So how exactly does frontline work?

bagaholic85

Member
Sep 14, 2007
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I have my pom on frontline, but she had 2 ticks on her last nite. i was under the impression that it kept the ticks off of them, but being that i found 2 yesterday obviously thats not how it works. does it kill them on contact? should i still get her tested for lyme disease? im sure others have experience and id love advice. TIA!
 
Are you applying it regularly? I find that if I miss a dosage by even a day, I can end up finding a tick on one of my dogs. Did you give your dog a bath very soon after application?
 
nope. i bathed her and then put it on 3 days later (june 18th), and havent bathed her since. and this was only her 3rd treatment, but ive given it to her on the 18th of all three months. i was just surprised to see any ticks on her at all, but i think they were dead?
 
If they were dead, the frontline did its job. I don't think it is supposed to prevent them from jumping on the animal. I use frontline on my cat and although i still find fleas on her, they are usually dead fleas. Also, I read somewhere that it takes about 12 hours or so to actually kill the flea/tick once it is on your pet.
 
Yeah I've been using Frontline on my oldest Basset for the past 4 1/2 years and haven't seen one single flea or tick. Maybe it's your area - could the fleas/ticks be immune to Frontline?

The medicine actually gets into the oil glands in your pets skin, so it sort of continuously applies itself.
 
I noticed that too. I use frontline plus and have occasionally found a flea here and there. The fleas seem to be in a daze because I can easily get them off. So I'm guessing the medication got to them and they were probably going to die anyway.
 
From the Frontline website:

Few creatures can inflict more misery, ounce for ounce, than fleas. These tiny, almost-invisible pests can make life miserable and disrupt your household with a vicious cycle of biting and scratching. Fleas may also cause flea allergy dermatitis in some pets and may be carriers of dangerous diseases. All FRONTLINE products offer control of fleas, killing up to 100% of adult fleas on your pet within 18 hours. And with an added ingredient to kill flea eggs and larvae, FRONTLINE Plus completely breaks the life cycle of these dangerous and annoying pests.

Often too tiny to be seen, ticks attach to pets and feed on blood until they are engorged. They thrive in high humidity and moderate temperatures, but can be found all over the country. Ticks may carry and transmit diseases, including Lyme disease, that can cause serious health problems for pets and people. FRONTLINE Brand flea and tick control kills up to 100% of ticks on dogs and cats within 24-48 hours.
 
k so i understand how it works now. but do you guys think that i should still get her tested for lyme disease? i mean im 99% sure that the ticks were dead when i took them off, but they were definitely embedded into her skin bc when i removed them there was a little indentation (kinda like picking off a scab). even according to frontline it can take up to 48hrs to kill the tick. can the diseases transfer in that time?
 
k so i understand how it works now. but do you guys think that i should still get her tested for lyme disease? i mean im 99% sure that the ticks were dead when i took them off, but they were definitely embedded into her skin bc when i removed them there was a little indentation (kinda like picking off a scab). even according to frontline it can take up to 48hrs to kill the tick. can the diseases transfer in that time?

Frontline, etc do not prevent tick bites completely. They kind break the cycle of disease transmission. You may still occassionally see fleas and ticks on your pet, but they die pretty quickly (before disease can be transmitted to your pet).
I would get my dog tested for Lyme. It is very prevalent in certain parts of the country. Also, the earlier it is detected and treatment is initiated, the better. I think the money spent on a quick Lyme test is money well spnt if it gives you piece of mind.
Now if your dog is regularly on Frontline and you are positive that there was never a missed dose, he probably has enough drug in his system to offer protection. If that is the case, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
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thanks aklein :flowers: i think im going to get her tested at the end of the season because i dont want to test her every weekend. the summer house i frequent has a lot of deer ticks in the area and im sure ill be picking them off all summer. im sure shes fine bc im very good about her meds, but it cant hurt to be sure
 
No problem, bagaholic. You may just want to get a three way heartworm test done when you take her in for the annual exam. The three way heartworm tests for heartworm, lyme and ehrlichia. Ehrlichia is another tick borne disease, but it is more prevalent in the southern states.