1) Which one should I use? I've read up here and there but thought you people would know for sure, which one works better.

Revolution
Looks cool since it takes care of heartworms, fleas, ear mites, ticks, mange etc. And its about the same price as just the flea control so that saves me $$$ by not having to buy heartguard. I wonder if it actually works tho. So far is my favorite.

Frontline Plus
I was decided on this + Heartguard Plus until I read up on Revolution. Theres also some drama on this one vs K9 saying K9 actually repels fleas where Frontline just kills them. Frontline is supposed to last longer.

K9 Advantix
Has mosquito protection, if that matters at all. Supposedly kills AND repels fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. But if the Frontline is effective for a longer period then that one gets my vote. Also this one uses some serious pesticide thats extremely poisonous for cats so I figure that shit can't be that good for my dogs.

2) Where to buy this stuff? I don't see whats so wrong about petmeds. I take my dogs in somewhat regularly, I don't want to have to take them back into the vet to get these meds...and pay high prices for it. So I'm thinking petmeds. Also the flea control goes for cheap on ebay...what do I have to watch out for there, old treatments?

3) What can I do to my house to prevent fleas from coming in? Is there anything worthwhile or is putting some stuff on the dogs good enough?


Thanks for any info!



[Edited on July 12, 2006 at 11:43 PM. Reason : ]

7/12/2006 11:42:18 PM

you bought a book from me a long time ago

7/13/2006 2:18:24 AM

I never had to use flea stuff for my dog, so can't answer those.

However, this is nothing wrong with Petmeds. They are made by the same normal distributors, but not monitored, if that makes sense. It's just like the people medicine places that you send off a prescription for. elise can explain it better.

7/13/2006 4:38:41 AM

my dog is on both revolution and frontline...they put her on both b/c she's had worms a few times and it doesn't work as well for fleas as it does for the other (or so i was told)...yeah i'm prolly getting double dipped but she hasn't had a flea in over a year, no worms, and she's healthy so i'm not complaining.

7/13/2006 7:45:21 AM

i've just put frontline on my dog and he still has fleas

typically it does an alright job, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything right now

7/13/2006 9:27:09 AM

we use K9 Advantix and have no problems with it. no fleas at all.

you have to have a prescription to get it.

[Edited on July 13, 2006 at 9:30 AM. Reason : d]

7/13/2006 9:30:43 AM

Quote :

"However, this is nothing wrong with Petmeds. They are made by the same normal distributors, but not monitored, if that makes sense. It's just like the people medicine places that you send off a prescription for. elise can explain it better."

That is not quite right. PetMeds gets their prescription medicine from veterinarians who sell their stock to them. Its more like a physician/pharmacist selling their supply of drugs to an internet front who in turn sells them with no guarantee on the product. Buying something like heartworm prevention from PetMeds is stupid. You lose the "insurance" from companies like Novartis that says if the prevention fails that they will cover the cost of treatment, anywhere from $500 to $1,000. So if the medication ever does fail for any reason you are out way more money than you ever saved. PetMeds takes product from people overseas where their is no FDA regulation on the product. THis can result in improperly marked product, rebadged expired product, and counterfeit product. Dog pills being found in cat packaging is not unheard of, and that would kill your cat. Heartworm medication and vaccines, at the very least, should always be bought from a vetterinarian because of the risk factor.

Also, prescriptions are a part of a veterinarians income. Despite what you might think vets are not highly paid (starting salary is usually around $40,000 and average is in the 50's, not much considering 8-10 years of school and a couple hundred thousand in debt). Veterinarians will be forced to raise prices of visits/treatments and you will see more corporate style vets because the private practices will die out. Just something to think about.

7/13/2006 10:00:07 AM

Quote :

"PetMeds takes product from people overseas where their is no FDA regulation on the product. THis can result in improperly marked product, rebadged expired product, and counterfeit product. Dog pills being found in cat packaging is not unheard of, and that would kill your cat. Heartworm medication and vaccines, at the very least, should always be bought from a vetterinarian because of the risk factor."

This is a huge problem when you purchase on Ebay. A lot of people are making fake frontline and just packing it.

Pet meds is almost as expensive as the vet.

Drs Foster and Smith sell certified US/EPA approved flea protection.

I use frontline plus and have no problems with fleas and such. We use interceptor for protection against all worms

[Edited on July 13, 2006 at 11:53 AM. Reason : k]

7/13/2006 11:52:38 AM

feeding your dog good, nutritious food may also help prevent fleas.

