Flea Treatment

Jewell_2

How often do you use flea treatment on your dog?

I've been told by the vet to use it every month on my Golden Retriever, they advised Advocate which I've been using since I got her, she's 11 months now.

My OH mum told me today that she only uses flea treatment on her Border Collie every three months or so, and at the age of 3 he's never been bothered with fleas. After a bit of a search online quite a lot of people don't seem to use it at all, so I'm a bit confused as to what's best.

Obviously I want to do what's best for my dog, but at £38 for three months supply it's a bit pricey if it's not completely neccessary to do it every month.

Thanks in advance

Shoshannah

Depends.

Generally we recommend Frontline Combo every 2 months to prevent flea infestations. At our practice, a pack of 6 costs about £50 for a large dog (cheaper for smaller dogs), so that's a whole year's supply. There are lots of ways of doing it, though.

Some people treat less frequently over winter, when fleas breed more slowly (bear in mind though, that fleas can still breed in centrally-heated houses). Some people don't treat at all unless they actually see a flea, which is fine but remember if you get to this point you will need to treat your house as well to clear the infestation.

In my experience, some dogs don't even get fleas. Tends to be the ones that live with cats that are most prone.

LittleTinker

We do not buy flea treatments for our animals for several reasons.
1. They are not environmentaly friendly
2. Overuse of flea treatments has left them ineffective, which we feel can be detrimental to cases that are extremley severe.
3. The cost
4. We have time to groom properly.

There is also the thoughts that healthy animals generally do not get heavy flea infestations. One or two, maybe but thats about it. One of the main reasons why pets do tend to get so many fleas in the UK is the diets that we feed them which are ulimately not flea repelling.

pineapple

I use Advocate every 6 weeks or so. Agreed, it's expensive. But you have to bear in mind, it's not just for fleas. I live in a rural area and we are probably likely to encounter more nasties than in an urban environment. You can get Advocate cheaper online but you need your kind vet to give you a prescription, which you will have to pay for.

elsien

When she starts scratching incessantly, or I have any other reason to be concerned. Which is generally about once a year. I don't put it on as a preventative unless she's off into kennels or somewhere.

chelle230

I worm and flea mine around every 3 months, with 3 cats and 2 dogs it can be expensive.
but I always buy mine online, just found a product I've not used before called Effipro and it's quite reasonably priced too (I used to use Frontline)

~Chameleon~

LittleTinker wrote: »

We do not buy flea treatments for our animals for several reasons.
1. They are not environmentaly friendly
2. Overuse of flea treatments has left them ineffective, which we feel can be detrimental to cases that are extremley severe.
3. The cost
4. We have time to groom properly.

There is also the thoughts that healthy animals generally do not get heavy flea infestations. One or two, maybe but thats about it. One of the main reasons why pets do tend to get so many fleas in the UK is the diets that we feed them which are ulimately not flea repelling.

There is no reliable scientific data to back the claim that treatments have become ineffective. If they don't work it is usually down to user error and lack of understanding about fleas and their life cycle.

Do you have any evidence to back up your claims that a) only one or two animals are infested with fleas and b) that diet is responsible for animals having fleas?

~Chameleon~

chelle230 wrote: »

but I always buy mine online, just found a product I've not used before called Effipro and it's quite reasonably priced too (I used to use Frontline)

Effipro is exactly the same as Frontline, the active ingredient being Fipronil. Merial no longer hold the patent so any pharmaceutical company can now produce it.

Beckyy

I do our dog every 2 months with Frontline. I get quite paranoid about fleas and ticks as we go or lots of country walks.

LittleTinker

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

There is no reliable scientific data to back the claim that treatments have become ineffective. If they don't work it is usually down to user error and lack of understanding about fleas and their life cycle.

Do you have any evidence to back up your claims that a) only one or two animals are infested with fleas and b) that diet is responsible for animals having fleas?

There is plenty of documented evidence that suggests that some treatments are less effective than they originally were. Many people on MSE, for example, have expressed the fact that Frontline does not appear to work as well as it once did and that their own vets have agreed that this can sometimes be the case.....thats one small area of people who have commented.

I am sure that all those people would not agree that the ineffective use of that product is down to "User error" or "a lack of understanding of fleas and their life cycle".

You ask for evidence about my claim that only one or two animals are infested with fleas........you misunderstood. I said that the animal might have one or two fleas.

As for the study of environmental impacts on our diets and our pets diets and the resulting illnesses, ailments, allergies and intolerances there are many. Google it and Im sure you can find what you need.
Healthy animals, healthy plants and healthy people do not get infested with bugs and insects.

~Chameleon~

LittleTinker wrote: »

There is plenty of documented evidence that suggests that some treatments are less effective than they originally were.

Show me the evidence this is the case. I have access to literature not available to the general public and have read evidence to the contrary.


Many people on MSE, for example, have expressed the fact that Frontline does not appear to work as well as it once did and that their own vets have agreed that this can sometimes be the case.....thats one small area of people who have commented.

Anecdotal evidence doesn't count for anything. As I said, it's often due to a misunderstand of how the product actually works and/or the actual life cycle of the flea.

I am sure that all those people would not agree that the ineffective use of that product is down to "User error" or "a lack of understanding of fleas and their life cycle".

You only have to read posts on this forum to realise many people are ignorant about fleas and how to effectively eradicate them from their home. No offence to anyone.


You ask for evidence about my claim that only one or two animals are infested with fleas........you misunderstood. I said that the animal might have one or two fleas.

Fleas don't actually live on the animal, they jump on to feed but primarily live in the home. When an animal appears to be "infested" it is the environment in which it lives that is actually infested.

As for the study of environmental impacts on our diets and our pets diets and the resulting illnesses, ailments, allergies and intolerances there are many. Google it and Im sure you can find what you need.
Healthy animals, healthy plants and healthy people do not get infested with bugs and insects.

I don't need to google. As I said, fleas don't live on animals and are not particular as to who or what they get their lunch from. If you have evidence to the contrary then please provide links and I'll be more than happy to read it.