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Flea and Tick control meds?


JBlaylock
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I was just curious, and thought I'd poll the smart folks here. We've used Advanticks all along, and it seems to work just fine, but it's expensive. Is there an off brand or an over the counter brand, basically anything cheaper that will work just as good? Or is it important that I continue to pay for that pricey stuff?

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You totally get what you pay for when it comes to flea and tick meds. The OTC stuff is often VERY dangerous - the Hartz spot ons specifically come to mind. I buy my pups the regular Frontline (Top Spot) instead of the Plus version and I buy online so I save money two ways. For 6 tubes of Frontline Top Spot I pay $60.99 plus S&H on dog.com - it's the cheapest I can find.

 

I do know some people split their tubes of Frontline, but I've never been brave enough to try and I forgot to ask our vet about doing that at our appointment today lol.

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There is a bad tick problem where I live and the only thing that works for my dogs is Frontline Plus. I do buy it online, also from dog.com...what cost me $105 from the vet costs me $60 online plus about $4 shipping and it's the exact same thing.

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There is a bad tick problem where I live and the only thing that works for my dogs is Frontline Plus. I do buy it online, also from dog.com...what cost me $105 from the vet costs me $60 online plus about $4 shipping and it's the exact same thing.

 

Most vets price match if you ask, and then you know you are getting the real product and not something that just looks like Frontline (check out all the reports on fake drugs from China).

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The best way to save money on these good brands is to buy the largest size available from a reliable source and divide it up among the proper number of dogs. The biggest Frontline Plus will do approximately three Border Collies and two of the biggest Advantix will do approximately three Border Collies. It's a big savings and only requires a 3ml syringe and a needle to measure and dispense.

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While I'm skeptical of most cheap flea and tick meds, I've used Bio-Spot for several years now without an issue. It has kept fleas and ticks off of my dogs and has never caused a reaction.

 

I've used BioSpot before and thought it worked even better than Frontline. Ticks still get on the dogs with Frontline, but later die. However, with BioSpot the dogs would be completely tick free.

 

I wonder, though, about the safety of BioSpot.

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I've never had a vet agree to price match--I suspect because they don't order in large enough quantities to be able to price match the big guys like dog.com. I think if a retailer is reputable, your chances of getting a fake product are pretty slim. I've never had a problem, and I pay attention to stuff like that.

 

Frontline stopped working for me long ago, so I use Advantix. I buy the appropriate size because with the number of dogs I have I don't really realize a great amount of savings by ordering a large size and splitting. I have had few tick problems this year, but I attribute that to the free-range chicken effect....

 

J.

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There is much less price advantage to splitting Advantix compared to splitting Frontline Plus. I'm still saving 1/3 of the cost for three dogs, even though it isn't quite as easy as splitting the Frontline. Frontline was perfect for us for several years but, last year, it just did not work. Going back to an Advantage product, which we hadn't used for years, worked for us. I am sure it will become less effective with time and increasing resistance. When that happens, I hope I find an alternative that works for us.

 

Figuring out how to feed, medicate, flea treat, train, and so forth is a very individual matter - one size does not fit all, and that's where discussion on a good board like this is very valuable to provide alternatives.

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