I bought Frontline Top Spot (cheaper than the others) from Entirelypets.com and it didn't work AT ALL. I went to my local vet's store and bought Frontline Plus. I noticed that it took a whole 24 hours or so to kill the fleas, instead of immediately as they usually do. Then came back a week later! I have never had this happen before in all my years and dogs. What is going on? My poor little 14 pound JRT is getting sore spots and I don't want to chemical her to death either. I certainly am applying it correctly; I've been doing it for years, along the back of her neck against the skin. She's older of course (not sure of her age, maybe 11, lots of white around her brown face), but that shouldn't have anything to do with this. We moved to a more rural area, but she doesn't even like to spend a lot of time outdoors, and even if she did, Frontline should work.

Reading the Frontline website, the only clue I can see is 'when applied monthly.' Which I wasn't doing at all over the winter. I wonder if that's it; the chemical has to be fairly constantly in the dog's system over a long period? What can I do? It isn't recommended to apply before 30 days again, and I don't want to anyway.

I've never been a fan of frontline. I really like Revolution, it's fairly cheap and works against fleas and worms. I also don't apply feal treatment over the winter, there's not really any point as long as you treat in spring and summer months. You should never double dose, I would suggest getting the Revolution and in the mean time a warm bath with Dawn sish soap and flea picking.

I don't care for frontline or revolution. As Bella knows I have a fur baby with flea allergies... he will scratch himself bloody from fleas and none of those products work on him.

We worked with our vet and found that Comfortis works best for him. I have had him for 3 summers now, and this is the second summer that he has been on Comfortis. Not itching, scratching or biting himself bloody. No more cone of shame for this boy as long as he gets his Comfortis monthly.

Thanks both of you, but do you know why Frontline would work for years on multiple pets and then stop?
I keep thinking of watered down formula, someone cheating at the plant, distributors substituting fakes, who knows... you do hear such stories, not often, but...

I know the vets around here haven't been selling frontline for years because of it's ineffectiveness. We used to get free donations of Frontline at the SPCA and started using Frontline and Revolution in intervals (one month frontline, one month Revolution) We used to get A LOT of complaints with adopters calling about the cats having fleas when coming from the shelter. Are you using the right dosage for his weight? If you have a big infestation you should treat your home and yard as well. Planting lemon grass, citronella and having cedar chips are a great way to repel fleas. Also Avon's Skin So Soft works awesome at keeping fleas away.

A pet store employee told me that Frontline has to be used for 3 months before you need effectiveness. Not mentioned anywhere on the website. I bought a shampoo for now. No more Frontline for me.

Comfortis starts working in less than 30 minutes.

I'll check it out J_9.

I'll get all the details at work tomorrow but Frontline actually has offered up a guarantee to work program. I'll post the details for you after work tomorrow.
Supposedly, if Frontline has been used properly for a certain time frame and you are still seeing fleas they will treat your property and reimburse or replace the product.
I haven't heard anyone say that they have had to do this so I can't attest to what ACTUALLY happens but it might be worth contacting them and finding out.

With Xander, we don't have to treat him at all until the fleas appear in the early summer.

Lady Sam, what do you know about Comfortis? I feel it's a much better product than Frontline or Revolution.

Personally I like Comfortis and we've had a lot of clients convert and love it.
I use Frontline for the tick control (wooded area behind back yard) and Comfortis when needed.
We have one dog with flea allergies that gets both during the warm months.
The others do pretty well with the Frontline alone.
Although I have seen firsthand accidental overdose with the Comfortis. One of my dogs dropped his and the other scooped it up giving him a double dose, he was very sluggish and nauseated for about 24 hours, so it is very important to dose it properly.
I've not heard of any other serious side effects from a dog taking Comfortis, even after that scare I still use it, but am, oh so careful.

I forgot about the tick control. Xander is a rather large and furry Newfy, anything like Revolution or Frontline doesn't work well on him for either ticks or fleas.

I received a full refund including the vial I used from the store.
I will have nothing to do with Frontline anymore because nowhere do I see any indication that the product must be used for 3 months prior to when fleas appear.
In all my years I have always skipped a few winter months, and don't want to deal with a company that is so vague about the need for continuous use.

Another reason I like Revolution.. I checked about Comfortis, we don't seem to sell it around here.

Here's hoping the Adams flea bath worked. Used a big bin outdoors next to the hose because of the dire warnings about not getting on skin or clothes ('remove contaminated clothes.. ' then what? Burn them?) and got her all wet in the kitchen sink first. Since she's onlu 14 lbs, I used half a bottle. They don't cover the weight subject. Good grief. What is with the pet industry?

Hope it works for you Joy! A pain in derrière eh?

Boy oh boy.. all this flea and tick talk makes me very happy to live in the high plains desert! :)

In the past, on rescue dogs that came in with fleas, I used Zodiac flea and tick shampoos... maybe its not strong enough for major flea and tick control, but it worked great.

