# What is the best flea protection?



## MamaTiff

The past 2 to 3 years I have had grooming clients who are regular Frontline users come in with fleas. They have no idea why. I do. Zombie fleas. 

Seriously though, I think every few years the flea population becomes immune to the formula or something. I have been recommending K9 Advantix 2 to my customers. It kills and repels, which not all flea and tick products do. It can also be used on a freshly groomed dog. Unlike Frontline which needs to be applied 3 days before or 3 days after a bath, Advantix just needs to be put on a dry coat. I use K9 Advantix on my spoo and she comes to work with me and never had an issue bringing home any fleas.


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## JE-UK

I use Advocate and have never seen a flea. It doesn't work on ticks, but it does work on lungworm, which is a bigger worry for me than ticks.

I think Frontline is plagued with resistance problems.


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## Jkline65

*revolution*

i started using Revolution this year. It is a combo for fleas AND it also takes the place of heartworm pill as it does both. I've been happy with it.

Benefits:
•	Protects your pet from heartworms and fleas
•	Fights both internal and surface parasitic infections
•	Treats Sarcoptic mange in dogs
•	Treats and controls ear mites
•	Controls American Dog Tick infestation


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## Liafast

I love comfortis. Its a monthly pill that I give my dogs and it works great. If you have a lot of fleas and do NOTHING except comfortis, it will remove the fleas in 3 months.


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## Panda

I too use Advocate, I tried frontline but Panda still had fleas (our flat was invested when we moved in!) Advocate worked very quickly along with using staykill and advantage house spray (the staykill ruined some paint though and doesnt seem to dry well and leaves a smell for hours but seemed to work better)


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## liljaker

A nice natural spray that also works is this: Take 6 to 8 lemons, slice each lemon in 12 pieces or so and put in a pot. Add just enough water to cover and boil at low until it cooks down and becomes thin -- the entire lemon, peel, etc. Once it is all broken down, strain it and pour the liquid into a spray bottle and keep in the refrigerator. My holistic vet told me about it as an added preventitive and it works for people too. A nice plus is that if the dog licks it off, it is ok. It does really keep the insects off, too, after rains, and such (mosquitos).


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## faerie

comfortis. i've only had to treat my five dogs twice this year. and today was the second time. it lasted almost 2 months.


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## outwest

Naena, Frontline does NOT work here, either. I see you are in Los Angeles, so not far from me. I guess the fleas are becoming immune. Also, Frontline always messes up poodle hair because it is oily. 

Advantage works super well and once it's dry it doesn't leave an oily spot. I see no reason to spend the extra money on Advantix Plus as we don't have ticks except in the mountains. Unless you live in the foothills or mountains around LA, don't bother spending the extra money for the Advantix. I did buy it once and it worked fine. When I take my pup to the mountains I do a tick sweep when we get back anyway, which has been sufficient for us. In some areas of the country the extra protection from Ticks might be as important as the fleas. 

My last poodle always had a reaction for a day after using Advantage on her, so some poodles are sensitive. I tried not to use it, but my current standard has no reaction at all, couldn't care less when I drip it on her. She has no fleas and it lasts about 5-6 weeks for us. I had my dog groomed today and she had no fleas and it's been 5 weeks since I last used it. I plan to put one more treatment on for October and then stop until March next year. 

I don't like using these chemicals on my dogs, but it is the only thing that keeps them totally flea free. I do think fleas in different areas of the country are susceptible to different treatments. What works her in the LA area may not work as well in the South, for example. Comfortis sounds interesting and worth a try, but I've such good luck with Advantage I haven't bothered to switch.


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## CharismaticMillie

I use nothin' most of the year. I just feed a high quality (raw) diet and gice regular baths. My dogs go to dog parks, vets, groomers and haven't picked up flees. The only time I use any preventative is when I must use Frontline for ticks - maybe twice a year?


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## outwest

CM: It could be you don't have flea issues because you live where it is cold in the winter. In other areas where it stays warm, fleas thrive. Fleas can't survive in snow or cold, so I assume that you have very few flea problems there. In our area fleas are everywhere. I see them jump on her sometimes at the dog park, but then they don't stay on her. 

One time, a couple years ago, I didn't treat my dogs during the summer. I went to the dog park and when I went to leave their legs were covered in fleas. It was awful! I gave them both baths as soon as I got home and went and bought the flea stuff.

I do agree with you that a dog with a healthy immune system and excellent diet does a great job of warding off fleas on their own. Still, with fleas so numerous here in the summers, sometimes drops are needed, too.


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## CharismaticMillie

Actually, Outwest, we supposedly have a very bad flea problem around here! I've hear of multiple people around here having a big problem this year esp.


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## outwest

Oh! I would have thought you didn't because they can't overwinter like they do here to pop forth in droves in the Spring (I dread it every year). 

I have heard that raw fed dogs in good physical health and muscle tone do not get fleas the way most dogs do. What would be the reasoning behind that?


