Frontline makes my puppy so oily!!?

Question

Frontline is a topical application that is very oily and makes his coat oily. I was debating between k9 advantix and frontline as to which was better--but both are topical.

Now of course after you bath him, his coat is fine so its not oily for the whole month--just a few days.

Is there an ORAL medication that kills ticks and fleas like Frontline that **you have tried** and been happy with? Or do you think Frontline Plus is the best available and not worth it to change? My vet doesn't care--they are all amount of preference and all regarding if they are working. It works fine--but I'd prefer something oral. Any suggestions?

(I asked this ques before and for some odd reason everyone though I was asking something about bathing him often. No--as the topic line suggests--my question is about topical flea and tick medication)

Our Frontline Plus is in a lil dispenser and you cut open the top, not a spray. Though I may look into the spray. The garlic pills sound interesting. Does anyone know if it repells mosquitos as well? Do they sell them at pet stores or where?

Answer 1

i've never heard of anything that was oral for full coverage. i remember that they use to sell the garlic pills for dogs and that was for the flea and tick...but that was about 20 years ago.

i noticed when i used frontline, it was jst that little area that was oily and then it was gone after 2 days. my 7 month old pup's coat is shiny, but not oily.

Answer 2

Frontline spot-on has an oil base, frontline spray does not. Which have you tried?
The only oral medication I would be happy with is Program by Novartis.
Other spot-on medications with good efficacy include: Advantage and Stronghold. Frontline Plus is better if you have an existing flea infestation that you are treating, otherwise Frontline is fine as a prevention.

Answer 3

Topical treatments work by using the natural oils in the skin to spread over the whole body and to last as long as they do. Bathing can shorten the lenght of time that they will work, by striping the natural oils from the skin. As far as oral, there are pills sold by the vet. If I remember correctly they don't all kill the fleas and ticks, some repel them. Some of them are combo pills, heartworm prevetative and flea. Also have you tried garlic pills? They repel (not kill), but work well.

Answer 4

We have found that the more natural the better. We put Garlic powder (or salt) on the dogs food (insects of all kinds hate garlic) and one capful of Apple Cider Vinegar per gallon of drinking water. This repels fleas and ticks. We also use a non-chemical flea and tick repelent on the lawn a day before we are due to have rain.

Answer 5

I have tried Program but I think Frontline Plus is a better product despite the oiliness. The oil seems to dissipate after a few days and you can wash it off a day or two after application without hurting its effectiveness (you can't do this with Advantage though).

Answer 6

Ok, I've got a whole community of animals in my home...Frontline (any kind spray or topical) worked for about a year in my home then it just simply wasn't strong enough anymore. The oilyness could be from a yeast infection of the skin, I have a mini daschi and about once a year we have to give him an oatmeal & baking soda bath to get the oilyness off of him.....Nothing oral is good!!! Risks are too high and they still have a lot of research to accomplish before a safe one is used regularly.....I use K-9 advantix for my dog and revolution for my cats.....Check out this site for info & to compare prices...http://medi-vet.com/
*some of these meds are availabe through RX only, that's where your vet comes in:) These are wholesale prices and your vet cannot offer this kind of awesome price...