What I found out about fleas today. YIKES!

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by dsf3

I was having a flea problem for the first time with my 3 yr old Yorkie, Kodi. I always use Advantage every month, but I live in Florida and it was a very mild winter, so the fleas were extra bad. I tried everything, including the Avantage (which my vet said I could use every 2 weeks even tho the directions say 1X per month), Biospot and flea shampoo. I went to the vet and they gave me a new flea medicine called 'COMFORTIS" that is a monthly pill. I gave that to Kodi and the fleas stopped biting in just a few hours. You can use Comfortis AND a topical like Advantage if you want.

Hey, I think that's the name of the pill I was trying to think of earlier.... Comfortis. The fleas are so awful in our area this summer too. The vet recommended this Comfortis to be given two weeks after the other flea treatment we use so that you're treating basically every two weeks. He uses it on his dogs along with either a topical or the heartworm/flea combo pill - I think it was the two pills he said he uses.

It's kinda pricy though...... Comfortis - 1800PetMeds.com BUT if you substitute your topical stuff for this (because we always do the Sentinel plus the topical), I think the price is about the same. We are seriously considering doing the heartworm/flea pill along with the Comfortis and dropping the topical one we now use.

Okay, all this flea talk got me to really thinking. I called my vet and had another chat about it all. I told him I want to try the Comfortis (after reading the good reviews and upon his previous advice) and that we will give Tatum and Stormie (our Aust Shep) the Sentinel (heartworm/flea) and the Comfortis two weeks apart and stop giving the topical one (can't remember if we do Frontline or Advantage). He said during the cooler months, we can probably go back to using the topical instead of the Comfortis - mainly because I still have half a package left and didn't want to waste them. He said that would work out fine. So, all this talk finally convinced me to give it a try so thanks for bringing it up. My vet's price for the Comfortis is pretty much what Petmeds.com is but I am only buying a two month supply for each dog to try it out.

[donnarod]

FL is the flea capital of the world, my vet put Trickise on Comfortis, made by Lilly, a pill once a month and she has never had a flea. Comfortis.com - Home.
She has been on them for over 6 months, no side effects.
Good Luck,

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by grandmatoall

I looked up the site. It does not ask for a prescription. At least anywhere I could find. The Capstar says it starts working in 30 minutes.. one of the ladies there said it worked on her dog in 20 minutes.. With adult fleas dropping dead. But it needs to be used along with another flea killer. It only works for 24 hours per pill.

Right, Capstar is basically just an instant flea kill thing rather than a preventer. I've used it in the situation where I missed a dose of the other flea stuff and had to kill the couple fleas she had while waiting for her regular stuff to kick in. I've heard that groomers will sometimes use it to kill fleas on animals that come in to be groomed.

[Onni]

"Okay, found this for you.....Capstar - 1800PetMeds.com
The price is quite reasonable compared to the 5 bucks I pay for each at my vet. I don't know how petmeds.com works though. I think you have to have a prescription for some things. I'm sure someone else can help you out on that. There's some reviews to read too regarding the Capstar. There's Capstar for kitties too."

Capstar is great...BUT it only works for 24 hours then stop killing the fleas.

They have come out with a new 30 day pill now and it WORKS!!! All of my dogs are on it and NO MORE fleas. You give them one pill every 30 days.

Onni cannot be on it because she has to be at least 5 pounds. So we just bathe her, but since we have eliminated the fleas on all the other dogs, she rarely has any on her anyway.

If your Yorky is over 5 pounds though you can use it. Ask your vet about it. It is called Comfortis and is given by weight. This stuff WORKS GREAT!

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by Onni

"Okay, found this for you.....Capstar - 1800PetMeds.com
The price is quite reasonable compared to the 5 bucks I pay for each at my vet. I don't know how petmeds.com works though. I think you have to have a prescription for some things. I'm sure someone else can help you out on that. There's some reviews to read too regarding the Capstar. There's Capstar for kitties too."

Capstar is great...BUT it only works for 24 hours then stop killing the fleas.

They have come out with a new 30 day pill now and it WORKS!!! All of my dogs are on it and NO MORE fleas. You give them one pill every 30 days.

Onni cannot be on it because she has to be at least 5 pounds. So we just bathe her, but since we have eliminated the fleas on all the other dogs, she rarely has any on her anyway.

If your Yorky is over 5 pounds though you can use it. Ask your vet about it. It is called Comfortis and is given by weight. This stuff WORKS GREAT!

