I've had my dog Lady (Post 184951) since mid-April and started using Frontline Plus on the first of every month, starting with May. I went through the first box (May, June, and July), bought a second box, and three weeks after the August 1st application, she has a crop of about half a dozen fleas. So I have questions.

So how effective is Frontline (or Advantage)? Other than attacking the fleas, should my reaction to this be "Yes, that happens" or "Hmmm, something's wrong, that shouldn't happen"?

Could shelf life be an issue? Frontline does not carry an expiration date. I got the first box at the vet and the second from a pet supply store (Got Pet Food in Santa Monica, a reputable store). Does Advantage carry an expiration date?

Should I bother writing to Merial? If shelf life could be an issue, then I would like to know when the lot was produced, and I suppose there could have been a problem with that lot. But if dogs on Frontline getting fleas is sufficiently unsurprising, then perhaps it isn't worthwhile.

I took Lady to the vet. She gave her a pill (I forget what it's called) that's supposed to kill the adults in about 45 minutes. She still had at least one live flea some hours later (or perhaps a new one?), but I didn't see any the next morning. She also gave me a new box of Frontline Plus in case there was a problem with the box I had ($48). She also gave me six dose supply of Program ($68). She also gave me a three extra kills-them-in-an-hour pills in case I see any more fleas ($10). Finally, she recommended a flea bomb and a yard spray, preferably administered by an exterminator (see you next payday).

The exterminator may be overkill since it isn't so clear that they're any offspring in the carpet. How likely is it that six fleas probably acquired on a walk would have infested the house and lawn in three days? I think I'll start out with DE for the house and Garlic Barrier (or perhaps DE) for the yard as a gentler alternative to the exterminator. I can move up the line to nastier stuff should it prove necessary.

The pill is called Capstar, I know that much. Don't really know how to answer the rest, sorry. Hopefully someone else will though.

Seems like I remember Mordana mentioning having problems with Frontline not killing fleas or leaving some alive. I think that's why she recommends Advantage.

Do an advanced search under the search tab (select the care section of the box on the left hand side). Type in Advantage, Frontline, Capstar... and you can read what people have had to say about these products in the past. Searching just fleas is also good.

Ah, yes, Capstar, that's what it was.

Johnna is right - I can tell you from personal experience, from what I have heard here on the forum, and from some of my clients that sometimes either product (Advantage or Frontline) doesn't work for someone, but the other product did.

I'm using mainly Advantage, since it has always worked well for us here (5 cats, one dog), while Frontline didn't when I tried it a few years ago.

This year I bought some Frontline for Quigley since I wanted him protected from ticks as well as fleas while we were in Colorado for our summer vacation, and it seems to be doing its job.

DE is definitely a good idea, too.

I'm having terrible trouble with them this year. Neither Advantage nor Frontline are working anymore. I don't have finished floors so they can hide very easily. I was okay until I stopped using Program and forgot the garlic out of their food.

Remember when you start treating that it will take up to a month for the fleas to stop appearing.

I use Advantage and don't every see a flea on my kiddos but I have been told they are less effective if the dog is bathed or swims or otherwise doused in water within 3 days of application - could that be a problem for you? I am always careful about rough play that might require bath or sprinkler play for a couple days after the application.

From what I have read and heard from other dog owners, sometimes a particular flea repellent just isn't effective on some dogs! If you've used Frontline that frequently, and you still have a flea problem, then that brand of repellent just isn't working for you, for whatever reason.

And for an infestation like the one you describe, I would definitely bomb the house. What a hassle, I'm so sorry. But this didn't come from six fleas, it sounds more like you've got Flea Heaven there!

Finally, any time there are fleas in the area, a dog can be more or less bothered by them depending on the condition of the dog's immune system. You might get better results if you do some immune-boosting things with diet for Lady, and not rely entirely on pesticides to keep the fleas from her. Building the immune system takes some time, and you won't be completely free of the need for topical repellents, but it's a good thing to do, IMO.

What I'm getting from the above (including some unreliable reading between the lines) is as follows.

1. I should not really expect either Frontline or Advantage to be so completely effective as to conclude there may be something wrong with the lot my Frontline came from or that shelflife might be an issue.

2. Some dogs do better on Frontline, others on Advantage. If I continue have problems with the Frontline, I should try the Advantage.

3. Connie suggested I boost Lady's immune system through dietary adjustments. I don't know how to do this, but I should search the forum and, if necessary, ask that under a separate topic.

4. I should treat the house and yard. This one raises a few more questions.

I take it I can treat the house (not just the yard) with DE. Is that correct? How do I spread the stuff? Do I need to do bare (uncarpeted) floors? How much do I need per 100 square feet (or other convenient unit) indoors? Outdoors? Is there a way to test whether it's done the job--other than the obvious: checking Lady for fleas?

