RE: K9 flea, tick, and *mosquito* protection?

[Ab Diver]

 
Dunno how you feel about dreams, but I had one a couple nights ago. My faithful family pet told me it was time to move on, and OK to get another dog. Kinda moving, if you re into that stuff. So we re lookin  fer a nudder dog. And since my mind was already attuned to canine advertising, I noticed a " K9 Advantage"  commercial on the tv. Says it protects against fleas and ticks. No new news there.
 
 But also claims to protect against mosquitoes. Say what?? When did this happen? Does this stuff really work, and if so, why oh why can t they put something on the market for us humans? Any veterinarians in our membership who can offer an educated opinion? (Failing that, anybody got a *hot air* answer that can pass muster?)
 
 I know I ve been a " bad dog"  enough times that this stuff just might hold some promise. []

[mike4947]

 Ab Diver
Maybe someday they can,  I talked to the vet about it last month only jokingly and she sat down with me for about a 1/2 hour explaining the differences between canine, feline, and human physicology and the FDA procedure for qualifying a drug, which it would be classed as.
 She figures about a 100 million up front for development and FDA testing. Not to mention about 10-12 years after a viable product to get through the testing phase.
 I for one can t wait and the minute it s available I m hitting up the 401K for a enough money for a lifetime supply.

[JemJen24]

 Ab Diver
Well, I can speak from experience that getting another dog didn t REPLACE my first one but it sure helped me through the grieving process.  []
 
 That said...on to your question.  There are many flea/tick and yes, even mosquito dog products out on the market today.
 
 My two favorites being:
 
 1.  Frontline Top Spot (6 small plastic viles filled with flea/tick killer).  You apply this once a month if you re using it for flea and SERIOUS tick protection, or once every THREE months if using it for flea and tick preventative.  To apply, you simply part the hair on the back of the neck between the shoulder blades and pour the small vile of liquid onto the skin.  On larger breeds, it is adviseable to place half the vile there, and the other half on the rump.  The liquid spreads itself and soaks into the hair follicles where it kills fleas and ticks and does not wash off in water.  GREAT product!
 
 2.  Advantage (made by Bayer).  Great product, works the same exact way, except last time I checked the regular Advantage was for FLEA control ONLY.  No tick preventative.  They may have come out with a new version that offers additional control since Frontline was taking up a lot of their business.  Advantage was actually the first original " top spot"  treatment on the market several years ago so you can kind of call them " The leader"  in this kind of pest preventative.
 
 Advantage has also been used in severe cases of mange.  Tho , it s label does not state any specifications for using the product in conjunction with mange, studies have proven that it definetely helped when in conjuntion with regular dips, skin scrapes, and antibiotics.  
 
 I always buy and use Frontline. I get great deals on Ebay (got a 60-100 lb dog 6 months supply for $23.00 no shipping fee).  
 
 Good luck on chosing a new pup (or adult).  Any breed in mind?  Check www.petfinders.com  They have tons of dogs (mutts and purebreds) in need of adoption.
 
 Jennifer []

[vjm1639]

 Ab Diver
Another High 5 for Frontline Plus.  We re always in the woods; if not camping, we re hiking, fishing or something. The flea and tick protection for the poochie are a must!  Frontline is amazing!  
 
 

[Jo Ann]

 Ab Diver
I use the more expensive ones....primarily because the cheaper ones had alot of perfume and it makes me sick.
 
 otherwise...the cheaper ones seem to be the same.  AND MUCH CHEAPER...sargents for 3 mths is like 5 or 6 bucks, where as advantage for 3 mths is probably around 15.
 
 do you have any particular type dog in mind?  we rescued a 2 yo whippet last year and he is the best dog i have ever had...he has some emotion bagage left over from the previous owners, but nothing that is distructive...just stuff that makes you a bit sad to see...like if he thinks he was bad, and he afraid to play...he will play for about 30 seconds and then run into his crate like we whipped him...we can t seem to get past that part...but we are still working on it.

[wssfetch]

 Ab Diver
Advantage seems to be a little more effective for severe flea problems than Frontline, but use Frontline if you have tick problem.  I recently tried Advantix on some of my dogs.  Two of them started vomiting with in hours of application.  So I don t think I ll use it again.  We ve been happy with using plain old Advantage on most of the dogs and Frontline on the ones that hunt or go tracking and have greater chance to be exposed to ticks.  We ve never had a tick problem on our own property.  
 
 I have 7 Welsh springers and although this gets a little expensive to treat all of them, it is well worth the money.  We have no fleas and have not had them for years!!!!

[Ab Diver]

 Ab Diver
I think Mike nailed it: $$$$ and the FDA. IIRC, even Aspirin would have a heck of a time getting the *official* okey-dokey nowadays. The funny thing is, a hundred mil is a drop in the bucket compared to how much money the company would make selling a product like that. And not just in sales here in the USA-- the world-wide market would be staggering.
 
 Our previous dogs were Akitas. For those of you not familiar with the breed, it s kinda like a wolf on steroids. I m still an Akita kind o  guy. The wife and my little girls want something more like a Pug.
 
 I m outnumbered three to one in the house... this could get ugly. []

[Jim in Michigan]

 Ab Diver
We had an interesting experience with ticks this past Spring.  After spending a weekend camping at a State Park we decided to end the trip with a nice walk down a biking trail next to the park.  We returned to the car (me, DW, DS and faithful companion) and drove home.  During the trip home (about 2 hours) we started noticing something wasn t right.  We began discovering ticks all over us and the car with the dog sleeping peacefully in the back seat after her exercise.  We must of threw 25 ticks out of the window while zipping down the interstate.  When we arrived home we thoroughly inspected ourselves, the car and all of our belongings and found a few more.  What we didn t find was a single tick on the dog.  She was given the Frontline Plus product prior to our departure.  What we figured is that the ticks had gotten on the dog during the hike (my kid was on a bike and we were walking down the middle of a paved path, only the dog was nosing and walking through the grass) and used the dog as a carrier into the car.  Because of the Frontline product they were repelled from the dog while driving home and began looking for another host in the car - us.
 
 What is funny about it is that I grew up in Maryland and pulling a bunch of ticks off me was a daily summertime experience but my wife is totally repulsed by them (she has little experience with them).  So, she is forced to find all these ticks in the car and get rid of them and I thought she was going to pass out in the process.
 
 It was not so fun driving home but we can laugh about it now....