Up a few posts, I mentioned that we are going to try out the Comfortis too on both of our dogs. Out of curiousity, do you use anything else along with the Comfortis? My vet recommends we stay on the Sentinel (heartworm/flea pill) also and do them two weeks apart so that each pill is dosed a month apart with the other pill dosed in between... if that makes sense.

Oh, edited to say that my vet mentioned to me today that people are starting to come in and ask for Comfortis. There has been very little print advertising and no tv advertising so people are starting to hear about it word-of-mouth. He said if they come in and say that they are having problems that their normal monthly flea stuff can't handle, he recommends the Comfortis but if they come in just to refill their regular stuff, he doesn't usually mention it. I told him that from the good things I'm hearing, he should think about telling more people about it. So far, just on this thread, I think you're the second person to mention it plus myself but I couldn't remember the name of it at first.

[TatumsMom]

I just also wanted the OP to know that there is Capstar for kitties too so that she can get a jump on at least getting the fleas off of them while starting a monthly regimen on them also.

[YorkieRose]

If you ever see a flea on your Yorkie and can not catch it...dab it with vasoline..stops it in it's tracks an you can pick it up...

The flea does not live on the dog, just feeds on it, then it jumps off into the carpets, bedding etc...so for every flea you see on the dog, there are many more in the environment...I use Adam's aroudn the doors and in the house, so far we have had none here in south Florida...

[Onni]

Originally Posted by TatumsMom

Up a few posts, I mentioned that we are going to try out the Comfortis too on both of our dogs. Out of curiousity, do you use anything else along with the Comfortis? My vet recommends we stay on the Sentinel (heartworm/flea pill) also and do them two weeks apart so that each pill is dosed a month apart with the other pill dosed in between... if that makes sense.

Oh, edited to say that my vet mentioned to me today that people are starting to come in and ask for Comfortis. There has been very little print advertising and no tv advertising so people are starting to hear about it word-of-mouth. He said if they come in and say that they are having problems that their normal monthly flea stuff can't handle, he recommends the Comfortis but if they come in just to refill their regular stuff, he doesn't usually mention it. I told him that from the good things I'm hearing, he should think about telling more people about it. So far, just on this thread, I think you're the second person to mention it plus myself but I couldn't remember the name of it at first.

We use the Sentinel because Texas is known for heartworms, I don't think Sentinal is all that great for fleas. The Comfortis is working like nothing we have ever tried. Our dogs had horrible fleas even with using the Sentinal. Once we put them on the Comfortis, they have been flea free!!

It is relatively new I think and may be the reason most vets are still quiet about it. I went and picked some more up today for our dogs and asked the vet if others were having the same results, and they said; absolutely. This stuff is well worth the expense. You can't put a price on the fur babies being flea free!

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by Onni

We use the Sentinel because Texas is known for heartworms, I don't think Sentinal is all that great for fleas. The Comfortis is working like nothing we have ever tried. Our dogs had horrible fleas even with using the Sentinal. Once we put them on the Comfortis, they have been flea free!!

It is relatively new I think and may be the reason most vets are still quiet about it. I went and picked some more up today for our dogs and asked the vet if others were having the same results, and they said; absolutely. This stuff is well worth the expense. You can't put a price on the fur babies being flea free!

Yes, we'll stay with the Sentinel also but the fact that it's not so great with fleas is probably why we were using the topical also (Frontline, Advantage - can't remember which one we have). We will continue to use the Sentinel plus the Comfortis now. My vet said also that he's having more clients asking for Comfortis because it works so great. And I agree, flea-free babies are so much happier! Tatum is actually allergic to flea bites (we found out recently) so one little bite sends her on a bender! The thing is, nothing will actually keep the fleas from biting a dog - most things work after the flea actually bites. Advantage and Frontline (the topical ones) are supposed to kill the flea after it's been on the dog for a couple hours BUT the problem is the flea usually bites immediately. Darn fleas.... who the heck needs 'em!

[donnarod]

Did anyone read my post about Comfortis???????? It is great, NO FLEAS, but we are not suppose to use capital letters because it is YELLING!!!!

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by donnarod

Did anyone read my post about Comfortis???????? It is great, NO FLEAS, but we are not suppose to use capital letters because it is YELLING!!!!

Heck yes, I read it. You mentioning it was probably what made me call the vet this afternoon and talk to him about it. Tatum and Stormie are going to start it tonight. I hope everyone else is hearing us talk about it too!

Edited to say.... no, it was actually dsf3 that mentioned it first and that reminded me what it was called - although my vet had told me about it a couple months ago. No matter.... the more people that talk about it, the faster the word will get out there.