[Kristen Cabe]

Just wondering if anyone uses K9 Advantix on your dogs for flea & tick protection. I have two, $10 mail-in rebates if anyone wants them. I use Frontline PLUS on my critters.

I also have a $15 mail-in rebate for Advantage for cats.

 

[Maren Bell Jones]

I prefer Frontline. K9 Advantix uses permethrin, which is the same stuff in junk like Bio Spot and Hartz products that have killed some cats and dogs and sent others to the hospital. Plus permethrin is a known endocrine disruptor.

http://www.ehponline.org/docs/1999/107p173-177go/abstract.html

 

[Kristen Cabe]

I didn't know it contained permethrin. You're right; you can buy permethrin-containing products at any pet store, and permethrin has been linked to several problems and even death (from what I hear, it's also proving to be ineffective as insects develop resistence to it - it is, after all, something that's been used for decades). However, ANY flea/tick product is going to contain chemicals that could potentially cause reactions in some animals. I use Frontline PLUS, too, but I wasn't going to throw away something that might save someone else who uses Advantix a little money. That stuff is expensive!

 

[Becky Shilling]

I use Advantage on the cats and the little dogs (since they don't hit the woods and lakes with us very often), but I use Frontline on the big dogs, since they get a lot more tick exposure.

 

[Nancy Jocoy]

WE went through a run last summer where a population of fleas resistant to Frontline came through.

So I had to rotate for awhile - with several different meds, flea bombs, yard chemicals............first time in YEARS I had seen such a challenge.

 

[Kristen Cabe]

That hasn't happened in my neck of the woods (yet). I hope it doesn't. Of course, I've never had a flea problem with any of my critters; never even SEEN a flea on them, but the ticks are usually bad, so that's why I keep them on Frontline PLUS during the summer months.

 

[Patrick Cheatham]

I hear a lot about K9 Advantix and Frontline. Has anybody used Revolution and what did you think of it? It is advertised as godd for fleas,ticks and heart worm. I know my vet said it was fine for females that were expecting but the others were not.

 

[Kristen Cabe]

I've used Revolution, and it worked just fine, but it caused the fur on one of my cats to fall out at the application site, and I use ivermectin for heartworm prevention anyway, so I switched to Frontline PLUS (which is a little cheaper than Revolution).

 

[Sarah Hall]

Depending on your area, Revolution will be your best friend or worthless. If you are in a high-heartworm area (like I am), it WILL NOT work. Quite a few area vets have stopped selling it because of an increase of heartworm cases of animals that WERE on Revolution. Now, if you are in a lower heartworm area, it should work well.
I just stick to the ole Heartguard Plus, and either Frontline Plus or K9 Advantix (whatever I get for the month for free).

 

[Connie Sutherland]

Depending on your area, Revolution will be your best friend or worthless. If you are in a high-heartworm area (like I am), it WILL NOT work. Quite a few area vets have stopped selling it because of an increase of heartworm cases of animals that WERE on Revolution. Now, if you are in a lower heartworm area, it should work well.
I just stick to the ole Heartguard Plus, and either Frontline Plus or K9 Advantix (whatever I get for the month for free).

I've never used Revolution. Is is topical? I use Frontline Plus and Heartguard.

Now that you mention it, I wonder if Revolution has the guarantee that Heartguard has.

What is it about Revolution that makes it not so good in heartworm high-incident areas?

Edited to say that I just read a bunch of stuff from the Heartworm society and some vet med sites and forums. I did see anecdotal complaints about Revolution in both capacities: some forums said that it wasn't a great flea prevention med and some that the posters knew people who had dogs on Revolution who tested positive for heartworm.

The Heartworm Society and VetInfo.com and others list it as one of the 4 "approved" heartworm prevention meds.

So.......... I wish I could find documented "Heartguard v. Revolution" incident records, but so far I can't. Anyone else? I guess based on what I've seen so far, I'd do what Sarah does and stick with Heartguard and a separate flea-and-tick med.

 

[Sarah Hall]

Yes, Revolution is a transdermal (topical) medication.
I believe they do have a guarantee to treat any dog that gets heartworm while on their medication (for a determined number of months).
I don't do Revolution because I don't WANT to have to enact the treatment guarantee.
I haven't been able to find anything so far on it, but from what I heard from a vet I'm friends with, a study is going to start very soon.

 

[Connie Sutherland]

Well, I don't want to enact the guarantee on any of them.

My thinking was that if they had that same guarantee (which the supermarket brands do not have and which I also know from the Heartworm Society do not work well) that the med must be reliable. The guarantee costs a lot to cover if it's unreliable.

But again, based solely on the anecdotal stuff on the internet, I too would wait for an authoritative study before using it.

Thanks, Sarah.

 

[Becky Shilling]

As far as their "guarantee", I wonder how they want you to document the proper application of their product. Does the vet have to apply it to make that guarantee stand?

 

[Connie Sutherland]

As far as their "guarantee", I wonder how they want you to document the proper application of their product. Does the vet have to apply it to make that guarantee stand?

Well, for Heartguard, you have to have bought the correct number of doses from the vet for the period, but the vet doesn't actually have to have administered the doses. Probably similar...... ?

The vet keeps the records of purchase for the Heartguard guarantee.

 

[Kristen Cabe]

It's the same for Revolution; you have to have bought the meds from the vet, and you had to have applied it once every 30 days. Of course, I don't know how they could prove or disprove how often you applied it, unless they look at how many applications you bought and how many you have left at the time of the positive hw test.

 

[Becky Shilling]

Ya don't see bc pills making those guarantees! Everybody "forgets" once in a while!