That sounds like a pretty bad flea reaction...Frontline works very quickly to kill any fleas that bite the dog, but it isn't going to directly do anything for a heavy flea infestation in your house or yard. You may need to treat the bedding, the carpet, the yard, etc. It usually takes at least 2 applications of topicals (about 60 days) to sort of starve the fleas out. If the dog is really afflicted from the flea bites it sustained before treatment, you may need to visit the vet for steroids or antihistamines. I wouldn't couple a flea dip or flea shampoo with the Frontline.
i heard capstar was good. anyone have experience with that product? my friends are recommending that to me. so far ive applied frontline although im not even sure if shes been infested with fleas in the first place. this was more of a preventative/just incase she is measure.
My vet recommends frontline monthly so I do that with Shira. It's supposed to prevent and/or kill both fleas and ticks, and is supposedly safe for a pup as young as she is (13 weeks today! :D) but ticks are really common in the area (captial region of NY) so she is also getting rounds of a vaccine for lyme disease.
It's always a good idea to give your dog a once over for ticks after a romp outside, but don't forget to check yourself too! Just thought I'd throw that reminder out there so that nobody has to suffer the way I did the week before last. Turns out I was the one with the tick problem! I ended up in the ER where they slapped a mask on me and took me into a room, since my symptoms were suspiciously similar to meningitis and the swine flu, 'til figured out I had lyme from a tick bite on the back of my thigh where I couldn't easily see. So be careful everybody!!
We've had a lot of luck this year with our "potion" of geranium oil/lavender oil/peppermint oil/water (or jojoba). It will wash off when the dog is submerged in water, but I keep a supply with us in a spritz bottle... I use it on them and myself.
Tsukiysune- Is that mixture repel fleas, or kill them or what? How long does it work? And do you feel it is safe to use in conjunction with frontline plus?
I don't use Frontline Plus anymore, so I'm really not sure.. but since they are natural oils I really couldn't see why not
The mixture blends oils that are natural repellents, it works as long as the oils are in the hair of the dog/clothes and skin of the human. Since they are essential oils, they do slightly wash off with water like rain, and really come off after the dog is submerged in water
I must say tea tree oil has worked wonders for us. The dog is not too pleased with the smell but the bugs aren't either! ;o) I do mix that with jojoba oil sometimes and I really don't put much of it on him either. Most of it I actually apply it between his shoulder blades where you're supposed to put the spot on thingys.
Where's the best place to get such oils, and is there anything I should look out for that might make finding the 'right' oils confusing (like for instance accidentally grabbing scented massage oils)?
I buy the Aura Cacia oils (100% pure, sometimes organic) from my local health food store. http://www.auracacia.com/
The Oils: There is a 'recipe' you can try first as the geranium is strong for both you and your dog: - Geranium Essential Oil + Lavender Essential Oil + Peppermint Essential Oil + Lemongrass Essential Oil. Mix a few drops of each to a carrier (water or jojoba oil) and spray on dog's coat evenly [and spray on your clothing].
I found a tick on Chanel, my calico (well mostly gray now) cat Saturday. She must have gone up on the hillside with the 300 stickers I also found on her. I use Frontline which works well for fleas, but not for ticks.
Do you recommend these oils for felines? I work next to Berkeley so I'm sure they are easy to find.
i think they are meant to be a general insect repellent, I use this combination as a referral from a holistic vet as a substitute for chemical repellents geared towards fleas, ticks, mosquitoes and black flies
I don't have any cats, so I'm not sure - but I use them on myself with no issues, I imagine they'd be ok for cats too.
Has anyone else used Sentry Natural Defense squeeze on? A friend who uses it on her golden recommended it to me and we've been using it on Kayden this season. We've had pretty good luck with it so far, but he did manage to get one tick on him. However, I would probably attribute it to owner error since we probably don't apply it as often as we should. It's claimed to be made with "all natural ingredients" such as peppermint oil, cinnamon oil, lemon grass oil and thyme oil. As a warning it is VERY stinky but for those interested in going the essential oil route, this may be a more convenient way to go and is sold at petco.
I'd be careful about using that mix on cat because cats are "special" they don't tolerate all essential oil, I would seek the advice of a vet or at least a book to make sure none of the ingredient is toxic to cats.
Cats hate having anything 'weird' put on them. When we put Frontline on one of my sister's cats a long time ago, we placed it were directed. Well, he just reached around, his skin appeared to have moved on his body, and just licked it off. It's amazing how flexible they can be.
Chanel is almost 18 years old, and honestly I wonder how much longer she is going to be with us. She has even lost so much weight these last couple weeks, or Koda makes me think she is lighter. She is underweight though and she still eats the same amount. You can feel her bones, and her calico coloring is almost all gray. I feel so bad for her sometimes, but she has lived a long wonderfully spoiled life.