I'm realistic about the fact that the DE may prove insufficient and that I'll have to resort to Better Killing Through Chemistry. But I at least want to wait until September when Grandma goes back home and the kids are in school.

Frontline worked when we had a tick problem, but not on fleas. Advantage works pretty good, but this year has been the worst ever, and even the Advantage isn't keeping them entirely at bay.

Has anyone tried Comfortis? I had one friend say she was happy with it. I haven't done any research on it at all, though.

Keep in mind that Frontline doesn't repel fleas (as far as I know...) but only kills them once they get on the dog. It doesn't work instantaneously. So it is possible to still find fleas on your dog. Plus you've got to keep in mind that MOST people use some sort of monthly flea prevention and I can only imagine that there are fleas out there that have built up a resistance (Frontline claims it kills UP TO 100% of fleas). As a vet tech, I commonly come across people who find that one product works better than another for their particular animal, so YMMV.

I used to use Frontline/Advantage/K9 Advantix but stopped using chemicals completely a year and a half ago, started feeding raw food about a year ago and have treated homeopathically since January (no conventional medicine whatsoever since January, which is interesting, considering my career choice). I now use Diatomaceous Earth and Beneficial Nematodes (and I vacuum a lot) PLUS whenever I take Medina anywhere I know there to be fleas, I bathe her FIRST THING as soon as I get home (with Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap). We have ABSOLUTELY no problem with fleas since I started doing this (I live in Central Texas and we have fleas and ticks year-round). We have dogs on both sides of us and caddy-corner to us. The ONLY time she had a problem with fleas since then was around Christmas this past year and I took her to my parents house to visit (they live 3 hours away in southeast Texas and it's flea central around that part of Texas). I found a grand total of THREE fleas on her after that visit, when my sister's dog, Zoe (who is on monthly flea prevention and is not raw fed or treated homeopathically), was crawling with fleas (Medina and Zoe played together the entire time).

What I do for Medina as far as flea prevention is definitely more difficult and more time-consuming than just spraying the yard when chemicals and then dumping more chemicals on her, but it's WAY more healthy for her and we have less problems with fleas now (virtually none) than when I was using Frontline. I'm not trying to say this is always going to work 100% of the time for 100% of dogs, but it's something to think about.

This is very important!!! I'm glad you brought it up A LOT of people don't realize this (and are surprised when I bring it up), but for flea prevention you have to treat the dog AND it's environment!!! If you just treat one and not the other you will still have fleas no matter how hard you try

I use a food strainer to spread around my DE. I don't like to use it in the house or on my dog because it feels kind of greasy to the touch (especially if you're heavy handed with it). I use a flea comb on my dog and vacuum my house regularly (you can put a flea collar in the vacuum canister/bag to kill fleas from your house). I like to put DE in the yard along with Beneficial Nematodes. DE take a couple of days to kill fleas once it comes into contact with them, so don't expect instantaneous results with it.

I had the flea thing going earlier this summer....UGH!
I've got three dogs and four cats.
I switched from K-9 Advantix to Comfortis (my vet switched) and it was AFTER the application that the fleas showed up...then he gave me Promeris...still had fleas, and the smell was awful...the dogs just rolled and rolled, took almost 48 hours for it to dry, smelled like turpentine.
He also gave me the Capstar (one for each dog and cat)...and Frontline and Capstar for the cats...so, about $300 dollars later, we still had fleas!
Then I got the Advantix and Capstar at PetCo.
I bombed the house, used the Advantix on the dogs, and Capstar every day for 7 days, Frontline on the cats, and Capstar for 5 days...and FINALLY got rid of the fleas!
I never saw more than a flea or two at a time, and only on two dogs and one cat (weird, the only cat that goes outdoors had no fleas or flea dirt, and just one indoor cat had flea dirt) but I was just afraid I would end up with a full blown infestation.
Finally figured out where the fleas were coming from (we think, seems to be working). My Hubby works for the county, and has the unsavory job of picking dead deer up off the road. Now, he strips in the back porch, all his clothes go into a tightly covered trash can, get sprayed with a flea killer, and washed in hot water.
We have been flea free for nearly a month now, and it took about a month to get rid of the little b******s.
Not impressed with the new products, I'm sticking to Advantix and Frontline...I did like the Capstar, but my understanding is, you need to do that for at least 7 days in a row, and I was told to do it once a week after that.
Good luck!

lori - how do you handle giving advantix to the dogs, living with cats in close quarters?

Not sure I understand what you're asking, but I'll try to answer...
I put the Advantix on the dogs and kennel them until it dries.
If you're wondering about the cats contacting the Advantix, they all get along, but the cats and dogs don't snuggle. The best we do is a head butt from a cat once in a while.

You can separate them for 24 hours. Once the Advantix is dry they should be fine.