Frontline... ugh!
 

Haven't started Frontline for the summer yet on my boys because I hate putting that on them. DH had 3 ticks walking on him this weekend from working outside, so I went to the vets and got some Frontline. I take 1 dose and split between the 2 of them.

Fletch has always seemed ok after getting it but Dexter has always been sensitive to it. He is lethargic and throws up usually the first day, then hes fine. Last night though, this was worse than Ive ever seen him. He was gagging like he was going to throw up, but he never did throw up. He ate dinner and drank water. Then he brought me a toy at 930pm to play with him. He played fetch at least 20 mins. That is a long time for him and it was late for him. He would not lay down, He was licking everything, the couch, the floor, my jean clad leg, DH's flip flops, then the bed comforter. I read that was a sign of digestive discomfort. He went under the covers, back out, under, back out. Lay, get up walk, lay, get up walk. He could not seem to relax for anything. Finally around 11pm I gave him 2 mls of Benedryl since I thought he was having a reaction to the Frontline. His reaction to that was odd also. He laid down on me and was like limp spaghetti, about 1 min after I gave it to him. I doubt he had relief that fast, do you think?

I woke up at least 5x all night and made sure both my boys were good, this morning Dex seemed ok, but still not himself. He is not lethargic at all, but seems tired. He usually stays with me until I leave for work, but this morning he went to his basket bed and even when I said bye, he just looked at me. DH is home today, so he'll keep an eye on them for me.

I can't explain how much I hate putting these chemicals on my boys. I HATE IT! I was almost crying last night bc I felt so bad I had to poison my baby and it made him so restless and uncomfortable. :(

Is there any planet benefit to ticks? I wish we could get rid of them all! They are gross and useless! :thumbdown

are you putting it on with an empty stomach? I agree I split mine also because I hate putting it on them. I feel like a horrible mother knowing I am applying toxins to my kidz. I found that if I make sure Cedric has eaten and give it to him in the morning after breakfast he does much better. Just in case that may help. hoping he is back to himself asap.

We thought that at first but checked and they had eaten their breakfast a couple hours earlier so no, they were not empty. Dexter has always had an adverse reaction to it. But this time it seemed worse and Fletch seemed affected also. He was more restless than usual (not as bad as Dex though).

I did Frontline last week on the three girls. Kenzie got a whole tube,probably wont put the entire thing on her again, she weighs 8 1/2 lbs. She was pretty normal all day but in the evening she was really tired and just wanted to cuddle in dad's lap. Mina and Tilly shared a tube,they are 7 1/2 and 3 1/2 lbs. This was Tilly's first dose,she wasn't allowed out of someones site all day. I always do it on a Monday or Tuesday,in the morning incase there is a reaction by one of them.
We are very lucky here,I only put this stuff on the girls if we are leaving town. Our yard ,,so far,, seems to stay critter free. I really don't like using it either. I do wish that there were other options,I don't consider the pills an option.

I actually had to switch to revolution as cedric reacts that way with frontline frontline plus Advantix II ......so far revolution is the only one he doesnt throw up and get lethargic with.

Revolution is for ticks? That is what Im worried about. I have a camp up North, so the threat is not even necessarily my own yard, it's where ever else I take the boys.

One year I gave my boys these garlic bagel treats, every couple weeks I would sprinkle a small amount of granulated garlic powder on their food and they would get a treat made from garlic. That year I did not use Frontline at all and they had no ticks ever. I might just go back to doing that, garlic in small amounts every few weeks. It is not poison, and they did not have adverse reactions to it and it seemed to have worked!

Somewhere in the food chain ticks are a meal to something but that is about the only thing they are good for.


I learned the hard way to always give any type of medication or to get any type of shot the first thing in the morning on a weekday because my two would always get a reaction when vet's office is closed.


I have used Advantax II for over a year without any reaction. I started their flea/tick treatment last week and both of my girls were an itchy mess for 2 days. Hope your baby feels better today.

yes but the only disadvantage is the flea or tick has to bite in order to be killed with revolution. I have never had a tick attach to them and we do get tested for lyme and heart worm with negative results thus far.

if that works and it is not toxic then yeah I would go that route. we have flea issues here so I have to be careful if we did get fleas my dh would freak. ...lol he does not like the fleas.

Ive never had fleas, never even seen one. **Knocks on wood**

Something at the lake bit my Fletch the other day though. We were up there with the dogs and took them on a walk around the camp ground. Fletch had 3 bites on his belly where they had a clear dot in the middle of a red circle. Dex had nothing. I took a shot that it was nothing serious and he was having a reaction to it. We stopped and got benedryl on the ride home just in case and to have it at home since I ran out a couple weeks ago, but the marks faded and went away in 2 days. No fleas though that I can see on either boy. Just the ticks are a problem for us. :( UGH! gross, useless bugs!

black flies...mine got bit by them last week also.

Revolution works for dog ticks, but not deer ticks (the carriers of Lyme's disease). We use Revolution on Bella, and there are no side effects, other than her being itchy for about 10 minutes after we first apply it. We hold her still and allow it to dry on her skin, and that seems to help.

awww your poor babies too!! Dex must have gotten bit, but he didn't have any marks on him, where Fletch had 3 large-ish bruise type circles on his belly. They didn't seem to bother him at all, but they alarmed me for a minute, before I thought it through... realized it had to be something like that.

