Grrr. Vets and Flea Treatments

[Deleted User]

I have in the past purchased Advantage and Frontline Flea treatments for my two dogs, neither of which reduced their scratching (no skin condition on either dog).

So, having read lots of advice saying over the counter flea treatments are much less effective than vet prescribed treatments I took one of the dogs to the vets for something else and asked for a flea treatment. Paid £25 for Advocat (which is under £15 online I have found out). Don't think I'll be doing that again if I have basically just paid more for the same sort of thing.

I'll see if this one is actually any better, but I guess another option is buying sprays. The house is mostly laminate flooring though so at a loss as to what to spray other than the sofa.

elsien

Do you need a vets prescription for Advocate? I need to sort something for Gitdog, and was just wondering what to try first.

Shoshannah

deannatrois wrote: »

I have in the past purchased Advantage and Frontline Flea treatments for my two dogs, neither of which reduced their scratching (no skin condition on either dog).

So, having read lots of advice saying over the counter flea treatments are much less effective than vet prescribed treatments I took one of the dogs to the vets for something else and asked for a flea treatment. Paid £25 for Advocat (which is under £15 online I have found out). Don't think I'll be doing that again if I have basically just paid more for the same sort of thing.

I'll see if this one is actually any better, but I guess another option is buying sprays. The house is mostly laminate flooring though so at a loss as to what to spray other than the sofa.

The first question is: do they actually have fleas? You could be attempting to treat a different parasite or an allergy with a flea treatment, which is why nothing is working to stop the scratching.

Are there fleas or flea dirt in their coat?

If you have confirmed fleas: laminate flooring or not, spray the house with something effective such as Indorex, Acclaim, RIP Fleas etc. The spray kills fleas and their larvae, but it also sterilises them. The residue will continue to be effective for up to 12 months with these sprays.

Advocate costs more at most veterinary practices because they cannot afford to sell it at the prices you see online. I know a lot of people don't believe that, which is their prerogative, but it's the truth I'm afraid.

In the future you can ask for a prescription from the vet so that you can buy it cheaper online (Advocate is a POM-V medication and only available with prescription). Your vet will usually charge you for the prescription.

If there's no evidence of fleas in their coat, then a trip to the vet is warranted to investigate the myriad of other causes that can induce itching in dogs.

I hope you get them sorted! xx

paddypaws101

Even with laminate floors you do need to use a good household spray. Some such as RIP fleas also treat for house dust mites which can also be a source of irritation for pets.

[Deleted User]

Problem is there are as many different views on which spray works as there are sprays. Oh why can't life be simple lol.

Marshmallow82

advocate worked very well on my dog. advantage made no difference

faded_flowers

Fleas only spend 25% of their life-cycle on your animal. So if you haven't treated the house, you've missed 75% of the problem! Also, if they travel in the car don't forget to give that a spray too...

[Deleted User]

Really silly question. When using one of these sprays, do you do the whole floor surface (laminate flooring all downstairs), or concentrate on the areas by the walls, gaps in laminate (its very badly laid, so lots of these), doing soft furnishings throughly (top surfaces and framework). How heavily do you spray? A fine mist or til you can see things are damp? I don't want to use three cans on the house when one will do.

I do vacuum once or twice a day, have bedding in washing machine already (90 degrees, hoping its not going to come out too shrunk, plus will put it in dryer, same for our bedding upstairs). Will also steam. Then when sprays arrive, do it all again and spray. Its going to involve a lot of furniture moving to be thorough (groan lol).

krlyr

elsien wrote: »

Do you need a vets prescription for Advocate? I need to sort something for Gitdog, and was just wondering what to try first.

Yes - so that can sometimes take the saving off buying online. I pay about £12 for a subscription, but I buy the 6 pipette set so the saving is still worthwhile.

Some places sell it without prescription, but I have heard mixed reviews - some include different countries of origin on the parcel, to where the parcel was supposedly coming from, I've heard reports of counterfeit products, and of parcels not turning up (and as the company isn't UK based, it's difficult to get hold of them for a refund - most have had to get it processed through their bank instead)

I'd personally not risk giving a dodgy counterfeit which could harm my dog for the sake of saving a tenner or so.