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## Searcher

I believe that what flea meds you use depend on where you live. As MamaTiff said fleas evolve overtime & get resistant to the flea meds. That is why the companies have to come up with different formulas. 

When we got our puppy (1.5 yr ago) our vet told us that Advantage didn't work here. We used Frontline Plus but that seemed to be losing its effectiveness this past spring/summer -- if wasn't lasting the full month. We just switched to Comfortis (I actually like it better as it is a pill. 

The company that makes Comfortis also has a pill that for fleas & heartworm -- but not ticks. The negative with the Comfortis is that it doesn't work on ticks which was why we started with Frontline Plus. At present we don't have a heartworm problem here & the tick problem isn't as bad as in most other places in the US.


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## Quossum

Our dogs are on Sentinel for HW preventative, and the product also prevents fleas. We're raw-fed, too, and I haven't seen a flea in ages.

--Q


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## liljaker

A neighbor of mine used Frontline on her dog and ended up rushing her to Animal 911 -- it started burning thru to the skin and all the hair on her neck turned almost black. My holistic vet at the time recommended against any of the chemicals that you put on the dog that absorb into the blood system -- and instead, recommended a topical spray, as needed. Jake was also on a raw diet for almost 10 years, and we only had fleas one year -- and I used the boiled lemon concoction I referred to above and then a flea spray she gave me --- seemed to take care of his problem.


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## CharismaticMillie

Outwest - you very well could be right about fleas not being as bad in my area as in more mild climates. I just know I have heard lots of complaints about fleas around here. That being said, I am sure you have heard people complain about the "cold" weather at some point or another...in Southern California....It could be the same kind of thing, eh?


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## outwest

To me the worst thing about living in the area I do is the constant assault of fleas in the Spring and Summer. Before the advent of the drops it was horrific to keep a dog flea free. I wish there was some way that worked well that did not entail chemicals. Helping a dog combat fleas may be the best promo for a raw diet of anything I have heard. I have felt lucky to avoid flea issues this summer, but I did have to use those darned drops. 

Maybe next year I will try the Comfortis. People seem to be very happy with it. Maybe it isn't as bad as the chemical drops?


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## tokipoke

Reviving this old thread because I'm at my wit's end :at-wits-end:. Leroy is on Sentinel monthly flea preventative. He's done great on it and only had one bad case of fleas. He had a lot once as a puppy but I had gone a long time in between baths. After that, I learned my lesson and since then he's only had maybe 1-2 fleas on him. 

Leroy came back with TONS of fleas after visiting family for Thanksgiving. I am really surprised the fleas are even active around this time because it is getting colder (but not too cold, between 38-70F). I know it's definitely from the vacation because I gave him a bath and blow dried his coat very well before leaving. After we got home, I gave him a bath and pulled off around 12-15 fleas. Two days later, when I gave him a new haircut, pulled off maybe 7 more. Then throughout the week, I'd pull off 4 here, 5 here, etc. I gave him a flea bath last night, and he still had more fleas! I could see them crawling. Some of them died during the bath. During blow drying, found more fleas all around his ears and head. Where the heck did these come from?! So pulled those off. Around 10 or more. Then the morning after that, pulled 2 off. I've picked off three fleas off my cats. They do not have any flea bites, because luckily when I notice the flea, I think they had just jumped on them :argh:. 

Thanks goodness the Sentinel is preventing a flea infestation, but I believe I have adult fleas jumping around my house. I've washed Leroy's bed, cat's blanket, towels, etc with hot water 1-2 times. I've vacuumed and sprayed natural flea spray on the carpets. I'm going to try Sentry Natural Defense topical. *Has anyone tried this?* I've tried the Advantix before but had a bad experience with it. It gave Leroy severe diarrhea for a week, so wary of using that product again. I also dislike using harsh chemicals and doubling up on flea prevention (such as using pill AND topical). I'm also paranoid with the chemical flea topicals because I have cats and those can kill them if not careful. I figure the natural topical is better than nothing. Leroy's next vet appt is in March, and by then I should be done with all the Sentinel. Thinking about switching to Comfortis. My cousin has had a bad experience with Comfortis though; her chihuahua had seizures on the medication. I guess if I do switch to Comfortis, I'd also have to purchase Heartgard for heartworms, because in the south mosquitos are nearly year around.

Did I mention the fleas are biting ME?! I've got bites all over my legs and back. Ugggggh. Odd thing is that my husband and the cats are fine. Poor Leroy and I are suffering :hurt: .


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## Searcher

Triflexis is a flea & heartworm pill. Don't know much about it but was told it was comfortis with heartworm protection. Does anyone have any other info? 

Good luck in getting rid of the fleas.


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## Jkline65

*Advantage Multi*

I use Advantage Multi, covers, fleas, ticks and takes the place of heartworm pill but the girl at the vet said it has been discontinued and is being replaced by something else, a newer formula. This was just today.


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