Flea and Tick Med question

[Amy2006]

I use Frontline Plus for my toy poodle. but my mother (actually my brother's dog but he don't care for it like he should so mom does) buys Hartz for her flea and tick meds and her heartworm meds. Does anybody know if it's any good? She gets it at Wal-mart and i'm sure it's cheaper the reason she gets it there. The heartworm med is pill size. Not sure if it's chewable or chrunchy like. She puts it in her food and she eats it. But mom is thinking about getting a toy poodle like me and i don't know if my toy poodle would eat a pill so i don't know if hers would when/if she gets her. I use Heartgaurd chewables and i pinch it off in little pieces for her and she loves it. But mom is all about the cheap stuff. :) Not that it's bad but i want to make sure she's getting something useful.

thanks,
amy

[nccatmom]

Sometime back I used Hartz on one of my cats and he had a reaction. I immediately gave him a bath and it helped but it really scared me. I then started looking on the Internet and found sites that gave information about reactions on pets after using Hartz and other brands as well. Biospot doesn't get very good reviews either. My daughter-in-law uses it on her dogs and said she hasn't had a problem. But it's scary to hear about the problems these medications cause.

I was told by a vet that some pets can have a reaction to even the good brands such as Frontline, Advantage, or Revolution. It's best to use a good brand but to find one that works for the individual pet. Here's a website about Hartz. http://www.hartzvictims.org/

[tiffers]

...I'm not a big fan of Frontline in small dogs. For instance, the first dosage is 0-22 pounds. Well, if you've got a 4 pound kiddo, you're giving enough Frontline for 5 4lb. kiddos! It's not a bad product, but IMO...I don't like it for smaller dogs.

...Wal-Mart doesn't sell Heartworm prevention. They can't. You have to have a prescription from a vet to buy it, so what is she really giving? A flea pill?

Also, be very, very careful with Heartworm preventions...if the pet has the worms, giving the prevention can sometimes cause SERIOUS damage. Be sure to have the pet checked before administering the preventions.

Another thing...Hartz has been known for killing animals. I wouldn't recommend ANY Hartz brand stuff.

[Amy2006]

WOW. That's scary. It's some kind of worm stuff but maybe not heart worm. Which means the dog isn't getting the right stuff i guess. My pet has always been negative for worms but my mom (or brother's) dog did have worms when they got her. They took it to the pound or something and they give it something for the worms. My brother checked the poop and said the worms were dead or something and i think she's doing ok now. They've had the dog for several weeks now (before starting the worm meds). I wish they'd just take it to the vet and get her to OK the good stuff.

amy

[tiffers]

...I agree with you. Please have them check the blood for heartworms at a vet before getting heartworm prevention. Let me know how things turn out, as I'm interested in your situation.

[SweetPea]

k9 advantix works for us.

ive even seen mosquitos literally die on her.

they have 1-10 lb dosage.

i got 12 tubes for slightly under 100$, makin it $8.33 a month, well worth it for peace of mind... even eating a flea can cause tapeworm infestation.

not to mention no fleas and ticks on my pooch or in my house either.

as w/ heartworm meds, i get her the heartgard plus from the vet, which was i think about $50 bucks for her weight range. easy to give, and compute that, is $4.12 a month....

two critical, no ifs ands or buts that is a necessity for my pooch.

for both the flea/tick/mosquito and heartworm prevention that's cheaper than 2 packs of cigs in many states.

[katiem]

I use Advantage for my Beagle/Shepherd, and Revolution for my Rottweiler. I've not seen any negitive side effects yet.
I would never use a medication purchased from a regular store. If I had to get a prescription I'd see a doctor and then go to a pharmacy, so if my dog needed a prescription I'd take him to his doctor, and use their pharmacy. Hartz seems a little shady to me!

[Amy2006]

Tiffers,
The only thing i've found out so far is that my mom is giving her the Hartz for Round Worms. And she hasn't given her the flea/tick meds yet and hopefully she won't since i told her that it wasn't getting good reviews.

Amy

[tiffers]

...there are heartworm preventions like Heartguard, Revoltion, and I believe Interceptor that take care of roundworms as well as many other things and these are TONS better than OTC.

