Frontline for dogs question

[horseshowmom]

I've read online that you can divide an XL size dose down to smaller doses for smaller dogs and save some money that way. I looked at my boxes, and the active ingredients are the same - just the amount is different. Has anybody tried this?

 

[DISdreamin']

I've read online that you can divide an XL size dose down to smaller doses for smaller dogs and save some money that way. I looked at my boxes, and the active ingredients are the same - just the amount is different. Has anybody tried this?

Personally, while I know the idea behind this is sound, doing it would probably scare me a little. I'll be keeping an eye on the posts here to see what others know.

Personally, my concerns are:

1. I'm not sure how much of what is in one of the vials is the actual active ingredient and how much is a an inert liquid intended to help disperse the active ingredient. If the liquid in those ampule-like containers isn't homogeneous, and you skim some off the top when trying to divide the dose, I'd think it could be a serious issue.

2. With the very small amount of liquid in question, trying to accurately measure and divide might be challenging. I'm sure that, with access to the right equipment, it could be done accurately, but I doubt most people have access to what would be required.

JMHO, of course - but you can bet if the stuff was significantly cheaper in bulk I'd be giving it a whirl. Unfortunately our dogs are toward the top of the weight scale and so we couldn't do the divide-the-dose thing for them even if we were willing to try (or at least not the doses I have seen for sale).

 

[FLAngie]

We have done this. We would purchase a larger size and divide it between two small dogs. The vet gave us a syringe (no needle) to pour the dose into so that it could be divided equally. If you do this, you need to be very careful that you don't give one pet too much. Check with your vet to see what he/she says about it.

 

[horseshowmom]

It looked like you put it in a small pharmaceutical quality bottle (should be able to shake it up fairly easily to make sure it's correctly mixed). You use a small marked syringe/pipette to withdraw the correct amount.

I used to give myself allergy shots and had to use a syringe to measure how much I needed out of the vial each time. It sounds pretty much like the same process.

I've got 4 dogs (small, medium, and large), and that's not counting my cats. I haven't found a cheaper method for the cats (since I assume that it's different than the dogs), but I can see where this could save me some money. Any more experiences to share?

 

[NonScents]

While the manufacturer will not recommend this if asked, many vets and animal hospital employees do this, especially when they have multiple animals to treat. Be aware, however that this is not an FDA approved method. (Does that mean it will hurt your dog? not necessarily, just that studies were not done on using it this way, in order to get approval)

The dosage for each "size" is based on coverage of the skin area; it is not metabolized but collects in the oil glands of the skin.

This product has a very wide margin of error. But you should try to be as accurate as possible to apply the correct amount.

The manufacturer does guarantee the product, and if your animal has a reaction to any of their products (very rare occurence), they will usually reimburse the owner for any needed treatment.
BUT (I emphasize) BUT, most likely if this happened and you used it in an off label way, that would void any guarantee.

So.....can you? absolutely.
Should you? you have to make that decision.

(p.s. not a doctor or an expert, but I have worked in animal hospitals for over 15 years. FWIW)

 

[disneychrista]

My parents do this all the time.

 

[Mad4Mickey]

I work in an emergency animal hospital and I can tell you that we have clients do this and sometimes it does cost more in the end to have your pet treated after you have given to much .
We have 2 pets that come now for grooming and they both have a "burn" spot on thier back where the owner tried to divide a dose of a store brand .

I would do an internet search for the cheapest price and get your vet to price match . I did have a client tell me that she bought her Frontline at Walmart .

 

[disneychrista]

I work in an emergency animal hospital

Mad4Mickey....what do you suggest when frontline does not work? My dog & I are constantly fighting fleas. I have been using frontline once a month for 3 months and he is still getting fleas, tons of them!

 

[donald&daisy]

Mad4Mickey....what do you suggest when frontline does not work? My dog & I are constantly fighting fleas. I have been using frontline once a month for 3 months and he is still getting fleas, tons of them!

Sounds like you are dealing with a flea infestation in your house. I would take everyone, including pets, out of the house and "bomb" your house with those foggers they sell at Lowe's etc (this will take 2-4 hours). Come home, vacuum everything really well, wash bedding in hot water. Give your dog a Capstar pill (this will kill all the living fleas on him immediately), then make sure he has his dose of frontline (or if you think the fleas are immune to frontline you can switch to another brand, like Advantix, Revolution, nothing from Hartz etc). Fleas are awful creatures and very hard to kill.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I actually buy mine from ebay and do it that way with my cats.

 

[disneychrista]

nothing from Hartz

Why nothing from Hartz?

 

[digitalsiren]

Mad4Mickey....what do you suggest when frontline does not work? My dog & I are constantly fighting fleas. I have been using frontline once a month for 3 months and he is still getting fleas, tons of them!