She's very tolerant of whatever I do to her. She's tolerant of the puppy, and would put up with anything I put on her, but no I don't want anything to harm her. Guess it's just her years of experience with me that has numbed her. It was just one tick, and I'm sure she was up on the hill where she doesn't usually go.
I put Frontline on her and she just stairs into my eyes like "What the hell are you doing to me now lady."
How are so many products available to non-veterinary outlets when companies claim they sell ONLY to licensed veterinarians? Hmmmm. No financial incentive to stop, perhaps?
In conclusion, an excerpt from the end of the article: In Marietta, Ga., Dr. Michael Good thinks he may have found the answer to diversion. Six months ago, with technical help from a company that peddles pet merchandise on the Web, he put his pharmacy online. Now everything he sells in his clinic is available on the Internet to HIS CLIENTS ONLY.
“We’re averaging about four to five orders per day, $400 to $500 dollars a day in business. This is business that would have gone elsewhere. THESE PEOPLE WANT TO ORDER ONLINE,” he said.
Good said some of his products are priced the same online as in the clinic, but items that are readily available elsewhere tend to be cheaper in his Internet pharmacy. “We take the most famous one,” he said, referring to 1-800-PetMeds, “and we charge a dollar less. We like to stick it to them and twist the knife,” he added with a chuckle of delight.
At the end of each day, a clinic staffer pulls the orders, boxes the products and ships them priority mail. Anyone who spends $39 or more gets free shipping.
“If every veterinarian in the country did this, and only for our clients, then we’d put a serious dent in these activities,” Good said. “I still make a good profit, and I’m making my clients happy.”
_________________________ Yikes. What a racket. What are your thoughts?
I talked about this to my veterinarian two weeks ago. While she's a general practitioner, she is much more holistic minded, and open minded, than any other vet I've gone to. She is concerned at the rate of online stores such as 1800petmeds (who sends coupons out every sunday in the paper) who may or may not have the actual product you think you are purchasing. At the core, chemicals/medications are being administered onto/into your dog once a month with flea/tick and heartworm preventatives. Don't you WANT to be sure its actually what is labeled?? If the manufacturers can't guarantee anything purchased online, then don't purchase online! But then, just as brand name is to generic, isn't this all coming from the same, if not similar, source? I know I became extremely concerned, but just the thought of possible side effects was enough to steer me into natural prevention all around. Which has worked really well so far this year, halfway through the summer and still going strong!
*Actually, she advised me that my decision to forgo flea/tick/mosquito chemicals was smart, as dogs with white paws do not do well in the short or long term with products like Heartguard. Is there any truth to that?
Though - if all companies have the guarantee Novartis has: "Only Novartis conditions its guarantee on where the product was purchased. “We only guarantee what is sold through licensed veterinarians with a Novartis account,” " Is it still guaranteed should someone purchase it online via the vet's office?
I know when I called Merial about Frontline Plus's ineffectiveness this year, that was the first question they asked : where did you buy it? Followed with : when/where did you apply it last? Their nonchalant take on its ineffectiveness solidified my reason to not support their product anymore.
Furthermore, why don't veterinarians fully disclose the mechanism of the medication? The conversation should go beyond "you need flea protection" and into "this is how Frontline Plus works vs. how Advantix works". This quote from that article was interesting, to me anyway: ... Mills said veterinarians’ sense of injustice on this issue is misplaced because the partnership between the company and clinicians has benefited both. “Together, we’ve grown the business...” he said. “They’ve made millions of dollars through flea and tick (medications) and they continue to make millions of dollars.” Dr. Tai Federico, a practitioner in Chattanooga, Tenn., would agree. He said he’s grateful for the money he’s made and continues to make from selling flea and tick products, even though he’s taking less per unit today to stay competitive. “Merial has paid for my house, basically, (through) the profit I’ve gotten on Frontline,” Federico said. “Obviously, I would like to make as much money as I could for as long as I could on the product, but what it’s going for at Costco seems like a fair price. There’s still plenty of money to be made with a 60-percent markup.”
I don't know, money seems to inhibit full disclosure of just about everything. At least when I mix geranium oil with water and spray on myself and my dogs, I know what I got and how its supposed to work, and it does.
Personally I think the consumer has the right to free choice when/where obtaining prescription items or specific services. The vets/doctors should not control where the consumer buys. I think possibly the producers of prescription items should most likely be monitored a bit more to assure quality control if it is of concern by vets in terms of distribution. As mentioned in the article, they probably buy from the same sources/distributors so they would be in the same boat with bad lots if that is a huge issue. So fanning the fires in this regard with clients seems like a sorry argument.
