what is the difference between advantage and frontline?

Question

I have need to treat my dogs and cats for fleas. I've used frontline and it worked great but that was a couple of years ago and once again...my dog has them! I've heard advantage is really good and frontline is very bad. Some say frontline is bad only when you use it every month for long periods of time. Any advice?

Answer 1

Advantage only does fleas.
Use Advantage monthly to kill fleas within minutes. The active ingredient is imidacloprid, which acts on the nervous system of the flea to cause paralysis and subsequent death. Advantage stops biting fleas in three to five minutes and starts to kill adult fleas within an hour after application. Within 12 hours of application, 98-100 percent of fleas are dead. This is important because flea bites can lead to skin infections, cause discomfort for your pet, lead to allergic skin reactions, and can even transmit other disease-causing organisms, including tapeworms.You won't need to use another flea control product. Advantage kills fleas before they lay eggs, so their life cycle is broken at multiple stages. It also kills flea larvae within 20 minutes of contact.

FRONTLINE Plus is ideal for use on puppies and kittens 8 weeks of age or older. Not only does FRONTINE Plus kill up to 100% of adult fleas on your pet within 24 hours, it also contains a special ingredient that kills flea eggs and larvae to keep ALL stages of fleas from developing and bothering your pet and your family.
FRONTLINE Plus completely breaks the flea life cycle by effectively stopping the development of new fleas. And, FRONTLINE Plus kills all stages of 4 major ticks, including the one that may carry Lyme disease.

There is another product called, Capstar,
CAPSTAR Tablets kill adult fleas and are indicated for the treatment of flea infestations on dogs, puppies, cats and kittens 4 weeks of age and older and 2 pounds of body weight or greater.
A single dose of CAPSTAR should kill the adult fleas on your pet. If your pet gets re-infested with fleas, you can safely give another dose as often as once per day.
http://www.capstar.novartis.us/dog/en/label.shtml

Treat all infested pets in the household. Fleas can reproduce on untreated pets and allow infestations to persist.

As far as reaction, all pets are different, all "veterinarian topicals" are very safe to use. However some pets may be more sensitive to others. If purchase from a vet, both frontline and advantage have GUARANTEES!!!

Answer 2

The difference is that they use different active ingredients and frontline is effective against ticks but advantage is not. In recent years there has generally been a build up of resistance to both and neither works as well as they did when they were introduced to the market for flea control. There are new flea controls available (both topical and oral) that are working good at this time. It would be best to visit your local vet so that the dogs and cats can be weighed and treated with the best product at the correct dosage.

Answer 3

Yeah, people who don't understand what they're talking about say Frontline is bad. It isn't.

Frontline and Advantage are different chemicals that do different things. Frontline is fipronil, which kills fleas and ticks. Advantage is imidacloprid which kills flea and oh, I forget what else. They're both very good for fleas though.

Anyway - you said the Frontline worked great, so why aren't you getting some more? It only lasts for a month in cats and 2 months in dogs, so that treatment 2 years ago won't be doing anything now!

Chalice

Answer 4

stick with frontline plus. the advantage will wash off without using a special shampoo. with the frontline, after 24 hours, you can wash them in anything. the advantage does not take care of ticks. the frontline does. just make sure you are getting the frontline plus. have you ever heard of Advantix? i tested this product on my shepherds when they were alive and really liked it. not only does it kill fleas and ticks but it also helped with mosquitoes and black flies. don't know where you live so you may not have a big problem with black flies. here in n.h. we have a black fly season! so good luck.

Answer 5

There are basically two different that attack cats and dogs. They are, surprisingly enough, cat fleas and dog fleas. Frontline works better on the one type and advantage works better on the other type. You can't tell what type of flea you are dealing with unless you look at the combs on their back legs and count them, because either flea can and will attack either animal.

If the Frontline isn't working, switch. You are dealing with a different type of flea then you were before.

Answer 6

FRONTLINE:

Kills up to 100% of existing fleas in less than 24 hours
• Continues killing fleas for an entire month or more
• Remains waterproof for 30 days, even if your dog or cat swims or is bathed
• Gentle enough for use on puppies and kittens 8 weeks of age or older

FRONTLINE Plus is ideal for use on puppies and kittens 8 weeks of age or older. Not only does FRONTINE Plus kill up to 100% of adult fleas on your pet within 24 hours, it also contains a special ingredient (Fipronil) that kills flea eggs and larvae to keep ALL stages of fleas from developing and bothering your pet and your family.

FRONTLINE Plus completely breaks the flea life cycle by effectively stopping the development of new fleas. And, FRONTLINE Plus kills all stages of 4 major ticks, including the one that may carry Lyme disease.

ADVANTAGE:
Stops biting fleas in three to five minutes
Kills 98 - 100 percent of fleas within 12 hours
Kills reinfesting fleas within two hours
Kills flea larvae within 20 minutes
Remains effective after swimming or shampooing
Protects from fleas all month long

Use Advantage monthly to kill fleas within minutes. The active ingredient is imidacloprid, which acts on the nervous system of the flea to cause paralysis and subsequent death. Advantage stops biting fleas in three to five minutes and starts to kill adult fleas within an hour after application. Within 12 hours of application, 98-100 percent of fleas are dead. This is important because flea bites can lead to skin infections, cause discomfort for your pet, lead to allergic skin reactions, and can even transmit other disease-causing organisms, including tapeworms.
You won't need to use another flea control product. Advantage kills fleas before they lay eggs, so their life cycle is broken at multiple stages. It also kills flea larvae within 20 minutes of contact.

At anytime, an animal can become immune to a product that is used over any length of time...just like humans can become immune to medications. Some clients use one product one year and one product the next.

They are both equally good products. If you are just worried about fleas, use Advantage. If there are threats of ticks in your area, use Frontline. The decision is yours. You use what seems to work best. If for some reason the Frontline is no longer working, try Advantage.

Answer 7

Depends on what you are doing, and if you need treatment for ticks.

There is also Revolution (which I use a lot on cats because of its effectiveness on ear mites).

The more important question, out of the gates, is what is your dog's breed?

In the herding breeds (e.g. border collies, collies, aussies etc.) many have a serious reaction to ivermectin or selemectin (selemectin is the active ingredient in Revolution).

Animals with a sensitivity to this can DIE when exposed to ivermectin.

The old saying "white feet, don't treat" is shorthand for this.

Best is asking your vet about YOUR dog's needs. If the vet suspects ivermectin intolerance, their recommendation can literally save your dog's life.

Ivermectin/selemectin family drug intolerance can now be testing in the herding breeds. If you dog is a herding breed, or herding breed x, you can talk to your vet about that testing.

Then you know for sure.

Answer 8

I use frontline, just apply it every month in the summer and wash them every week.....keeps the bugies away...never had a problem

Answer 9

i've heard advantage causes seizures. i use frontline.