Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook.pdf - Mr. Walnuts

THE SKIN AND COAT • 119
Program to kill adult fleas within one to two days. It may be necessary to eliminate
fleas on the premises using insecticides, as well (see Eliminating Fleas on
the Premises, page 122).
Program should not be used on puppies younger than 6 weeks of age, but is
safe to use on pregnant and lactating bitches.
Sentinel combines Program with the heartworm preventive Interceptor.
This broad-spectrum preventive not only controls fleas, but also protects
against heartworms, ascarids, hookworms, and whipworms.
Advantage (imidacloprid) is a once-a-month liquid preparation that kills
fleas by direct contact. Fleas don’t have to bite the dog for the preparation to
work. Advantage comes in a tube and is applied to the dog’s skin between the
shoulder blades (you must carefully part the hair to make sure you get the liquid
on the skin) and to three or four additional sites along the dog’s back for
larger dogs. The amount to apply depends on the size of the dog, and will be
prescribed by your veterinarian. One application protects a dog for up to 30
days.
Advantage kills fleas on direct contact and may reduce hatching eggs and
larvae. Following application, 98 to 100 percent of adult fleas are killed
within 12 hours. Thus, any new fleas that infest the dog should be killed
before they have a chance to lay eggs. This breaks the flea life cycle and eventually
eliminates fleas in the environment. Advantage is not absorbed into
the dog’s system, and therefore is nontoxic. Humans do not absorb the chemical
after petting a treated dog. Advantix is a new formulation that also acts
against ticks.
One drawback of Advantage is that it loses some of its effectiveness if the
dog’s coat becomes thoroughly wet more often than once a week. If this happens,
the dog can be retreated as often as once a week.
Advantage should not be used on puppies under 7 weeks of age, or on pregnant
or lactating females.
Frontline and Frontline Spray contain the active ingredient fipronil,
which kills fleas on contact within 24 to 48 hours. The fleas do not need to
bite the dog to be killed. Frontline is a liquid that comes in tubes and is
applied as described for Advantage. The effectiveness of Frontline is not
diminished if the dog’s coat becomes wet. The product has a residual effect
that lasts up to 90 days in some dogs. Like Advantage, Frontline is not
absorbed and thus appears to be nontoxic. One additional benefit is that it
also kills ticks for up to 30 days. Frontline should not be used on puppies
under 10 weeks of age.
Frontline Plus has (S) methoprene, which is labeled to kill adult fleas, flea
eggs, and larvae. It also treats chewing lice and is used as part of a program to
control sarcoptic mange. Frontline Plus is labeled for puppies 8 weeks of age.
It is also labeled for use on breeding, pregnant, and lactating bitches.
The heartworm preventive Revolution (selamectin) is a once-a-month
liquid preparation applied to the skin of the dog’s neck between the shoulder