More flea stuff - Activyl??

[Sally S Miles]

Looks like so many are sharing flea confusion/woe.  Yesterday I took our little guy in and the vet began the visit with a spiel on the merits of Trifexis - I shook my head. 

Then he tells me about Activyl, says it is way better than Advantage and clobbers Frontline as well.   There are few reviews on it. 

So this makes my head spin and I wonder about all these products, having to create tougher ones to combat the little critters that bite. I fret over chemical warfare. I also am in a bit of a quandry over this new vet, not thinking we are good match - even though I love the staff. He listens like most men..... :)

Do we really need more choices?   If even the vet tosses out five options - dizzying.

[Moe]

I don't have any experience with fleas but my dog gets tons of ticks. I give her Advantix II but she still gets ticks. It is supposed to repel them and not let them attach but I find them totally engorged on the dog. Last year despite the Advantix and a lime disease shot she still contracted Lyme disease. I am always afraid that she will bring ticks in the house and they will get on the kids.

I just tried Seresto from Bayer. It is a relatively new flea and tick collar. So far we have not seen a tick in two weeks. You could research it and see if it would work for your dog and family. Seresto

I hope you get it sorted out.

Edit: My groomer said she has never found a tick on a dog wearing the seresto collar. That was what really sold me on the collar.

[Sally S Miles]

Thanks Moe,   I'd be willing to look into all possibilities, thanks.   The Advantix II is a no-go in our house due to cats, rugular Advantage seemed ok at first and then seemed to do nothing at all.  I forget where you are, ticks are not big problem here - I'd never find one on these two hairy black dogs -

I have a friend who uses nothing more than Brewers Yeast tablets and has never seen a flea - but I apparently have tasty dogs.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The problem is that the vets are selling these products. They make the same profit that a retail store would make when they sell foods and drugs. I really have to wonder if the profit margin is greater on Trifexis than on other flea/tick products, and that's why some vets are pushing it over the older, more tried and true products. Whenever possible, I ask one of JD's specialists for their opinion on flea/tick/HW preventatives, since they don't sell them and therefore I feel like their opinions are impartial.

Activyl is too new, IMO. I would not be comfortable using it until there is a longer history and more information. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Yes, I agree. I try not to prescribe medications until they've been around for a while on my patients. 

[Sally S Miles]

Karen, this is exactly where I stand on all of it - frankly I was quite put off having such a sales pitch tossed at me so early in a visit - add to that the newness of the product. The 'assurance' that it is safe was a waste of breath on me.   

[Bonnie and Kona]

I am in complete agreement about vets selling these products. It makes a very poor impression on me. We really liked our former vet since he was never trying to sell us anything. The new vet in our new locale has a website to sell all kinds of products in addition to the ones they sell in the office! I told him I would not use Trifexis, and he didn't balk so that was a plus anyway, I guess.

We have used Advantage. I don't like any of it. I just have to wonder about a topical product that takes the finish off of our leather couch. How can that not be hard on a dog's skin? But I hesitate to try the kind they consume too. Arrgh!

[Sally S Miles]

My old vet was wonderful about 'down-selling', the ads were there - but rarely were any products ever mentioned. It was a long term relationship though.

Topicals scae me, have had it get on me and burn.  Pills are poison.  They keep pushing Trifexis.  This new vet hospital carries everything - Advantage, Frontline, Trifexis, and Comfortis - other stuff too that I could not take all in.   Why carry all that if one is the absolute? hmmm

New vet is rubbing me a bit the wrong way - love the staff - but sales befoe exam>?!?!?   I may have to wrestle the ptsd to the ground and head back to old vet..... hate the building and the staff is weird....  This is a prime example of why more than one vet is needed.  

[Heather]

Great point Karen!!! Makes me CRAZY when the vet tries to sell me the Dog Food they sell. She recently referred to Acana which the Doodles were on as Boutique Dog food, that she knows nothing about. Really turned me Off!!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I did see some reviews on Amazon, citing actions but there are very few reviews to date.