Advocate flea treatment

[Sus]

Has anyone used Advocate as a flea treatment?
I have been using Frontline successfully since I got Biddy but have found 2 fleas on her, luckily she has got white fur so they were easy to see as she is not the best for being examined
I phoned the vet and she suggested trying Advocate first as it is cheaper and if it does not work to go for prescription treatment which is a lot more expensive.
One is about 5 pound a month the other is 14. I had not heard of Advocate before so would welcome advice if anyone has used it at all

 

[excuseme]

I am not a lover of monthly chemicals being put on our dogs skins but last summer we were not able to clear a flea problem with the good old faithful Frontline spray. I went to our vet and decided to use "Advocate" (a monthly spot on). We used this product for 3 months to break the flea cycle and have not seen a flea since!
The girls suffered NO noticeable side effects and I would use it again if I had to
"Advocate" is a POM medicine/treatment.

.

 

[Sus]

Thanks for that excuseme I will definitely give it a go. I have already changed her beds, hoovered and sprayed everywhere but guess I will have to do it again after I use the Advocate to make sure there are no more lurking about

 

[excuseme]

You may not see an instant result as the fleas lifecycle takes a while to overcome, but it will work.

 

[Tinytom]

Has she been wormed too ..certain fleas come from worm larvae ...

 

[Sus]

Thanks Tinytom, yes I have wormed her but wondering about the effectiveness of the products I am using
Am even more concerned about what flea product now
I decided to go through the vet for it rather than buy online as the prescription will cost 25 pound and I do not want to buy more than 3 months worth at first to make sure it works
I phoned yesterday to order it (you have to order the day before) and was informed that they tend to use Nexguard rather than Advocat flea treatment as it was more effective. I said I would just read up on it first and would phone back with order today. Have phoned up today and was told from Jan they have now started using Simparica trio which is similar to Nexgaurd but now being supplied by their company instead
They obviously know about these products and I am sure that it will work but am I going for overkill here.
I do not want to go for a stronger product just because it is more effective when a weaker product would do the job or are they all about the same?
They are also going to let me know how long I have to wait to give it after applying the Frontline

 

[Tinytom]

I use nexguard and droncit wormers ...

 

[JoanneF]

I can't speak for these specific products but I have heard that fleas have built a resistance to some, so newer and more effective ones had to be developed.

My view - and its only my opinion - a flea infestation is so hard to eradicate, I'd personally rather bring out the big guns at the start.

 

[Sus]

Thanks for your suggestions, I will go with whatever the vet suggests tomorrow and maybe get worming tablets from them too though I think something is included with the Simparica trio, will find out anyway. Thanks JoanneF that makes sense going with whatever works

 

[excuseme]

As long as the medications in the different products are not the same, and that you are not doubling up on any product, you should be fine.

 

[Sus]

Am totally disillusioned with all advice and treatments from vet
Collected Simparica trio from vets and found that they had included worm treatment too. I said that I had not ordered it. They explained that it was ok to give flea treatment straight away as ingredients were different from Frontline and that the Droncit worm treatment should be given alongside the Simparica but to make sure that nothing I had at home contained the same ingredients so I agreed to take it
I gave Biddy the Simparica and she ate it but she refused to eat the Droncit so I placed it back in the packaging to add to her food the next day
I am so glad she did not eat it, after looking it up I discovered that the 50 mg tablet was far too much for her weight of 3.5kg. When I studied the small print of the box it said that she should have 1/2 tablet. At no time was I informed that she should not have the whole tablet. I am so angry, what if I had given it and she had taken the whole tablet.
On top of everything else, I now do not believe she had fleas in the first place. My brother seems to think that it may have been an insect
There has been nothing else found on her, I have been passing her on to friend to check her as I am a bit soft when checking her coat as she does not like it. I have had nothing at all in the house
Her scratching which first alerted me to check her out seems to be because her original skin condition which I have visited the vet for on numerous occasions seems to be back, she has got the light brown, scaly, dry skin, dandruff type thing again. I was devastated, have started applying stinky dog stuff to all affected areas
I am at my wits end
Do I go back and pour money down the drain for more wrong diagnosis and treatment, I have requested scrapings before but have been ignored. I do think they are unable to correctly assess
I am on the verge of giving her to a charity as I do not seem to have the know how or funds to cure Biddy or relieve her of her symptoms
There are only 2 practices in the town I live in and I no longer trust either of them

 

[Flobo]

@Sus I've only just seen your last post, I'm so sorry to hear you are having all these troubles with your vets and that you feel so worried about your ability to continue your care of Biddy. Please remember the failings are with your vets not with you... You have every right to write down all these concerns and problems you've experienced with your vet practice, especially the wrong dosage of the wormer being prescribed, and take it to the vets and ask to speak to the manager. If you have it all written down it will help, tell them you've lost faith in them and you are still worried about Biddy. Take a friend with you for support too. You have come so far with this little mite and she has come on loads since you adopted her, please, please hang on in there. Her itching may well be stress/anxiety related and just have to be managed as apposed to cured...

 

[JudyN]

I am on the verge of giving her to a charity as I do not seem to have the know how or funds to cure Biddy or relieve her of her symptoms

The vets don't seem to know either, so please don't feel inadequate. Often we just have to accept that we're doing the best we can, and then relax with that knowledge. You might even find that when you relax, Biddy will be more relaxed and feel better in herself too. It is so much better for Biddy to be with you, than going to a charity who also would be limited in what they can do.

Hubby gets eczema, and every winter can be itchy. He doesn't want to be slathered with steroids for 6 months of the year, so he just accepts this and gets on with life. Chances are Biddy can do the same and she certainly won't be worrying about scurfy bits.

 

[Sus]

Thank you Flobo and JudyN, I have calmed down now and discussed my concerns with the vet I declined more steroids or a second month of Apoquell (vet is convinced that it is an allergy) even though it worked but came back within weeks of stopping, I do not want her on long term medication
She has now had her 1st injection of Cytopoint and they did not charge me for another vet consultation, letting the nurse give the first dose and it has worked almost immediately which has convinced me more now that the vet was right all the time. I only wish this had been suggested last year
I have also stopped giving her the Youmove skin and coat supplement on her food once a week. The vet said that she thought it contained shellfish which can cause skin allergies in some dogs
She actually slept through last night with no scratching, chewing and licking her paws and belly, her skin even looks better
I did not even have to get up in the night to let her out which I had been doing 2 or 3 times a night. I think this was just because she was awake and maybe it was just something to take her mind off her irritated skin
Hopefully I will sleep through tonight now that I know she has settled
I have to take her for another injection in a month and then I am hoping she wont need another one for a while
Fingers crossed that we have reached a solution at last. It has been a long 18 months and she has seemed to get something wrong with her the entire time she has been with me but I am hoping this is the last thing
Thank you for your kind comments

 

[JudyN]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you too

 

[Flobo]

Me too

 

[JoanneF]

I'm glad to see you are feeling more positive about it, I really hope the Cytopoint works well for her.

 

[Hemlock]

Everything crossed for you here as well.

 

[Sus]

Thank you everyone

 

[arealhuman]

Glad to hear the positive news, long may it continue ad well done to you @Sus for persevering with this little soul, you truly are admirable.