Oh boy... since Dex has had Lyme Disease once already I really need something for deer ticks. Thank you though!

Revolution does not work for ticks in New England. We've used frontline forever but w/o any problems. There is also Nexguard which is a chewable. It is currently labeled only for the dog tick, but I have heard that they are seeking FDA labeling for the other ticks. You might want to check it out and talk to your vet about this one.

Avon Skin So Soft works well at keeping flying bugs away...I used to be eaten alive by mosquitoes and just a little rubbed on your hands and then put on you or the dogs will keep the black flies away.

oh good tip ty.

Maggie always had a "reaction" to Frontline. Not a bad one but it seemed to make her lethargic and not feel good, I could definitely tell the difference in her mood. I have always split the vial between her and Buster, but it didn't matter, she still had a mood change. It didn't affect Buster at all. I used the Nexgard for the first time this month. I hope it's a good product, as she had no reaction to it.

Thank you to both of you!! (who mentioned Nexgard!) Maybe this will be a good alternative for Dexter. Since I am the proud owner of 3 more Frontline vials Fletch will have to stay on that. I just hate how it makes my Dex feel. Poor little man! The boys have their annual and vacs next week, I'll ask the vet about that then. They just got frontline though, so it will be about 6 weeks before I put anything else on them.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...d-nexgard.html

we may switch over to this also after I call my vet. Seems most are doing really well according to the above thread.

We tried Nexgard for the first time this month. I like it, I hope it's a good product as it didn't seem to affect Maggie at all.

Totally OT, but I hope you don't mean 'annual vaccinations' just annual checkup? Look into the newest research regarding annual vaccinations and why they are not recommended.

To stay on topic, I'm curious about the Nexgard too.

Jackson too. The ticks here in MD can get bad. I hate putting the topicals on his back though -- the chemicals and the greasiness to his hair gross me out. But thankfully he's never had a bad reaction. I just placed an order for Advantix as Frontline does not work well for us anymore. My stepmom put some on her dog Buddy barely 3 weeks ago and we just found 2 ticks on him last night. It doesn't seem to be lasting as long.

I live in MD too and have to use Advantix. It's almost like fleas and ticks laugh at Frontline here.

Yes, I mean annual check up and annual vacs. Trying to get back onto the 2 year vacs this year.
Last year my dogs vacs ran out March 21. There was a clinic on March 24 that I took them to for vacs and chips. They told me that since their vacs expired (3 days earlier) they could only have the 1 year vaccine. So this year it expired on March 24. I applied for pet insurance in January this year, with the hopes of having it by the time they needed vacs. It didn't happen due to the insurance company ignorance. soooo again they expired. I was not getting it done until the insurance covered it. So yes, this year they will get another set of 1 year vacs, but next year they should be getting 3 year vacs.

???? There is NO difference in 1 year vaccine vs. 3 year vaccine. It's all a technicality based upon wording. Just thought I'd let you know. :)

Rabies vaccine is the only vaccine REQUIRED by state law. Some states are 1 year, some are 3.

All the other shots should NOT be given yearly anymore AT ALL. And any vet giving yearly vaccines or telling you your vaccines 'expired' wouldn't be touching my dog personally. AAHA recommends an every 3 year schedule now, but there are studies that prove these vaccines could last upwards of 5-7+ years.

But DHPP should *not* be given yearly anymore.

Some are comfortable following the 3 year protocol. Jackson hasn't had DHPP since he was 1 year old. He's now 5 1/2. I'll more than likely just be getting rabies every 3 years as the law states. MAYBE one more DHPP vaccine in his life. But there's no rules or laws telling me what to do with your own dogs vaccines -- besides rabies. :)

yes, you are right.... but town requires vaccinated dogs, so does the groomer. So in order to register they need to be vaccinated and the vet won't give a 3 year vaccination when there is a lapse. Only a 1 year, so you have to wait. I had a 3 DAY lapse, and had to get a 1 year vac. Whether it's 3 or 1 year, the vet puts an expiration date on it and that is what the groomer and town looks at to tell me they won't groom them or I can't register them. It stinks! :(

Frontline
 

To Celstu1, when I first rescued Magellan, the foster home gave me Advantix. It came in a very small tube. When the temps began to thaw (in March) I put it on him between his shoulder blades. He had no problem with it whatsoever. I went to Pet Goods and asked for flea and tick medication and they gave me Frontline. I put it on him and he went bat sh!t crazy. He was in and around every piece of furniture, his crate, his donut, my couch, etc., trying to rub it off. It seemed as if there was twice as much medication as Advantix. Even though I paid $60 for the Frontline (3 months) I'm going back to Advantix. What I saw Magellan go thru for a good hour was like watching your child have a seizure. Never again!

Try Advantix and see how your pup does with that medication.

Have you ever tried Trifexis...that's what I give my Maltese who's 1.5 years and I just started my Yorkie on her first dose a few days ago..they both seem to do very good on it. Didn't have any reactions at all

Thank you so much! Im going to talk to the vet about something else... I just hate how frontline makes them feel... although it really does seem to be the one that takes care of the most... but its painful to watch them. :(

Krazikate75 - Try doing only a 1/2 dose on your boy and see if that helps at all.

Frontline should be immediately discontinued with this type of reaction.