7/13/2006 12:14:44 PM

Quote :

"Pet meds is almost as expensive as the vet."

yeah ive noticed, but but its a hell of alot more convenient

7/13/2006 12:17:23 PM

Quote :

"Drs Foster and Smith sell certified US/EPA approved flea protection. "

Yeah, couldn't remember the name but that is probably the best online place for flea protection.

7/13/2006 12:22:14 PM

revolution...anyone?

7/13/2006 9:57:38 PM

I've used Advantage and Frontline, both with just fine results.

Quote :

"Has mosquito protection, if that matters at all"

Heartworm transmission. There are only two other very uncommon methods of transmission: from mom to pup and through blood transfusion.

7/13/2006 10:02:54 PM

Does Revoution work for ticks??

and sorry lutra, i don't like petmeds

We recommend Frontline and Heartgard at Mayfair

[Edited on July 13, 2006 at 10:11 PM. Reason : ...]

7/13/2006 10:09:16 PM

Quote :

"We recommend Frontline and Heartgard at Mayfair"

My wife is a vet and Frontline and Heartgard are what she uses on our pets too.

7/13/2006 11:19:04 PM

i use advantix. there's a chemical that can't be metabolized by cats (and therefore makes them sick), so i simply apply it to our dog when she goes to bed and is crated, and by the next evening (after we're home from work and she's loose), we don't have to worry about the cats because the chemical has been absorbed.

our dog has sensitive skin, and so we were told to avoid frontline, as it has been known to cause allergic reactions in sensitive dogs.

7/13/2006 11:27:09 PM

I work at a vet and we reccomend Advantage for fleas or Frontline for fleas and ticks. Revolution should not really be your only heartworm prevention, as its not all tha reliable. We reccomend Interceptor, but Heartgard is great too. Advantix is alrite, but if you have cats or your dog is around cats, it is seriously detrimental to their health (can cause seizures). I use Frontline on our outside dogs, and advantage on ou rinddor animals and they all get heartgard.
For PetMeds you still have ot have a perscription from your vet...and as far as heartworm prevention goes, I've heard you have to get a heartworm test every year. And really, vets aren't usually higher than online place...plus you don't have to pay shipping at the vet.
Hope that helped!

7/13/2006 11:47:31 PM

as for allergies to frontline, what kind of allergies does it cause? My dogs seem to itch a lot (not flea related) and bite their nails. The are on allergy food (which treats the dogs food allergy). We tried a prescription allergy meds but it did nothing.

7/14/2006 9:47:20 AM

What food are they on? Our dog has bad allergies and most of it is gone now that we removed all the treats and put her on Fish & Potato for awhile. She also gets daily benadryl. Inahalant allergies, a likely culprit, are pretty much unavoidable unless you get steroid shots, which ain't cheap. WHen the dog does get a hold of some people food or cat food or something we will notice an increase in scratching and paw chewing, which is to be expected.

I know our cat reacted poorly to one of them: caused her hair to fall out there.

7/14/2006 10:07:01 AM

I've used frontline. Seems to work pretty well.

7/14/2006 10:07:41 AM

Purina LA diet from the vet. It solved the dachshund's ear infections and they get no people food (very rare, they are little).

The food allergies just caused ear infections in one dog. Now they both scratch a decent amount (Early AM and Late PM) and the dachsund bites her nails....

We use good smelly anti allegen soap from the vet

7/14/2006 4:25:34 PM

have you not talked to erin?

7/14/2006 4:28:01 PM

^been trying to call her

7/14/2006 4:34:55 PM

i lied, we recommend frontline and Interceptor for dogs, heartgard and frontline for outdoor cats, and revolution for indoor cats

7/14/2006 7:45:59 PM

^Oh whoops, I remember you were talking about it one time. And explaining it.

7/14/2006 8:20:13 PM

Not saying your dog will be allergic, but watch out for that. That could play into your decision as well. My cat turned out to have severe skin allergies and he can't wear frontine or any of those types of flea repellents. We have to bathe him regularly in baby shampoo and let him wear a flea collar.

7/16/2006 4:09:04 PM

I put frontline on my dog and it works, but I want to get K9 Advantix because I love those commercials

7/17/2006 9:55:17 PM

i use frontline plus for my dog and i've never found a flea or tick on her. she's a lab so that means swimming so that crosses out advantix. i've been buying frontline off of ebay for years and never have had a problem. just buy from a reputable seller. and yes, i've heard about shit off of ebay not being regulated by the fda, etc. but again, she doesn't have any issues with it and has never had a flea.

7/17/2006 10:10:53 PM