I thought I would update on our experience with Comfortis. I was really hesistant to use it, but I am so glad I did.

This stuff has been a miracle for Nico,

By the beginning of August she was almost bald from the ribs back and had a huge hot spot.

This was after months of battling the little nasties with baths, frontline, advantage, sprays, powders, vaccuuming daily, flea traps etc.

We weren't heavily infested but she is severely allergic.

Her coat is fully back in and shiny and soft ZERO bald spots!! Her skin is pink and healthy looking without the blackening that comes with allergies and the inevitable yeast.

She had a check-up on friday and the Vet said she looked better than he would expect considering her age, allergies and the cancer.

Funny enough as I was sitting here typing Chad just brought up how good she looks.

This is wonderful to read!

I just started Ollie on Comfortis last week....same deal. Nothing worked, and with his sensitive skin, the more things I tried, the more he itched and became inflamed.

I'm glad it's working for her...gives me hope.

It truly has been like a miracle I was so frustrated and felt so guilty that despite everything I was doing we were still getting fleas and making her sick.

The other thing I really like about it is that I can bathe and rinse her as much as she needs without washing off the medicine, she has seasonal allergies too and right now lukewarm baths with a very gentle shampoo make a big difference.

The Comfortis with the dogs is also so effective that I have been able to keep the cats on frontline, and I haven't seen a single flea on anyone for at least a month.

It was so weird. I had treated him with frontline and didn't really consider fleas until I saw one on him.

I never saw any more but he was scratching himself raw. It's been just a few days since I gave him the comfortis and he is MUCH more comfortable. I also like the idea of being able to rinse him without worry. He's one of those strange dogs that loves baths and I think it soothes his already sensitive skin.

LOL...my kids thought I'd lost my mind, vacuuming like mad and washing everything all in one evening. But I HATE bugs and was terrified I'd get an infestation.

I'm glad she got her coat back! That is a terrible guilty feeling when your dog is suffering.

This is such great news Jennifer!! I'm glad it's working so well. It's honestly the only thing that's been able to get fleas off Conan as well.

The initial risks were scary, but if the dogs handle it well I really think it's a miracle flea control!

The problem with frontline is that it kills fleas when they bite the dog. However, it does not repel them. Each flea must actually bite the dog in order to die. This does very little for dogs that have flea allergies. Another problem with this is that fleas only spend about 5% of their life on animals. So this means if theres fleas jumping on your dog or cat you are only seeing roughly 5% of the fleas in the area. Thats a scary thought. I recently attended a flea and tick seminar given by Bayer. I picked up a lot of info there that took me by suprise. One of the most valuable tidbits was that in order for topical spot on treatments to be effective, the animals skin must have a healthy natural oil layer. Which, in dogs with flea allergies or skin problems, is rare. So basically anything you put on them is wasted. Another couple random facts- Advantage and Advantix can be applied up to once a week in extreme allergy situations with no danger to the animal. Also, those two products workon any flea that touches the animal- they dont have to bite. And lastly, they also work residually in the house because any fur or dander that falls off the dog will control roaming fleas.

That info may be irrelevant to the OP but may help out those having flea issues that may stumble on this thread. The Bayer company has done some really thorough research on fleas. Very worth reading their material even if you dont use their products.

Edited by Jessica Pedicord (10/19/2010 06:21 PM)
Edit reason: typos

Frontline actually does kills fleas without the fleas biting the dogs. This is from their site, and our derma vet confirmed this for me a couple weeks ago:

"Fleas and ticks do not have to bite your pet for FRONTLINE Brand Products to work. FRONTLINE Brand Products kill fleas and ticks if they simply come into contact with your pet's haircoat. The fleas will die within 12 hours of contact with your treated pet**, and ticks will die within 48 hours"

She also said that neither Frontline nor Comfortis repel fleas, and that the fleas must bite the dog in order to die with Comfortis. Comfortis is an insecticide that causes the fleas to have a big seizure that kills them. It is not in the hairs of the dog like Frontline, it is in the bloodstream instead.

The problem was the neither frontline or advantage were working well enough to actually kill the fleas, or kill them in a timely manner.

All the ones we would find were very small, I don't know if they were being stunted by the meds or if they were freshly hatched but we rarely found a full sized flea.

Wow Jennifer, I sure feel for you. No advice, I've never battled these guys but sure sounds like a fight. Really good information here should this problem creep up.

It's so good to hear that the Comfortis is providing Nico some relief.

 Quote: Jennifer Lee

The problem was the neither frontline or advantage were working well enough to actually kill the fleas, or kill them in a timely manner.

All the ones we would find were very small, I don't know if they were being stunted by the meds or if they were freshly hatched but we rarely found a full sized flea.

Yeah, we have seen fleas once in a while on Kasey with the Frontline, and they were small too! I always wondered about that - just thought maybe California fleas were small! I tried Kasey on Comfortis because he has big time alleriges too, but he kept throwing them up so the derma vet said it was a no-go. But she has had a lot of success with her other patients who are on it. In dogs that are really bad she has them put Frontline on, wait 2 weeks and then give them a Comfortis, wait 2 weeks more Frontline and so on. That way the dog is covered all the time because she says that both of them start to fizzle out a little after 3 weeks and that's why you see an occassional flea. I hate using any of the flea products, but we must!