ok, guys, i "frontline" my dogs 1x/month, but they're 8/10 yrs respectively. i do live in a tick-heavy area, and am getting a pup within the next month (8-9 wks old).

question: do i start him immediately or not? he has a 72-hr guarantee, so shall i just go w/vet's recomendation? this is a large-animal vet mostly, but i've found him to be good w/the dogs. ie, no nonsense; if there's a common-sense (read: cheaper) way to deal w/the problem, he's all for it.

what d'ya think?

I'd be pretty careful putting any kind of chemical like that on a puppy. Actually, no. I wouldn't be careful. I wouldn't do it at all. I don't use any of that on any of mine, but have been told not to use it on my epileptic, which I would take to mean it definitely is not "totally harmless." I would treat a puppy in the same manner as a special needs adult, so my opinion on the matter is NO.

ahhh-but jenni, the package states "8 wks or older", and i DO live out in "the middle of no-where", which happens to be FULL of ticks, and my older dogs do run the property (8 A), therefore, the pup will be exposed.

have you ever seen flea-anemia? it kills (little dogs like your Chi); i have, and i've bathed enough pups/dogs/cats w/enough fleas to kill 'em that, the frontline is a cheap (long run) way to keep the bugs under control.

my question is: with the big dogs already on frontline (and the cat,too, BTW), what's the opinion on dosing the pup w/it too?

It's perfectly reasonable to use Frontline on a puppy if the dosage is correct.

Ann, I'd ask a vet with half a brain and some common sense. I don't really care what the package says; for some odd reason, I think the package may say what the drug companies write on it...and we all know drug companies tell the whole truth, nothing but the truth, and are always unbiased and without a personal agenda <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />.

Maybe it's just luck, but I back up to a forest preserve, full of deer with the dreaded deer ticks (Lyme's disease carriers), and yet my dogs have never had ticks, or even a single flea. They have also never been to the vet for sickness, ear infection, etc...

I shouldn't even open this can of worms, but what the heck...I've never been one to tread lightly... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I had seen this years ago, but this thread made me look it all up again. According to several vets, and many animal health experts, preventing parasites begins with a healthy immune system. Here are a few quotes I pulled really fast:

"Poor health attracts fleas and ticks. While there are natural remedies that are effective in treating them, a healthy lifestyle will actually prevent them. Parasites are attracted to "tasty" blood, therefore feeding a raw or all-natural diet may avoid the build-up of toxic waste in the system, which attracts parasites."

"The first thing we can do to prevent fleas and ticks is to keep our animals HEALTHY. Fleas and ticks are parasites and live in a balance with their animal hosts. It is true that a healthy animal does not seem to attract as many fleas and ticks as one in poor health and debilitated condition."

"If the animal's immune system is not functioning properly, if they're taking medication for a health issue, if they are eating a poor quality kibble, if they have digestive problems and do not absorb nutrients properly, then they may not have an immune system healty enough to repel internal parasites, skin bacteria, (such as Staph, which is ALWAYS present, but gets out of control when the immune system is weakened), fleas, ticks and other insect predators naturally. My dogs, being on a raw diet, have few problems with these pests, even though they abound in Texas! And I do not use flea and ticks products on them."

Well, now that I've undoubtedly invited some serious backlashing...I do have the sources of these quotes for anyone who'd be interested. These are snippets that I saved a while back, and are from 4 separate articles, which I can send anyone who wants them or is curious.

Ann, I want to clarify; I am not alleging that your animals are not healthy. You didn't say if yours had ever had these pests or if you were just told to treat them as if they have. It may be that yours wouldn't get them anyway, Frontline or not.

No, I've never seen flea-anemia, but I've seen all my neighbors dogs with horrible fleas from the rabbits and ticks from the deer. I have had several ticks; my dogs have had none. I've been treated for Lyme's Disease, and yet my dogs have never had a flea...

I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that their food comes out of the fridge, whole and raw, and mine comes out of a greasy bag from a drive-thru... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />. Maybe I should put mySELF on Frontline...or get myself to a vet. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

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It is true that a healthy animal does not seem to attract as many fleas and ticks as one in poor health and debilitated condition."

Well, that has to be the first load of garbage I have read this week!

Secondly, I have always used Frontline spray on babies (yung pups and kittens) and it works a charm, with no ill effects.

Sammy, I didn't say anywhere that Frontline was going to kill anyone. I just said I would be cautious of using it on a puppy. We weren't debating whether the stuff works or not; just whether it's totally safe. Like anything else, there's always a risk for some super-sensitive animals.

Secondly, *right or wrong*, there are several vets out there who seem to think this theory of overall health has some merit. Not that vets are infallible, of course <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />...but this is the *opinion* of more than a few. Just thought it would make for some interesting discussion...I like to liven things up, you know. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

We live in the middle of nowhere too.Ticks as big as dimes walk around all over the place!even after the ground has been chemically treated to kill them! We use Advantics on our dogs.It keeps them tick and flea free.The female is 3yrs,the male is 6mths.We were told by our vet to protect them with Advantics,our dogs are in wonderful health and we want to keep them that way!

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I like to liven things up, you know. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Yes I know