unlike Frontline, which sends the fleas into a frenzy and makes you dog really itchy before killing the fleas maybe a day or two later. I don't really think there are any cases of resistance to these drugs, you have to remember that the fleas have to actually get on your pet before it can kill them!! And so, if there are MANY MANY fleas in your area, then they are going to just keep on getting on your dog/cat and dying off one by one.

There is a new oral medication called Comfortis (I think) it is similar to Capstar, but it lasts one month, instead of 24 hours. Works great to kill any fleas that get on the dog, AND since it is oral, you know your dog got all the of the medicine, whereas there is a chance with the topicals, that you might not be getting the effective dose actually on the skin of the dog. The reason things like Program take longer to work, is that they don't kill the adult fleas, Program is flea BIRTH CONTROL, and so, it prevents the NEXT cycle of hatched eggs from being able to become sexually mature.

On the topic of Revolution, yes, it kills fleas, mosquitos, and ticks, and prevents heartworms. BUT, same thing I said about the other topicals, there is a chance you may not get the effective dose on the dogs skin, and IMHO, I am NOT taking any chances with my dogs getting their Heartwork treatment, so I prefer the oral heartworm meds, along with Advantage.

I have been using Advantage for about 8 years, and I LOVE it, and have NEVER seen a flea anywhere in my house, on my pets, or in my yard. But there are those other options I mentioned above if that helps you!

P.S. the over the counter stuff WILL NOT work!

We had the same trouble with frontline..I use Program now which is in pill form. I got it from petmeds.com. WORKS GREAT! No longer have any fleas I got rid of the fleas he had using capstar and then give him 1 program pill a month. We have been flea free for 4 months now!! Sonny is a much happier dog

Weeza,

Is this safe to use around birds? What about the Borax? Is it safe as well? I too have been battleing fleas. My cat never goes outside but we have carried them in on us evidently and he got covered up before I knew it. I am using frontiline plus but need to get rid of them in my carpets.

I also work as a vet tech and from what i have seen in my own personal experience and that of our clients, for dogs i would recommend Capstar for immediate treatment of severe infestation, followed by Comfortis pill OR Revolution which is Selemectin. For moderate infestation, I would use Advantage followed in 2-3 weeks by Revolution or Comfortis continued monthly treatments.

Comfortis is not available for cats, but Advantage is great for quick kill, but is at its most effective for the first 2 weeks, after that efficacy declines rapidly. For maintenance flea control after initial dose of Advantage, i would follow up in 2-3 weeks with Revolution and continue monthly.


For large carpeted areas, couches, etc., sprinkle Borax and leave it for 3 days, then vacuum. Place a cheap flea collar in the vacuum bag to kill any stragglers and throw out the bag when you are done cleaning. Wash all blankets and bedding in hot water. For smaller areas or pet beds, soft toys, etc., I like D.E. powder. A little goes a long way.

I know at our clinic, the Dr has completely stopped stocking Frontline and Advantix as he considers them obsolete.

Before I started using the Iver-On for fleas that are picked up in the yard and for heartworm prevention (and tick prevention), I used Borax and never had a problem with my birds. My tiel lived to be 29 and I'd say I used Borax at lease the last 20 of his years. I never put it where the birds could reach it, but have sprinkled it on the carpet in the same room. It only takes a LIGHT sprinkling.
I vacuum it after 3 days, wait 2 weeks and do again to kill the ones that hatched since the first time.
I still use it around and on the dog's bedding. I haven't had a flea in 27 years...but ticks are bad here some years. Since I started using Iver-On, I haven't seen a flea OR a tick.

The shelter where I got Savannah uses ONLY Iver-ON and they never have any fleas, ticks or mosquitos. That's why they recommended it to me

I don't know what kind of dog you have, but just remember you should never use ivermectin on any herding breeds such as sheepdogs or collies. And also make sure that your dog has a current negative heartworm test. Also, Ivermectin is used for heartworm prevention and intestinal parasite control. As far as i know, it does nothing for fleas. Selamectin (Revolution), however, is a derivative of ivermectin and is more broad spectrum covering heartworm, fleas, ear mites, hookworms and roundworms. Both are by prescription only and concentration of dosage is according to weight.


equineRtist, I'm not sure why the shelter would recommend a cattle product to use on your dogs that doesnt even treat fleas, and especially without prescription or vet supervision/recommendation. This is strange to me. I have worked in an animal control shelter as well as currently as a vet tech in an animal hospital for the last 2 yrs and while yes, the shelter used ivermectin in combination with frontline or advantage and yes, at the clinic we also carry large bottles of cattle wormer for in-house use, i would never recommend this to a client without a degree in veterinary medicine. Seems very unsafe for them to do that IMO. Was it a tech that suggested it or the veterinarian on duty, i'm curious. If it wasn't from a vet, i wouldn't trust this advice for pet care anymore than i would from my car mechanic. Again, just my opinion.

I also feed my dog a mostly RAW diet, he never has had a flea problem.
Also when I got him he had real bad dandruff-teeth not so good looking-the raw diet helped all that. He was fed eukanuba(or however u spell that) before I got him.