Why is she giving a roundworm pill? Is it a preventative or a deworming pill? If it's a dewormer, it's a waste of money if the dog doesn't have the worms to keep deworming.

[NewfieGrl]

Also, checking for heartworms is different than checking for other worms that pass through the stool. Heartworm is checked via a blood test done at the vet. If you give an animal heartworm meds and they already have heartworms it can kill them. A vet won't (or shouldn't) prescribe heartworm meds without a blood test. The cost of treating heartworm is MUCH more expensive than the test or the meds.
Good luck.
Michele
owned by 2 Newfies, a cocker spaniel and 2 cats
RIP Bootsie-March ? 1988-April 22, 2007

[Amy2006]

Tiffers,
We use Heartgaurd and i'm hoping i can talk her into spending the money for some of the "good" stuff. I'm actually trying to talk them into giving the dog away to a good family. My brother didn't really want the dog to start with. . .his girlfriend wanted him to get it. And you know how 18 year olds are. Mom has been doing the majority of taking care of it and she don't know the first thing about dogs. Not that she can't learn. I'd be glad to share with her everything i've learned since getting my Sophie. But i don't live with her so it's a little harder for me to do that. For example. I called my mother to tell her to get the dog some ice cubes for it's water bowl (since she stays outside). Well she did and the dog loved it. But she also gave her some chocolate ice cream they had left over. So needless to say, i had to scold her. hahaha Dog is fine but i did tell her to keep an eye on her to make sure she's ok. My mother actually wants a toy poodle like i have. My brother is almost old enough to move out on his own and i know she'll be lonely so i think her getting a toy poodle INSIDE the house would be great. IF she'll listen to me and heed my advice. And not be cheap. I've already made a list of about how much it'll cost to care for a dog so that she won't be surprised. But part of me does worry she won't take care of it as well as "I" think she should. In my opinion, a responsible owner. . especially an adult, should know try to take better care of an outside dog. . . even if it means trying to find a better home for it.

Newfie Girl,
My mom nor my brother has taken this dog to the vet for a checkup. i have told them she'll need to be fixed by 6 months. Why spend the money if you don't want the dog in the first place. . .give it to a nice loving family that does want the dog and want to take care of it. I told mom that she didn't need to get a poodle with that dog still there because they haven't taken it to the vet and don't know what it may have. She says that she looks fine but i told mom that you can't always tell something is wrong from looking at her externally.

amy

[tiffers]

Heartguard is a good brand. I use this one just because of the convience. How do they get it for the dog, though? It has to come from a vet.

It sounds like your mom is trying to learn,that's good...my mom doesn't believe me when I tell her stuff. :)

[Amy2006]

Well, she uses Hartz so she gets it at Wal-mart. I'm married with my own dog and i use Heartguard (from my vet). I think most everything i know i got off this site and one more site. Because before Sophie, i never had a indoor dog so i didn't know what to expect.

Yea she's trying. I just hope she keeps it up. Especially if she gets a poodle.

[nene1977]

I use Interceptor for my 2 pups as their heart worm meds. I use Frontline for fleas and ticks. Now one is 10 lbs and the other is 12 lbs so i get the small dogs Frontline and use half on one dog and half on the other. It works so far and when i told the vet what I was doing she said as long as it is working. i live in an area where ticks are bad this time of year and so far no ticks. i have had my dogs camping and all us humans had at least three ticks on us but none on the dogs. As far as the heart worm meds I have really only used Interceptor and so far they both like it and it has worked. It may be a little more expensive but if it keeps them healthy then it worth it to me.

[sniffles]

I have used Sentinel for years.It is a once a month pill.It takes care of the fleas and heart worm. The only thing it does not do is kill ticks. For that we buy a flea & tick collar.Double coverd on any flea problem.:) You can only get it from the vet and only after they have a heart worm test.If you keep them on it all year long there is no need for any other blood tests.It runs about 65.00 a box and there are 6 pills.I have never had a flea problem and I know they are protected from heart worms. Just curious have they ever taken this dog to gets its puppy shots yet?

[mynameislola]

We live in the desert where it is too hot and dry for fleas and mosquitoes to survive. I have never seen a tick on my dogs, but if I did, I would never use a Hartz product.

Good luck finding a responsible home for your brother's dog.