Now that I am on a tangent.....I think so much of it is a $ racket from the vets down to the industry that produces the products. Some products have been on the market for years for livestock and suddenly when it is flavored and repackaged for pet use it is over the top expensive and "exclusive" requiring prescription. Heartworm and other similar items come to mind. Same with the crappy Hills products. It was not until recently they opened an additional market to other stores.
Really, the amount of veterinary "specialized" tasks and over itemization have out priced the practical elements of basic care for a great many people. For example, some clinics charge over $25 for a nail trim and in some locations Spay is $600... Yes in my neck of the woods that is not uncommon. There are so many fees in some cases that when one walks in the door of a clinic the consumer is already $50 in the red per pet for just having an appt. This may not sound like much but multiply that times three and it adds up. I can see why the average consumer is seeking alternatives in reducing costs particularly if you have multiple animals. Yeah I find that many are being nickle and dimmed at the clinic and the vets are looking for more ways to do that and not fully disclosing it ahead of time.
Also quite recently I spoke to a pet insurance company and you know, a basic plan costs $29 a month with a max coverage of $1500 for one animal. How the heck can the average American pay for the monthly cost when many can not even pay for life insurance which is way less.
In the case of pet insurance one may be better off developing a pet account at the bank and placing $ into that to collect interest and then rolling it over on a yearly basis.
It certainly is up to the consumer to evaluate services etc and monitor their own pennies to determine specific course of action that allows one to live on a budget. Having the vet and pharmaceutical firms hand in hand and within each others pockets without free market trade will most likely drive up costs. Bottom line, good for them, bad for us.
Comments
It's always a good idea to give your dog a once over for ticks after a romp outside, but don't forget to check yourself too! Just thought I'd throw that reminder out there so that nobody has to suffer the way I did the week before last. Turns out I was the one with the tick problem! I ended up in the ER where they slapped a mask on me and took me into a room, since my symptoms were suspiciously similar to meningitis and the swine flu, 'til figured out I had lyme from a tick bite on the back of my thigh where I couldn't easily see. So be careful everybody!!
The mixture blends oils that are natural repellents, it works as long as the oils are in the hair of the dog/clothes and skin of the human. Since they are essential oils, they do slightly wash off with water like rain, and really come off after the dog is submerged in water
http://www.auracacia.com/
The Oils: There is a 'recipe' you can try first as the geranium is strong for both you and your dog:
- Geranium Essential Oil + Lavender Essential Oil + Peppermint Essential Oil + Lemongrass Essential Oil. Mix a few drops of each to a carrier (water or jojoba oil) and spray on dog's coat evenly [and spray on your clothing].
Do you recommend these oils for felines? I work next to Berkeley so I'm sure they are easy to find.
I don't have any cats, so I'm not sure - but I use them on myself with no issues, I imagine they'd be ok for cats too.
Chanel is almost 18 years old, and honestly I wonder how much longer she is going to be with us. She has even lost so much weight these last couple weeks, or Koda makes me think she is lighter. She is underweight though and she still eats the same amount. You can feel her bones, and her calico coloring is almost all gray. I feel so bad for her sometimes, but she has lived a long wonderfully spoiled life.
She's very tolerant of whatever I do to her. She's tolerant of the puppy, and would put up with anything I put on her, but no I don't want anything to harm her. Guess it's just her years of experience with me that has numbed her. It was just one tick, and I'm sure she was up on the hill where she doesn't usually go.
I put Frontline on her and she just stairs into my eyes like "What the hell are you doing to me now lady."
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm169831.htm
http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=12583
How are so many products available to non-veterinary outlets when companies claim they sell ONLY to licensed veterinarians? Hmmmm. No financial incentive to stop, perhaps?
In conclusion, an excerpt from the end of the article:
In Marietta, Ga., Dr. Michael Good thinks he may have found the answer to diversion. Six months ago, with technical help from a company that peddles pet merchandise on the Web, he put his pharmacy online. Now everything he sells in his clinic is available on the Internet to HIS CLIENTS ONLY.
“We’re averaging about four to five orders per day, $400 to $500 dollars a day in business. This is business that would have gone elsewhere. THESE PEOPLE WANT TO ORDER ONLINE,” he said.
Good said some of his products are priced the same online as in the clinic, but items that are readily available elsewhere tend to be cheaper in his Internet pharmacy. “We take the most famous one,” he said, referring to 1-800-PetMeds, “and we charge a dollar less. We like to stick it to them and twist the knife,” he added with a chuckle of delight.
At the end of each day, a clinic staffer pulls the orders, boxes the products and ships them priority mail. Anyone who spends $39 or more gets free shipping.
