How To Choose The Best Flea Medicine For Your Dog
by D. Thurmond, D.V.M.
Filed under Dog Health
Dog flea medicines today are a far cry from the harsh chemical dips and messy powders pet owners used to use to combat fleas. The easy to use topical spot on products such as Frontline Plus are popular with pet owners as they are inexpensive and they kill fleas for up to 30 days. For owners of multiple pets, Frontline also offers a flea killing spray that will treat several dogs.
When buying flea products price is only one consideration. The more parasites controlled by the flea med, the higher the price. However, some pet owners prefer to buy one product that provides wide ranging protection rather than purchasing several products that are specific to one parasite. The good news is you can buy discounted pet medications online and save on all the med your dog needs.
Some areas of the country such as humid coastal states have especially heavy flea populations year round while states with several winter climates may limit the flea problems to only the summer months. Advantage flea medication was one of the first professional products released that not only killed fleas on dogs but continued to kill hatching fleas for up to 30 days. The residual effect was embraced by dog owners and Advantage remains one of the best selling spot on flea treatments. Pet owners who prefer to use one pet med for protection from multiple pet problems can now choose Advantage Multi which will heartworm, roundworm, whipworm and hookworm as well as fleas.
For tick killing, choose Frontline Plus which targets brown dog ticks, lone star ticks and American dog ticks as well as killing fleas present on the animal and interrupting the flea life cycle. For dogs over 8 weeks of age, Frontline Plus helps control chewing lice and sarcoptic mange. For locales with high numbers of mosquitoes, K9 Advantix is the choice, offering flea, tick and mosquito protection.
Revolution is a prescription medicine that is well named. This topical treatment offers a wide range of protection for dogs, killing fleas and flea eggs and American dog ticks. Revolution also treats ear mites, controls sarcoptic mites and is a heart preventive dog med. It is considered safe for use on puppies over six weeks old and for pregnant or lactating dogs.
Capstar offers a single dose pill that kills all adult fleas present on your dog within hours. There is no long term flea killing medication in Capstar but this one dose pet med can be followed 24 hours later with one of the spot on products that will break the flea life cycle. If your dog is boarded, shown or you’ve just brought him home from the shelter, Capstar will kill any fleas travelling with him. A recent addition to dog flea meds is Comfortis which is administered with a tasty wafer given once each month. Comfortis is fast acting and begins killing fleas on your pet within 30 minutes with protection that lasts for 30 days.
Before buying flea medicine for your dog, decide what level of protection you need. What parasites does your dog need protection from in your area and which method of administering the medication do you prefer. Most flea prevention products (except Revolution) are available without prescription and can be purchased online directly from a veterinarian at discount pet med sites.
Fleas are adaptive little critters and can quickly become immune to flea killing products. Pet owners who live in states where flea protection is a year round task should change the brand of topical product every 6-12 months. By rotating the flea medicine treatments pet owners will hinder the ability of fleas to develop immunity to flea killers.
Choose from the latest dog flea medicineonline. Buy fresh brand name flea meds directly from a veterinarian at Pet Scripts Direct.
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