I've worked at a veterinary hospital for many years. I am hearing excellent feedback on Comfortis for dogs with regards to controlling fleas. The vet would need to have seen your dog within the last year, have no history of seizures and should not currently be on high doses of ivermectin. I have a tick issue with my dog so I use K9 Advantix as opposed to Frontline Plus for my dog. The Advantix repels and kills fleas and ticks as opposed to just killing them. If I use the Frontline I will most certainly see some creepy crawler on her. Capstar is good for breakouts or to give a little "boost" when you apply your monthly flea meds but it only last 24 hours and therefore is not economically as a flea medication.

 

[wdwmaw]

Mad4Mickey....what do you suggest when frontline does not work? My dog & I are constantly fighting fleas. I have been using frontline once a month for 3 months and he is still getting fleas, tons of them!

You need to stop treating your dog and get focused on your yard. Go to your local farm store ( Southern States or Tractor Farm Supply type) and tell them you want to treat your grass for flees. We treat every 3 or 4 years and have never had a flee. We also never use flee treatment for our animals and we have had 1 large dog, 1 small dog, and 4 cats and they all go in and out all the time. The animals will have to stay off your grass for a couple of day after treatment. With animals and kids we treat front yard one week and back yard the next. This will also help with bugs that bite you. Just to note our yeard has plenty of lighting bugs, butterflys, and so on so this treatment will not kill everything.

 

[ILUVPOOH1]

I've worked at a veterinary hospital for many years. I am hearing excellent feedback on Comfortis for dogs with regards to controlling fleas. The vet would need to have seen your dog within the last year, have no history of seizures and should not currently be on high doses of ivermectin. I have a tick issue with my dog so I use K9 Advantix as opposed to Frontline Plus for my dog. The Advantix repels and kills fleas and ticks as opposed to just killing them. If I use the Frontline I will most certainly see some creepy crawler on her. Capstar is good for breakouts or to give a little "boost" when you apply your monthly flea meds but it only last 24 hours and therefore is not economically as a flea medication.

My Wheaten has horrible allergies to flea bites. She takes Comfortis each summer (prior to our visit to my brother's beach house where sand fleas are a particular problem). Since starting this she has never had a flea during these trips (she used to get them every time). You do need to have your dog checked out and cleared by a vet before administering. My vet is no longer supplying Frontline, instead is using a new medication that controls fleas ticks and mosquitos (but I haven't gotten any yet, still using up Frontline). I forget the name of it though

 

[disneychrista]

Comfortis for dogs ... have no history of seizures .

Bummer I would have tried that but my dog has seizures.

 

[disneychrista]

You need to stop treating your dog and get focused on your yard. .

I have sprayed the yard twice already this year...getting ready to do it again.


I read something about garlic and breweries yeast tablets...anyone heard about using this?

 

[donald&daisy]

Why nothing from Hartz?

http://www.hartzvictims.org/

http://hartzkills.wordpress.com/

http://www.hartzsyndrome.org/

 

[wdwmaw]

I have sprayed the yard twice already this year...getting ready to do it again.


I read something about garlic and breweries yeast tablets...anyone heard about using this?

The stuff you will get is a granular and you will have to ask for it at a farm store. The sprays you get to kill bugs/flees do not work. You want to ask for Talstar Easy Granular. It does come in a concentrate and you will have to mix and dilute it for your size yard. We have always used the granular. Here is the site for info

http://www.fmcprosolutions.com/Pest...ermiticides/TalstarEZGranularInsecticide.aspx

 

[cbg1027]

I think it is fine to divide the large doses, but you need to do it with a small syringe so you know exactly how much is getting put on each animal.
Just look on the boxes and see what the dosage amount is for your animal, and you will know how much you need to put on each animal. You will probably have to do some conversions though, so make sure the check the math carefully.

I am under the impression it is ok to do this because the vet tech at the Humane Society I foster animals for has had me do this when they were out of the correct size for my foster animals. They did the math, wrote down the doses, and gave me some small syringes to use. I just dumped the Frontline in a disposable cup and sucked it up in the syringes from there.

 

[horseshowmom]

I think it is fine to divide the large doses, but you need to do it with a small syringe so you know exactly how much is getting put on each animal.
Just look on the boxes and see what the dosage amount is for your animal, and you will know how much you need to put on each animal. You will probably have to do some conversions though, so make sure the check the math carefully.

I am under the impression it is ok to do this because the vet tech at the Humane Society I foster animals for has had me do this when they were out of the correct size for my foster animals. They did the math, wrote down the doses, and gave me some small syringes to use. I just dumped the Frontline in a disposable cup and sucked it up in the syringes from there.

I still have my boxes for the different sizes which show the correct dose. I'm not worried about getting the dosage right since I used to give myself my allergy shots and had to draw out the correct dosages.

I had my daughter look at the packages (she's in her final year of pharmacy school doing rotations where they spend their time working in various locations). She said the only difference is the amount given. One of the pharmacies she works in does a lot of business with animal medications (we're out in the country), so they have the various sized syringes.

We have so many animals that this is going to be a tremendous help to me (people love to abandon their animals out in the country "where somebody will take them in" ). Wish I'd known to do this a long time ago!