Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Best Flea Medicine For Dogs - Rotate Flea Medicines To Maintain Flea Killing Properties

By D. Thurmond, D.V.M.

Gone are the strong flea dips and nasty powders we once used to protect dogs from fleas. Advanced in veterinary medicine now allow us to choose form a variety of flea medicines for dogs that are not only work as promised but are affordable, too. Frontline Plus offers topical flea drops as well a spray that can save money for those with multiple pets. The spot on flea prevention meds are popular with pet owners for their ease of use.

Price is only one consideration when purchasing flea products. Newer flea meds protect against other parasites as well and can allow dog owners to use one product rather than buying several different pet meds. The prices of dog flea medicines that also protect against other threats are higher than one focused only on killing fleas.

Another factor is the number of pests that are common where you live. In humid, warm climates heartworms and mosquitoes that spread heartworm disease are prevalent and may be active year round. Areas that are heavily forested may have high tick populations that threaten the health of pets. When Advantage flea medication was released, it was the first topical spot on flea treatment for dogs that was effective for a full month. Pet owners happily accepted this product that promised to rid their dogs of nasty, blood sucking fleas. A new addition to the Advantage line is Advantage Multi for dogs which kills parasites such as heartworm, roundworm, whipworm and hookworm but does not control ticks.

For tick killing, choose Frontline Plus which targets brown dog ticks, lone star ticks and American dog ticks as well as killing fleas present on the animal and interrupting the flea life cycle. For dogs over 8 weeks of age, Frontline Plus helps control chewing lice and sarcoptic mange. For locales with high numbers of mosquitoes, K9 Advantix is the choice, offering flea, tick and mosquito protection.

Revolution is a prescription medicine that is well named. This topical treatment offers a wide range of protection for dogs, killing fleas and flea eggs and American dog ticks. Revolution also treats ear mites, controls sarcoptic mites and is a heart preventive dog med. It is considered safe for use on puppies over six weeks old and for pregnant or lactating dogs.

Capstar offers a single dose pill that kills all adult fleas present on your dog within hours. There is no long term flea killing medication in Capstar but this one dose pet med can be followed 24 hours later with one of the spot on products that will break the flea life cycle. If your dog is boarded, shown or you've just brought him home from the shelter, Capstar will kill any fleas travelling with him. A recent addition to dog flea meds is Comfortis which is administered with a tasty wafer given once each month. Comfortis is fast acting and begins killing fleas on your pet within 30 minutes with protection that lasts for 30 days.

There are now many flea medicines for dogs that provide superior flea killing capability at reasonable cost. Some are avialable over the counter while others are by prescription only from your vet. For either type, pet owners can find the best prices for flea meds online. By shopping at a veterinarian owned website you are sure to receive fresh, authentic dog flea medicine at great prices.

It's best not to become overly fond of any one flea treatment for dogs. Fleas adapt quickly and in as little as one year can become at least partially immune to a specific flea medication. Advantage, Frontline Plus,K9 Advantix, Revolution and Comfortis have different flea killing ingredients. Changing brands once a year will keep fleas from developing immunity to any one flea medicine for dogs.

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