The clinic I work at sells frontline and have had no complaints.. once again, maybe its not good for heavy infestations.

Since you are done with Frontline and got your refund I will spare you the details of the guarantee.
But my thought is this, if their were fleas in the environment even after treatment they will jump on the dog, the live fleas actually have to bite the dog to die.
If there are flea eggs that fall off into the carpet or yard then hatch you have new fleas and Frontline Plus is designed to break the life cycle of the flea which can take a couple of weeks to 3 months.
That being said I have used Comfortis and it works well, it might work for you and the price is pretty comparable to other flea preventions.

I forgot about the tick control. Xander is a rather large and furry Newfy, anything like Revolution or Frontline doesn't work well on him for either ticks or fleas.

Have you ever tried putting half between the shoulder blades and the other half on the rump, just a thought.
That's how I apply it to our big guys, but the dog with flea allergy has pretty thick fur too, so now I am wondering part of the problem is me not being able to get it down to the skin like it should be.

It's pretty clear to me now that Frontline wasn't working because I hadn't used it for the winter months on my aging little dog in my in-town place I lived before moving to a rural spot. I am angry at Frontline for being very vague about the requirement of consistent use.

The shampoo seems to have done it's job, hopefully until the 30 days of Frontline are up. I already over-medicated with the first attempt of Frontline Top Spot followed by Plus.

I must admit I was mistaken about something, I stated that the flea had to bite the dog to die.
With Frontline Plus that is not necessary, the flea or tick must only come in contact with the hair coat for and extended period per their FAQ page.

Just wanted to admit my flub.

By the way Joy the Adams brands of shampoos and flea spray are good products, we used to carry the spray at work, I wish we still did.

Two Adams shampoos later (wasn't sure how much of the bottle to use on a little dog, so did two baths), fleas seem gone for now. I think I will try Comfortis when the 30 days of Frontline is up.
BTW I was picking fleas for a few days, semi-easy out of her short white coat. I kept a white plastic bowl of water nearby to see if I actually grabbed one, and to drown them in. They don't drown. I've watched them wiggle for close to 10 minutes and almost escape. I even tried to drown one in peroxide - same deal. I think they grab onto minute bubbles.
I have to send them down the drain.

Rubbing alcohol will get them them.

Fleas are back, shampoos didn't last... sigh. I may jump the gun on chemicals, 21 days instead of 30..

I'm headed back to work and will research the safety of giving the comfortis when Frontline has been used, with regard to how long in between and so on, I'll post what I find later.
Might even run across some other interesting tidbits.

I read the client insert for Comfortis when I got back to work, nothing is specifically stated about safety when using in conjunction with topical products. So I spoke with two of the vets there about your situation I hope I got your timeline right.
In any event what they told me was this, because Comfortis and Frontline have different chemical make-ups that they do not interact with each other.
There may be problems when stacking the same products with the same chemical make-up, makes sense to me.
The Comfortis website basically states what is in the information that I have read.

Comfortis (spinosad) for Dogs — Frequently-Asked Questions — Comfortis.com (http://www.comfortis4dogs.com/about-comfortis/faqs.aspx)

So the site should answer many more questions for you.
Comfortis may take a couple of months to take care of an infestation of fleas in the environment as it works to break the life cycle of the flea. It kills the fleas before they can lay eggs, but only the fleas on the dog, fleas that have hatched into the environment will get on the dogs the killing cycle continues.
As always it is best to get the opinion of your vet before giving any new medication and telling them what your dog is already taking or has taken.
I did see that they recommend beginning treatment only 1 month before flea season begins.
Hope some of this helps, and you can get your dog free of the little buggers.

After all this (and thanks everyone), I ordered Frontline Plus again and will apply it on August 1, 30 days after the last one. Comfortis requires an Rx. My vet's not cheap and I am not shelling out for a visit over flea products. I made a list of all of them with their chemical composition, and read a lot of customer reviews too.
I'm still unhappy at Frontline for obfuscating.
Meanwhile I pick about 4 fleas a day off her so am keeping them in check pretty well. I bathe her with only the tiniest amount of shampoo, a little more often than before because she is low on hair on her back and tail right now, and likes to roll in the yard.

Applied Frontline Plus on August 1 (2nd mo). Still find about 1 flea a day.
Still very unhappy with Merial Limited of Duluth GA.
All I can find is 'When used monthly,' Frontline kills this and that.
One of these days I will write to them.
There isn't even a contact link on their website, nor a discussion forum.

Still picking fleas on August 20.
A wad of duct tape held by tweezers does a pretty good job on 1 flea at a time.

Fleas drown immediately in warm water and dawn dish soap... just want to throw that out there... I used advantage on my two cats, and my dogs are frontlined, but frontline is no longer working! My cats are pretty clean, but my poor dogs keep getting hit with them!

What is going on with Frontline? I thought it was because I stopped using it for the winter, 5 months.

Got my money back, used Advantix on 9/5, worked instantly, after 4 months of raw, chewed up flea bitten poor old doggie.