Frontline Plus

[robin416]

For those that use this product be aware that it will NOT protect your animals from tick borne illnesses. I have 4 dogs, all over 60 pounds. I have religiously treated them with Frontline Plus to, I thought, protect them from the millions of ticks. Wrong, so very wrong. Two of my dogs have been confirmed to have ehrlichiosis, a third one needs to be tested. At this point I'm considering just having my vet put the last two on the Doxy because the last place they want to be is in my truck going to the vet.

I've spent close to two hundred dollars the past two weeks on drugs, vet visits and testing. That does not include the one hundred dollars it costs to pick up the package of Frontline Plus that is supposed to be protecting them from these diseases.

There are other products out there that are available but be very careful and check with your vet before purchase, some of them are very toxic to cats and may be toxic for other species as well.

The species of tick that gives this disease to our dogs is the dog tick and the deer tick. Two of the most common ticks.

 

[SunChick]

Having worked as a vet tech for over 15 years I don't believe that anywhere on the package does it "guarantee" that a tick will not bite your dog. If it did, the company would be a lot poorer! The product is also designed for control and that in itself is a measure of prevention but not 100%. Tick borne diseases are transmitted through their bite and depending on the disease and transmission there is a certain amount of time the head must remain attached. Frontline will kill ticks usually within 18 hrs and 100% at 48 hrs, that being said provided you didn't wash them with a soap based product between applications. No product is perfect and will work perfect with every animal depending on the physiology of the skin. The product is designed to be placed on the dog every 28 days--religiously so that the oils will build in the skin. I don't know if your vet told you about that or not about not using soap on your dog, but my experience in the emergency field is that most people don't know this. Unless a product says or states "soap free" it will remove the frontline and you are back at the start. If you live in a very heavily populated area with ticks it is a hard battle to fight against. I always check my animals for ticks even if they are on an applicant medication. You still can treat your yard and work on preventative measures to keep your animals safe.

Yes there are products that will be toxic to cats. Never apply anything that does not specify for cats. The# 1 killer of cats is a pyrethrein based product...like found in Hartz products.

 

[merryreader]

I didn't know about this soap-free thing. thank you for your information. So, does this mean, I put it on the 1st of every month during tick season,which I ALWAYS do, if I have the dog groomed on the 15th, it's gone? I know they use soap. I was under the assumption, they were still protected even after bathing. (I'm thick, sometimes) I need it REALLY spelled out to me !! I guess, I'm just not believing, what I always believed. Thanks, Merry

 

[SunChick]

just make sure they use a soap-free product. If they are using a soap based product yes it does set you back. Knowledge is POWER!

Soap is designed chemically to break up oils, hence why you need to avoid a soap-based product.

 

[robin416]

No soap for these dogs, bathing is them taking a swim in one of the ponds.

The two dogs confirmed to have it we did not find ticks on, the other that I suspect we definately found a tick or two. Look at the numbers, would you expect to find so many infected after treatment?

I've been using the product on various dogs for more than ten years. I have never had a dog sick from a tick bite, until now. That makes me think that there is something else going on here when I have so many sick. The problem free years added with the number of dogs sick at the same time just don't make sense.

 

[Llysse]

Robin, it could be that what's going on is that the ticks in your area are carrying this infection now, for whatever reason, when maybe they weren't before.

We live in downtown tick city and use Frontline on our cats. I'll still occasionally find a tick on them, usually in its last throes, but it does take a little while for the stuff to kill them and the cats may get bitten before that. We're lucky in that we don't have Lyme disease in our area (yet). Walking our trail, about 1/2 mile up and back, our record is having to knock off 17 ticks at the height of the season! Ugh.

 

[robin416]

I know the other tick disease is here, dang if I can remember it but I keep wanting to say Rocky Mtn Spotted but this isn't the Rock Mtns. A new neighbor's untreated dog was diagnosed with it.

I can tell you after this my husband won't fuss about the number of guineas I have wandering the property. Thanks to them the numbers of ticks are down with just the nine. Another reason this is so confusing, thanks to the guineas the tick numbers are way down from two years ago.

 

[SunChick]

Sounds like a stroke of bad luck! I hope your dogs get better soon. Vet bills are a PAIN! My guess would be also that the infection rate in the ticks is higher for some ecological reason! I love the guinea prevention method...now if I can only convince DH about them...hmmm any suggestions!

 

[robin416]

Print this topic out and let him read it. I can't imagine a more valid reason for putting up with the odd behavior of guineas than the vet bills I have so far.

 

[SpottedCrow]

I sell this stuff at work.:|
I think that the package says "waterproof", but I never thought of not being "soapproof". hmmm