Flea treatment prescription

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benz

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Hi all, I recently moved to England with my dogs. Previously I would use advantix for flea and ticks but I saw that in UK I need a prescription for pretty much all flea treatments. I contacted a local vet today and they charge £38 for consultation plus £12 for prescription! Then the advantix is £15 so as I have two dogs that is £130 just to give flea treatment! I used to pay €30 for 9 months supply no prescription required so I'm absolutely terrified at how I'm going to afford to keep my dogs in the UK :( I thought about getting my sister in law to buy and send me over but I'm sure that would be illegal right? Does anybody have any suggestions? Also frontline does not work unfortunately, I switched to advantix a year ago and they never had a flea since. Thanks for any help/ideas.
 
Not all of them need a prescription. I agree, it's terrifying, not to mention a bit outrageous.

I have no idea about having them sent over, but I suspect you would have them confiscated if they were found to be prescription drugs in the post. You could chance it, I don't know if Customs would even check. I've sent all sorts all over the world, saddles, movie props, glass domes, never had an issue, none have been opened to my knowledge.

There are other effective flea treatments, there's a recent thread on here saying which ones people use if that's any help.
 
I;m guessing your dogs haven't seen a vet in the last year? You should be able to find one happy to give prescription flea treatment so long as dog is a regular client
 
Vets cannot legally prescribe any medication that is prescription only without having seen the animal within set timeframes so they can claim it to be under their care.

For flea meds once the animal has been seen in the last year just ask for a prescription and buy online in bulk.most people do this at the same time as vaccinations.

Importing prescription only medications into the uk is illegal.if customs catch you meds will be destroyed and they may issue a fine.repeat offenders can be prosecuted.You are also ment to declare what your posting in packages and have import licenses for prescription meds...but its up to you to weigh up the risks and cost benifits.it is most certainly cheaper to post meds in but defiantely illegal.

The cost of keeping a dog in the uk is astonomical compared to most european countries!including ireland.

If you dont have pet insurance already I would strongly consider it. My friends who work as vets in the UK keep their dogs insured as they would struggle to afford some of the costs without it...and thats on reduced proffesional fee rates.Very different to the rest of europe...but on the flip side the UK has one of the highest standards of care and treatment options for sick pets in the world.
 
Quite a lot of vets now will do a free flea/worm check so that the dog will be under their care, and then they can legally prescribe prescription only products. Can the vets you go to in the UK offer this?
 
Thanks everyone for ideas, I appreciate it. So if I understand it correctly with one prescription I can buy more than one treatment? That wouldn't be too bad.

I've found a local vet that does a plan where you pay £12 a month more or less and get flea, worm treatment, check up, booster vacs and other small perks. I have to check which flea treatment they use as I have no faith in frontline. Does this seem a reasonable cost to anyone?

I looked also at insurance but one of my dogs is 6yr old boxer bitch so we are getting super high quotes for her obviously! I am trying to decide what to do, although I have just spent €1000 bringing them over here so not much left if there's an emergency :(

Susie T my dogs last saw a vet in May as they needed passport to come to UK so had a full health check, rabies vac, wormed and were also treated with advantix at that time as we had one left. I'm just worried for the future, don't want flea infested dogs or house! Also they are at work with me and I worry about ticks so want them protected :)

Thanks again all
 
yes but once your uk vet has seen them they should be able to give flea tx without needing to see every time - unfortumately registering with a new vet ids going to cost money- and while insurance seems expensive its not as expensive as pts or poor treatment due to cost
 
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