Are OTC flea meds safe?
I have a neutered male shepherd mix, app. 45 pounds, complete with fleas. He just acquired them recently. I ran out of Frontline (or whatever brand the vet talked me into) because I only bought a six month supply. Six months later I have a new job that makes me commute five hundred miles a week, and I'm getting home after the vet's office hours. They have evening clinics, but there's a long wait and I'm looking at dog that's gnawing himself to death, poor thing.
Our local livestock/feed store sells OTC flea meds, what's the best one you know of? Any side effects or precautions I won't find out from the product literature? I need to get this poor dog some relief RFN. They're not a problem for us yet but he IS an inside dog so it's just a matter of time.
I'd personal stick with frontline. I've used the other in the past,and they don't work worth a damn.You should be able to find some at a pet shop.My local shop sells all that stuff
Pet armor at walmart. I used revolution for years but got tired of dealing with the vet. Finally went otc and never had a prob with any.
You guys can get frontline OTC now pretty much anywhere.
Frontline and Advantage are safe the rest are dangerous.
Walmart now has a "generic" version of Frontline that is about half price. If you read the box you will see that it's exactly the same stuff so it's safe.
Be sure to use the correct dosage. I've seen dozens of dogs "burned" by too much flea medication. The skin loses the hair and looks mangey, but is caused by applying too much flea killer. It's not a nice thing to see.
Well, I picked up some Frontline at Meijer the other day and dosed him. Not sure if it worked much yet, he was gnawing on his leg in the other room a minute ago and the husband was yelling at him to cut it out, lol. He's pretty neurotic anyway, probably still scratching just for the heck of it. He seems a little better though.
Frontline or Advantage, dont use anything else, especially on cats. An an over the counter Hartz brand from petsmart caused bald spots and severe irritation on each cat it was put on.
Sargents brand almost killed my dogs. Avoid all that shit.
If you are happy with whatever the vet prescribed, call and ask if they'll write a prescription for you... generally, if your dog's blood test is within a year, they'll extend the flea/tick (heartworm) meds for that year.
Then order it from Dr. Fosters or from your vet.
Would love to know what the OP found and went with.
Another thing you can do to give him some relief,go to your local vet and get a capstar pill.8 bucks at my local vet.It kills adult fleas for up to 24 hours
stick with fipronil (frontline). Just don't administer it to kids. (yes, that's happened)
Our six dogs just got fleas, and we've started working on that.
After reading
THIS I did not buy FRONTLINE, although it may work for you. I's too expensive for me.
The best info I've found so far is this from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef602.asp
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef628.asp
It says:
The most effective formulations contain both an adulticide (e.g., permethrin) effective against the biting adult stage, and an insect growth regulator (methoprene or pyriproxyfen), necessary to provide long-term suppression of the eggs, larvae and pupae
So i got some Zodiac Carpet and Upholstery Aerosol Spray, because it contians the most of both of those chemicals for the money.
And have used this on the dog bedding. I also got and have applied spot treatment Liberty® 50 Plus IGR Spot-On, also because it had the most of both the live flea and egg detering chemicals, for the money. I also noticed that the large dog version was the same chemical has the small dog version, for the same price, but had a lot more. So I got the large dog tubes, and simply apply less.
I also sprayed the yard and deck with Spinosad, which is an organic, non-toxic pestacide, supposed to work on fleas, which I've used succesfully on cherry flys.
Of course, lots of vacuuming and dog washing has gone on too. I also sprayed the vacuum cleaning with some of the permethrin and methoprene containing Zodiac Carpet and Upholstery Spray, to make sure any sucked up fleas or eggs were dead.
I believe one of them is agent orange. We were going to go the budget route but we settled on frontline then switched to advantix
Originally Posted By MonkeyGrip:
Our six dogs just got fleas, and we've started working on that.
After reading
THIS I did not buy FRONTLINE, although it may work for you. I's too expensive for me.
This lady probably didn't treat the environment properly. The medication needs time to work. If you have an infestation you need to treat for ~3 months. CapSatr and treating the environment in addition to Frontline is the best option. Ticks take longer to kill than fleas also.
The best info I've found so far is this from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef602.asp
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef628.asp
It says:
The most effective formulations contain both an adulticide (e.g., permethrin) effective against the biting adult stage, and an insect growth regulator (methoprene or pyriproxyfen), necessary to provide long-term suppression of the eggs, larvae and pupae
So i got some Zodiac Carpet and Upholstery Aerosol Spray, because it contians the most of both of those chemicals for the money.
And have used this on the dog bedding. I also got and have applied spot treatment Liberty® 50 Plus IGR Spot-On, also because it had the most of both the live flea and egg detering chemicals, for the money. I also noticed that the large dog version was the same chemical has the small dog version, for the same price, but had a lot more. So I got the large dog tubes, and simply apply less.
I also sprayed the yard and deck with Spinosad, which is an organic, non-toxic pestacide, supposed to work on fleas, which I've used succesfully on cherry flys.
Of course, lots of vacuuming and dog washing has gone on too. I also sprayed the vacuum cleaning with some of the permethrin and methoprene containing Zodiac Carpet and Upholstery Spray, to make sure any sucked up fleas or eggs were dead.
Be VERY careful with some of these products. Permethrin is toxic to cats and if used by accident may result in DEATH. Frontline is very safe. I use it all the time and I have cats and kids in the house.
I get my Frontline on Amazon so the vet not being open when you're around is no excuse. Order it that way which is cheaper as well.
I've never had a problem with any, but will stick with Frontline or Pet Armor from WalMart. The Pet Armor uses the same active ingredients, in the same dosages, so there is no difference between it and Frontline. I've heard bad things about Hartz, Bio Spot, etc.
