Is this a new thing, and is it right?

MrsElle

MrsElle

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Took mad pup to the vets this morning for his second lot of jabs.

The vet asked if I would be buying flea and tic treatment from her or elsewhere as he would be due another dose in a months time (got given a dose in his puppy pack which I haven't used). Now it seems that the vet is suggestion prevention is better than cure, which in many situations it is, but I am of the opinion that I shouldn't apply chemicals to my boy when he doesn't need them. I would rather treat when I saw fleas, which is the way I have always done it. Saying that, I have never seen a flea on any of my dogs in a good 15 years, and have always fed them garlic, which I am sure helps. We have had two tics in that time that have been removed swiftly with a tic remover that cost £2.

So, am I right in refusing to dose him up with Frontline every couple of months, or have times changed and this is the right thing to do? The cynic in me sees this another money making ploy by the vets and manufacturers of Frontline.......
 
I would agree that it's probably Frontline pushing their products and vets buying into it!
I never treat mine unless I see a flea - they are checked regularly and I don't see the need to fill them full of chemicals for no good reason. Ticks get removed by hand. Plus they aren't allowed upstairs, downstairs is wooden floored, and we have a Dyson. So never had a flea issue in the house. I do worm them regularly though, worms are more sinister.
 
Flea Treatment can have side effects. I bought a bitch in about 2 years ago, and for the second time, and with exactly the same effect, the previous owner had used Frontline, and she was virtually bald. The poor little girl.

Like you, I've not de-fleaed a dog, in many years, and the reason's simple; they haven't had fleas. I'm deeply suspicious of those these days who try to sell me anything, and that includes Vets. I've changed practice recently because I was sick and tired of ALL the practice members advising, and even insisting, that the only 'correct' food for my puppies, was the Eukanuba which they just happened to sell. Ok, so it may have been Hills, I don't remember, but they're equally as dangerous as each other.

In short MrsElle, you're right!

Alec.
 
I only treat my cats ( well may now be Cat singular as I've not seem boy cat since Tuesday pm :( ) if I see signs of fleas. Also frontline is no longer that effective against them. There are also natural alternatives which should prevent them.
Vets make a profit on the sale of worm and flea treatments so it's in their interest to push them.
 
This is the cycle that I encounter quite a lot at work...

Client doesn't use preventative flea treatment (for various reasons). Dog comes home with a couple of fleas. Client buys a Bob Martin or over the counter Frontline from the supermarket, applies to dog, thinks job done. In fact the couple of live fleas on the dog are a drop in the ocean compared with the several hundred eggs already laid in the carpet and in a month's time a new crop of fleas hatches and springs back on to the dog (OTC products having done nothing to break this cycle). Client spends another fiver on OTC product, flea bomb, flea shampoo. Dog still has fleas. Client switches product. Dog still has fleas. Client starts getting bitten by raging flea infestation. Client finally admits defeat, comes to us having spend £25 on stuff that doesn't work and so complains about paying a further £7 for one single prescription product that actually works in a single dose. We continue to be seen as money-grabbing even though our product solved the problem.

You can see where we're coming from in trying to encourage people to buy effective products from the vet instead and, to guarantee total prevention, the recommendation would be to use a monthly product.

I personally think this is excessive and don't treat my dogs for fleas unless they actually have them. Tick prevention is slightly different as we have seen cases of lymes, and of course worm prevention is different again (especially lungworm). It's a case of weighing up the risk in your area and deciding what you want to prevent and what's not worth bothering with - this might mean changing products seasonally or screening for things instead of just going for the spot-ons if, as I agree with you, you don't want to use a chemical product unnecessarily.

Frontline is probably the poorest all-rounder in that regard anyway, much better products available for both fleas and ticks.
 
Garlic is toxic to dogs so I'm not sure I'd be feeding it as a preventative.

I'm like you, I worm regularly but only de-flea when needed, which was not at all for the first two years and now twice this year!
 
blackcob, what do you recommend as the best all rounder? I have frontline in the cupboard as cheaper to buy online and have in stock than an trip to the vets to get, I have to admit to being a bit in the dark about dog flea treatments and what is the best.
 
this thread is interesting. I worm regularly but only treat my dogs occasionally for fleas and have never had a problem until this year ...I used frontline and it didn't seem to work...contacted my vet who said they don't stock it anymore as it is not effective...have been given advocate which seems to have sorted the problem (have also sprayed house, dogs beds, sofas etc and washed all dogs beds and blankets, been through dogs coats with a flea comb to make sure, hoovered everywhere lots of times and finally can relax....this is the first year my dogs have got fleas and they are 10 & 8 so I have been doing ok till now....
 
Dizzle said:
blackcob, what do you recommend as the best all rounder? I have frontline in the cupboard as cheaper to buy online and have in stock than an trip to the vets to get, I have to admit to being a bit in the dark about dog flea treatments and what is the best.
Click to expand...

