Flea product question....has anyone heard of Frontline and Advantage being sold at Petsmart and Petco as.....?

Question

knock-off products......meaning not bought from the distributer. Has anyone had luck with those products from the above mentioned pet stores?

Answer 1

If the packet is a legit looking front-line pack, it usually is. I use front line for my dogs and it works every time. No worries

Answer 2

mjmorrisey99 is absolutely right about the hartz products and about only purchasing flea/tick preventative from a reputable place (namely your vet). Hartz is not only ineffective but deadly. I have seen quite a few toxic reactions to it in cats at the animal hospital where I work and even a few deaths. I can't quite understand why the product isn't off of the market. It's infuriating !!! Also, we don't recommend purchasing flea and tick prevention from places such as petmeds express, etc... it has nothing to do with, as people say, vets "trying to make a buck" it's in your pets best interest to purchase it through your vet who purchases it through the actual manufacturer. ANyway, mu opinion is if fleas AND ticks concern you then Frontline is a must. Advantage is only for fleas and I've heard many people say if fleas are the only concern that advantage works best anyway. I'm not really sure about Revolution-we only rarely use it at my hospital.... and it's controversial wether or not it protects against deer ticks anyway !!!

Answer 3

Frontline is sold throughout NZ and is excellent. You apply it to the animal at least 3 days after you have bathed it as it works on the fat layer under the skin. You must keep your animal out of the direct sunlight for the first hour after application however as it will break bown the effectivness of the product. This product is effective against fleas and ticks. Once applied it works for up to 3 months at a time. Advantage is also widely used here and is an effective treatment agains fleas,mites & worms.

Answer 4

No, absolutely not. As a Petsmart employee, I can tell you that we don't carry the prescription strength treatments that are typically only available through a vet (i.e. Frontline, Revolution, Advantage, etc.). I would be wary of buying any "knock off" products claiming to be Frontline. Petsmart carries brands like Zodiac, Bio Spot, Hartz, and Sentry, most of which are permethrin-based. Fronline and Revolution, etc., are in the ivermectin family.

Personally, I'd stay away from the store-brands and go with Frontline or Revolution. They're more expensive, but they're guaranteed to work, unlike the others which may be cheaper, but aren't always as effective.

Answer 5

Both of these products are by prescription only, they can only be sold at one of these stores if there is a veterinary clinic also on site. There are no offbrand over the counter versions. The ones like Biospot or Hartz are pyrethrin based, not nearly as effective and potentially very dangerous (especially to cats) I've seen many case of bad reactions to these, and would never recommend anyone use them.

Answer 6

Idk about there being actual generic versions of Frontline and Advantage, but please avoid the grocerie store brands, ESPECIALLY HARTZ. They have a horrible reputation.
http://hartzvictims.org/

If you are looking to save a few bucks, then if you do things such as vacuum everyday (throw contents away outside and sealed everyday) and flea comb, then there will be fewer fleas and you can simply buy the flea products less often.

Lahoma
http://www.ahealthierpet.com

Answer 7

My advice is to get the proper flea-meds from your Vet as he/she has the real thing.
Don't purchase any of the over the counter products as they might be harmful to your pet. When I see the flea products and fleas collars at Walmart, I cringe. These products contain harmful chemicals and endanger the health of your pet. Would you want a chemical laden collar next to your skin??? You most likely would suffer from allergic reactions or worth yet, poisoning.

I have used Advantage on both of my cats when we moved to a different house in a different state. We did not know that the house was over run by hundreds of fleas from the former owner's cat. Our cats and we were assaulted by fleas and bitten mercylessly until we took action and purchased Advantage.

It took 2 rounds of Advantage and lots of vacuuming (changing the bag in the vac often), but we won the battle against these little beasties. To date, NO MORE FLEAS.

Answer 8

If you get Frontline or Advantage PLEASE save yourself a ton of money and order from PetMeds.com or petcarerx.com because the price difference was huge compared to what my vet charges. The products from these sites are real so no worries there. I don't know why the vet charges so much when you can get so much cheaper, I felt so taken advantage of.

Answer 9

I'm pretty sure we don't sell Frontline at Petsmart... and we wouldn't be able to pull off selling knock-off products because we are corporate and the stores are inspected atleast twice a month! Can't tell you about Petco though...

Answer 10

advantage is ok but its not that good. frontlineplus is the best on the market and works. you need to order it from on line carealot.com its cheaper there and they send it to you in couple days. put on back where shoulder blades are every month same date. those places you mentioned do not sell them and vets do sometimes feed stores do sell it but i thinkits cheaper on line its very hard to find but its best. take care. i use it all the time and no fleas at all or ticks.

Answer 11

It's best to get the brand name.. Frontline and Advantage are the top sellers and have proven to do the job.