Ask the Groomer: Why isn't Frontline Plus working for my dog?
Dear Kendra,
My groomer told me that my dog has fleas. I don't understand why this is happening! I use Frontline Plus every month - sometimes even twice per month, and I keep her very clean. I wash her at least once a week. Please help!
Love,
A growing number of your clients :)
OK, so I wrote the question myself, but it's just a paraphrased version of a conversation that happens between my clients and myself at least three times per week. Everyone wants reliable flea control, and I'm here to help. Here we go:
I believe that Frontline Plus is a great product. I'm going to list some facts for you that you can check for yourself at Merial's website. This stuff will kill all of the fleas on the dog in less than one day, and it continues to kill them for at least a month. It also prevents the fleas from reproducing. The "Plus" is all about the tick control. It really does help my woodsy clients with their tick problems. They might come in with a couple of ticks, but before they were on Frontline Plus they'd have TONS of ticks. I've never had any clients have adverse reactions in their dogs or themselves related to their use of the product. Also, if you use it right your pets will work for you as mobile flea assassination units in your home. Any fleas hanging out in your house will see the yummy critter, jump on, bite, and die. So, like I said, it's great. Well, it CAN be great...
Here are some kickers:
#1: You really have to use the proper dose for your pet. There are some people out there who "divide" the largest dose among their pack of small animals. This does not work well at all. Ultimately, you are wasting your money on that large pack because it's not going to be effective. You'd have to really analyze the required dosages and deliveries required for each of your pets in order to have any success with that method, and most people (and the very few vet techs who allow thier clients to do this) just don't.
#2: Read the fine print yourself, or ask you veterinarian to demonstrate proper application technique. The product must be applied to the skin, and between the shoulder blades where the dog can't lick or rub it off. If you're putting it on a double-coated breed you are really going to have to dig down and part the hair and find that skin. It's worth the effort! Just as importantly, you should not apply this product at least 48 hours before or after a bath. We tell people 72 in case they are "just a few hours" cheaters! More about the reason behind this coming right up:
#3: This is the one that my clients are having problems with: Frontline relies on your pet's oil system for distribution. If your pet is dry by nature, you probably will not have good results with Frontline and should try something else, such as the Revolution spot-on by Pfizer, or the Comfortis pill by Lilly. Devoted Frontline fans can always try the Frontline Spray, though I assume you'd have to administer it after every bath. If you are bathing your dog once a week or more, you probably will not have good results. (You really shouldn't give your dog such frequent baths anyway, but I'll save that discussion for a later post :) Frequent bath offenders should try to only bathe once per month, three days before Frontline application. If you just can't stand to wait that long between baths, consider one of the alternatives above.
I hope that helps some of you who are having problems with Frontline. Good luck, and feel free to ask questions or comment about your experience with flea control!
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