Frontline bought online without a prescription is not the same as the Frontline Combo from a vet - only the latter contains an insect growth regulator which stops them from reproducing in the environment which is 90% of the battle.

As a preventative treatment I'd go for Stronghold - does fleas (inc. environmental control), various kinds of mites and lice and most worms. Doesn't do ticks or tapeworm.

If ticks are a concern then Advantix instead - unlike Frontline it actually repels ticks rather than just killing them once they've already hopped on. No worming component there so tablets (Milbemax) used as required for that. You could vacc against lyme disease instead.

If lungworm is a concern then Advocate instead or Milbemax monthly. You can also blood test for lungworm.

To treat an existing infestation any Frontline is fine if used in conjunction with a good household spray - Indorex, RIP Flea, Acclaim etc. House sprays can be bought without prescription. :)

Personally I dump an Advocate on my dogs twice per year but in the opinion of most vets they'll be dead before the year's end anyway from being fed on raw meat and bones so ner! ;)
 
I use advocate every month/6 weeks as we have alot of foxes/cats/dogs with owners that don't know what there doing and i don't think she would cope with fleas...(R is the biggest drama queen EVER!) shes never had them -touch wood-
 
I don't de flea either unless I see them. We don't really get ticks frequently round here.

Garlic isn't toxic to dogs, only very large quantities, and it does have health benefits.

I do worm but am a bit skeptical about that and think I will look into worm counts. Anyone know if worm counts will cover all the relevant parasites?
 
Advocate gave my puppy diarrhoea. Tried 3 times all with same result, discussed with vet and she is now on milbamax for worms and frontline combo for fleas and ticks. Vet completed a yellow form to let bayer know about Tivas reaction.
I again don't frontline monthly but I do apply when going to z tick area.
 
I don't use flea products as a preventative. If they get fleas, they're treated but I can't remember the last time they had them. If carpets are hoovered regularly and cushions/throws are washed and hung out to dry, or you use a steamer, the fleas shouldn't be a recurring problem.
 
I'm having a massive flea problem at the minute. Never had one before and always frontline-d (from vet) every 2-3 months but fizz brought them in and by the time I spotted them it was too late. I've frontline-d both and treated the house but still finding the damn things. They are due again soon (doing every 4 weeks atm) and treating the house as often as I can just can't seem to get rid :(
 
That sounds awful Annette. Could it be that the fleas are now resistant to the treatments due to over use? I don't mean over use by you, but in general, through the vets and manufacturers pushing people to use them as a preventative rather than a cure.

Hope you get the problem sorted soon.
 
I worm both dogs and cat regularly, cats are hunters. I only use flea treatment if required, had a bad infestation last year, first time in 15 years! Don't forget to treat animal bedding and home at the same time as animals or you are wasting your time and money.

Annette 4 try advocate from vet and loads of hoovering and house treatment.
 
I use a flea / tick product during the height of the cat catching rabbits season the rest of the time I deal with only when I need to .
 
We're moving at the moment (not flea related lol) but dogs are at mums so all bedding is being boil washed, dogs treated and all soft furnishings treated and hopefully that will stop them coming back into the house. Never had a problem before so it was a shock but now they're in I can't get rid. Vet has offered a different treatment (we are on a prepayment scheme for flea/worm treatment) should this cycle not get rid so we shall see.
 
My little terrier in 9 years has never had fleas or ticks and I've never treated him for them. I do check from time to time but I'm certainly not going to buy stuff and apply it just in case!
 
Vets promote prevention rather than treatment....I don't think this is a new thing. Just some vets promote more than others. It may be that your vet has seen a lot of flea/worm/lungworm trouble recently?

I have seen 2 cases of lungworm, which is on the rise in the South East particularly. One young dog died from internal hemorrhaging within 24 hours. The other survived but has on-going heart problems and neurological problems such as seizures. At 1 yr old his future does not look very optimistic. I have only heard of lungworm in younger dogs (as a lot of the time it is pups that will eat slugs/snails etc). Advocate and now milbemax monthly are used as a preventative measure and treatment of lungworm.

I use advocate every month as my dog suffers from flea allergy dermatitis. Only takes one flea bite to set him off, and he will chew the base of his tail raw :( Cats get advocate monthly and tapeworm treatment every so often.

Fleas also carry tapeworm larvae, and ingestion of fleas (either from grooming themselves, another cat, or the environment) will probably result in your pet getting tapeworms.

Also don't rate frontline (regular, not frontline combo) at all anymore!
 
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Would I use flea prevention or wait until my house was riddled with fleas? No brainer imo. I dont use it quite as often as the vet/packaging might suggest tho.
 
I'm with you, OP, I had a real falling out with my vet about it. I use advocate or milbemax every couple of months but now pup is 6 months I hope not to use it again this year. Garlic is good stuff, before I knew it was toxic I lived in Oz and my dogs had loads, it is an incedible tick and flea ridden country, and they were always clean.
 
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