Friday, May 21, 2010

Have a yorkie & need to know what is the best flea med since there are so many brands?

He has had no fleas in yrs and w/out any kind of med. As an alternative, med, what works best? So many brands it confuses me. I would like the best for my pet Scruffy.
Answers:
The best flea treatment is one you get from a vet. I recommend Frontline.

There aren't that many brands - well, there are a lot in petshops and supermarkets, and many don't work! Vets carry Frontline, Revolution, Advantage/Advantix, Advocate and Program.

Go to your vet for them to advise you on the best brand. You can get a nice spot-on - no mess, no fuss, and it works. No need for flea shampoo palava!

Chalice

EDIT: It really annoys me wjhen people refer to flea treatments as 'toxins'! That is just ignorance. Fipronil and the like are not toxins to dogs, since dogs are not insects! Frontline is harmless to dogs.
Whatever you do get it from a vet. OTC flea meds can be deadly especially Hartz brands.

Revolution and Frontline are great and help control multiple things besides fleas so they are great.
I do not use toxins on my dogs - IF there is a flea around then I will use lemon juice and water, spritz onto the dog - you can get the recipe from Dr Pitcairn's book and perhaps if you google it - I use one lemon, sliced, in a pint of hot water - allow it to steep over night and spray on dog once it has cooled - BE VERY CAREFUL around eyes, nose and mouth, you might want to use a small sponge to apply IF the dog has fleas around the face area
if he has ever been outside in his life, it is highly unlikely he has never had fleas - maybe they just dont bother him as much as they do other dogs or you just havent noticed them.
this doesnt mean however that its ok to let him have them - they introduce infection and disease.

Frontline is the best. Advantage isnt bad, but doesnt work for some dogs, particularly over long periods of time.
Frontline will kill all fleas, their eggs and ticks and is applied monthly.
.
If you want the best, talk to your vet. She/he knows the dog's history.
I've used Frontline for years with good results. Something to keep in mind, if your dog is under 10 lbs, the entire vial may be too strong. I found that out with my poodles that are 4.10 lbs, 5 lbs %26 8 lbs. When I used the whole thing, they were real lethargic for a couple days. I took them to the vet %26 they suggested I use 1/2 of the vial. I've done that for 2 years now %26 it's worked great.

No comments:

Post a Comment