Reaction to Advantage Flea & Tick

[Heather5]

Hi everyone,

I've never posted on this forum before, but I have a question to those of you who use Advantage Flea & Tick medication on their dogs. I have two dogs, and while one has no reaction whatsoever to the meds, my other dog (who is also hypothyroid...if that makes a difference) does not react very well when given Advantage. She will walk around aimlessly for hours after, panting, and not being able to lay down and calm down. I don't really like giving them the flea meds, since I know it's basically a pesticide that will stay on their skin, but I feel like I have no choice, since I also have three cats in the house, and living in Texas, fleas could be a real problem if it gets in to the house.

I've heard that the flea-part of the meds work for 2-3 months, while the tick-part only lasts one month, so to minimize the "trauma", I only give them the drops every other month or so in Spring, Summer and Fall.

Anyone else having this problem with Advantage?

[Heather5]

Thank you so much for replying! I think I will do what you suggested and ask the vet for a different brand. I actually called them last time I gave her Frontline, but they weren't too concerned, since it does go away again after a couple of hours. But I just HATE seeing how much it bothers her during those first two hours or so!

Thanks again for your suggestion!

[mom@homenow]

If she's having the problem with Frontline, why not try another brand like Advantage? There are several brands available and they do not have the same ingredients. Please don't put it on her anymore, she is having a serious reaction and it could get worse with time, if it is an allergy her symptoms could be more severe with every dose you give her.

I had a Lab/GSD mix who got hives so bad  the second time I put a dose of Advantage on him, I scrubbed it off him best I could within hours and gave him benadryl. He had no problems with Frontline, ever, which is what we switched to using. At that time, only Advantage and Frontline existed but now there are more choices.

[Heather5]

OK, I'm a little brain dead this morning. I meant Frontline Flea & Tick. Sorry for the confusion.