Conference 7.286::canine

Interesting that the last note in here was mine from 94 - flee-free. Times have
changed - We've been using Program and flea-combing 3 dogs nightly since
October. Frontline, like Advantage, comes in liquid form that you apply between
your dog's/cat's shoulders, where it works into the skin. It lasts a month. It
has a couple of advantages over Advantage - it's cheaper and you don't have to
reapply it after your animal's been swimming. We're in the process of getting
it at the hospital and I expect to try it out as soon as it arrives. Would be
nice to get our fleas under control before the next flea season starts ;-)

						Trace

    Fleas ! hate em!

    Frontline does last, but Advantage just did a study showing that it
    does have activity after a bath.  It is still 92% effective 3 weeks
    after a bath (so if you apply advantage & bathe 1 week later, it still
    will have good efficacy for the whole 4 weeks).
    
    Also, Frontline is touted as a tick killer.  However, it takes like
    12-24 hours (or more) to kill the ticks, so it's not really much of a
    benefit from a medical point of view since the ticks will already have
    transmitted any of the diseases by then.  (but it's still better than
    nothing!).  Plus Frontline is now available in a pour-on (like
    Advantage), so it's much easier to apply (you used to have to soak the
    whole animal with the spray).  The Advantick collar is still the best
    tick preventative around - really effective.
    

    Just to be clear about my last note - Frontline takes 12-24 hours
    (plus) to kill a *single* tick (not all the ticks on the body).

3 months for fleas and a month for ticks.

					Trace

    A friend of mine has an older dog whose skin is too sensitive for
    things like advantage.  They use oil of citronella (sp?) on him.  Does
    anyone here have any experience with that?

    >>    things like advantage.  They use oil of citronella (sp?) on him.  
    
    I do know that I've used a mail-order shampoo that has orange peel
    in it and that's supposed to kill fleas.  
    
    What seemed to make the biggest difference in my dogs was brewer's
    yeast and garlic powder.  Two summers ago we started having a flea
    problem, so that fall I began to add the powder to the dogs' food.
    The next season we were flea-free, and have seen none of the little
    buggers since.  Since that was really the only factor that changed,
    I've now become a faithful user of brewer's yeast and garlic year
    round. 
     
    Sue

    Do you add it to dry food??  Seems like it would just filter to the
    bottom of the bowl.  

     >Do you add it to dry food??  Seems like it would just filter to the
     >bottom of the bowl.  
     
    That's why dogs have tongues, silly human! :^)
    
    I add brewer's yeast to my dogs' food, and they love it! They usually
    get it on their whiskers, and chins, and walk around licking themselves
    and each other to get it off.
    
    As has been noted in othe places in this notesfile, some dogs are
    allergic to brewer's yeast, it can cause a skin rash.
    
    Your milage and your dog may vary...
    
    ****andrea****

    Re:  .24
    
>>    Do you add it to dry food??  Seems like it would just filter to the
>>    bottom of the bowl.  
    
    Actually, the way I do it is to sprinkle the powder on about one and
    a half cups of dry food, shake it a bit to mix it, then add about a half 
    cup or so of warm water and shake it some more.  It makes sort of a gravy 
    that the dogs seem to like, plus I've heard that adding water can help 
    prevent bloat.
    
    Sue

    I bought some brewers yeast at the pet store without looking very
    closely.  It's not powered, it's in tablets.  Patches doesn't seem to
    like just the tablet.  He took the first one just fine, but ever since
    he runs off with it like he thinks it's a special treat and then I find
    it later, slightly gnawed at, but still whole.  Guess I'll have to
    crush them and add them to his food.  Unless someone else has a better
    idea?