“If every veterinarian in the country did this, and only for our clients, then we’d put a serious dent in these activities,” Good said. “I still make a good profit, and I’m making my clients happy.”
_________________________
Yikes. What a racket.
What are your thoughts?
She is concerned at the rate of online stores such as 1800petmeds (who sends coupons out every sunday in the paper) who may or may not have the actual product you think you are purchasing. At the core, chemicals/medications are being administered onto/into your dog once a month with flea/tick and heartworm preventatives. Don't you WANT to be sure its actually what is labeled?? If the manufacturers can't guarantee anything purchased online, then don't purchase online! But then, just as brand name is to generic, isn't this all coming from the same, if not similar, source?
I know I became extremely concerned, but just the thought of possible side effects was enough to steer me into natural prevention all around. Which has worked really well so far this year, halfway through the summer and still going strong!
*Actually, she advised me that my decision to forgo flea/tick/mosquito chemicals was smart, as dogs with white paws do not do well in the short or long term with products like Heartguard. Is there any truth to that?
Though - if all companies have the guarantee Novartis has:
"Only Novartis conditions its guarantee on where the product was purchased. “We only guarantee what is sold through licensed veterinarians with a Novartis account,” "
Is it still guaranteed should someone purchase it online via the vet's office?
I know when I called Merial about Frontline Plus's ineffectiveness this year, that was the first question they asked : where did you buy it? Followed with : when/where did you apply it last? Their nonchalant take on its ineffectiveness solidified my reason to not support their product anymore.
Furthermore, why don't veterinarians fully disclose the mechanism of the medication? The conversation should go beyond "you need flea protection" and into "this is how Frontline Plus works vs. how Advantix works". This quote from that article was interesting, to me anyway:
... Mills said veterinarians’ sense of injustice on this issue is misplaced because the partnership between the company and clinicians has benefited both. “Together, we’ve grown the business...” he said. “They’ve made millions of dollars through flea and tick (medications) and they continue to make millions of dollars.”
Dr. Tai Federico, a practitioner in Chattanooga, Tenn., would agree. He said he’s grateful for the money he’s made and continues to make from selling flea and tick products, even though he’s taking less per unit today to stay competitive. “Merial has paid for my house, basically, (through) the profit I’ve gotten on Frontline,” Federico said. “Obviously, I would like to make as much money as I could for as long as I could on the product, but what it’s going for at Costco seems like a fair price. There’s still plenty of money to be made with a 60-percent markup.”
I don't know, money seems to inhibit full disclosure of just about everything. At least when I mix geranium oil with water and spray on myself and my dogs, I know what I got and how its supposed to work, and it does.
Personally I think the consumer has the right to free choice when/where obtaining prescription items or specific services. The vets/doctors should not control where the consumer buys. I think possibly the producers of prescription items should most likely be monitored a bit more to assure quality control if it is of concern by vets in terms of distribution. As mentioned in the article, they probably buy from the same sources/distributors so they would be in the same boat with bad lots if that is a huge issue. So fanning the fires in this regard with clients seems like a sorry argument.
Now that I am on a tangent.....I think so much of it is a $ racket from the vets down to the industry that produces the products. Some products have been on the market for years for livestock and suddenly when it is flavored and repackaged for pet use it is over the top expensive and "exclusive" requiring prescription. Heartworm and other similar items come to mind. Same with the crappy Hills products. It was not until recently they opened an additional market to other stores.
Really, the amount of veterinary "specialized" tasks and over itemization have out priced the practical elements of basic care for a great many people. For example, some clinics charge over $25 for a nail trim and in some locations Spay is $600... Yes in my neck of the woods that is not uncommon. There are so many fees in some cases that when one walks in the door of a clinic the consumer is already $50 in the red per pet for just having an appt. This may not sound like much but multiply that times three and it adds up. I can see why the average consumer is seeking alternatives in reducing costs particularly if you have multiple animals. Yeah I find that many are being nickle and dimmed at the clinic and the vets are looking for more ways to do that and not fully disclosing it ahead of time.
Also quite recently I spoke to a pet insurance company and you know, a basic plan costs $29 a month with a max coverage of $1500 for one animal. How the heck can the average American pay for the monthly cost when many can not even pay for life insurance which is way less.
In the case of pet insurance one may be better off developing a pet account at the bank and placing $ into that to collect interest and then rolling it over on a yearly basis.
It certainly is up to the consumer to evaluate services etc and monitor their own pennies to determine specific course of action that allows one to live on a budget. Having the vet and pharmaceutical firms hand in hand and within each others pockets without free market trade will most likely drive up costs. Bottom line, good for them, bad for us.
The costs of things is just ridiculous.
Snf