Vectra Flea Prevention??

Prada Psycho

Prada Psycho

#11146
Authenticator
O.G.
Jul 21, 2006
21,599
4,343
#1
Has anyone else besides me had the misfortune of having their vets ram this new junk down their throats? I called for Gracie's refill of Frontline last month. I was told they were only carrying this super-duper-new flea prevention stuff and that's all we could get. I wasn't too keen on changing to another brand because the Frontline has worked well and I'm not into using my dogs as guinea pigs for anything "new" like this. But I caved and tried it...... OMG, it's hideous! Stunk like crazy, I think it must have burned Gracie's skin because she jumped up when I applied it. It's greasy (left greasy marks on my pillow shams and sofa) and then after maybe a week, every spot I had applied it (three for Gracie) clumps of her hair started coming out. :wtf:

The final insult was finding a TICK on her head!!! I was furious. I had already called the vet and told them not to EVER prescribe that junk again, but the tick was the final straw.

The ultimate irony was when I took Gracie in for her bath the day after we found the tick. I let the techs know about the tick and went off on Vectra again. Well, then it gets good: even a couple of the VET TECHS' had found ticks on their dogs, even in their ears. They also told me that the sales rep for the company that make this junk was coming out to talk to them because the vet techs and I weren't the only people that were calling the vet about that junk.

Anyone else have a Vectra story to tell?
 
#2
omgosh....my vet ried convincing me to try Vectra b/c it "works better" than Frontline but I stood my ground because one of my dogs is sensitive to anything put on his skin and I didn't want him to have a reaction. Thank God I didn't get it. Did they let you return it or exchange it for Frontline?
 
#3
^^^I normally just buy flea prevention monthly. It's SO expensive to buy a 6-12 month supply, so I thankfully only had that one tube.

When it was time for Gracie to have her flea treatment this month, I ordered Frontline from their online pharmacy: in the three month supply this time!!
 
#4
Just as an FYI -- as mentioned in the Frontline threads, flea and tick prevention do not prevent fleas/ticks from biting your pet. They prevent the buggers from being able to feed on your pet and transmit disease. The fleas/ticks usually die off after biting your treated pet in anywhere from 6 to 12 hours, depending on the product.
And generally, the flea and tick preventatives are stinky and can leave greasy marks on your pet until they are completely absorbed. It is usually best not to let your pet near any of your good stuff after applying the medication. When I had a dog, we would leave him outside for a bit after applying Frontline or we would take him for a walk. By the time we got home, it was pretty much dry. The 'greasy spot' would be gone in a day at the longest.
That being said, it sounds like your pup had some type of reaction to Vectra. You should notify your vet so that he can report the adverse event to the manufacturer. I have never worked for a vet that forcibly pushed products onto patients and owners. They highly recommended heartworm preventative (endemic here in the States) and flea and tick preventative, as well. I find it kind of silly that they would force you to only use this product, especially because Frontline works so well. Also, you may want to consider seeing a different veterinarian if you feel the current one doesn't meet your needs.
 
#6
Oh holy lord, I'm a tech at an animal hospital in Warsaw In and I was just google-ing Vectra so I could start a complaint list for our clinic and saw your post. NO ONE likes Vectra there was a case near Columbia City that the dogs hair on its back all fell out and a rash occured poor babies. I'm sure that your doctor wasn't using you as a guinea pig, working at a hospital and knowing that the general public usually think that the veterinary field is "out to get them" kinda hurts when we are honestly looking out for your pets we work our butts off and try to help as much as possible and thanked by people thinking we're out to get them. This product was tested over a span of two years and was suppose to work well so technically your dog wasn't the guinea pig the poor dogs it was being tested on were. I'm sure what your dog suffered was mild to what those dogs went through. We started carrying it about four months ago, when doctors realize what its doing it will crash and won't be used anymore, if the doctor you go to keeps carrying it and doesn't realize what its doing thats his issue. For your poor babies sake I hope he starts carrying frontline. We're having the same complaints about it and I told our doctor so we're going to stop carrying it. Havn't you ever heard the expression you catch more bees with honey?
and btw buying from an online pharmacy is not a smart move they sell expired or fake product 95% of the time, they will put it in a new box and make it look like its up to date but they mostly get it by pirating. We've had NUMEROUS accounts of dogs being treated for heartworms by expired drugs from Pet Meds.com One client ordered frontline and it came in a vial with a fake label over a hartz label. So thats not the smartest move either. Vets and Vet techs don't go to school for 4-8 years to jack over clients and plan on solely screwing you over we have better things to do
 
Last edited:
#7
^^^Point of clarification on my statement about buying it from the online pharmacy. My vet has several offices. They have their own online pharmacy to make it easier for customers to order regularly used meds. It's no different than picking it up at the vet's office proper. I'm not talking about Pet Meds or those other online places they advertise on TV.

Also, he used to carry Frontline (and that's where I bought it) until the Vectra marketing people convinced them that Vectra was the best invention since sliced bread.
 
#8
Thank you AddieMarie. I've never understood why the public always thinks vets are out to get them-It was 8 years of school (more for me coming up, I'm going for board certification) for a salary that is not exactly ideal for purse-loving girls. Veterinarians devote their lives to animal medicine. Our intentions, with very rare execptions, are good. (I never tried Vectra-I carry Frontline and Promeris, but I don't love the smell of the Promeris!)
 
#9
Where did say my vet was out to get me or my dog? You guys need to start you own thread if you want to gripe about your customers. I started this thread out of a legitimate concern over this flea medication. Not to get my knuckles rapped by people misreading my attitude about my vet, whom I adore, FYI.
 
#12
oh, wow. Sorry to hear about your bad experience.

I haven't heard of Vectra - but I will continue to use Fronline Plus for now on!

And just fyi - I order from dog.com or Smartpak.com and get HUGE discounts on pet meds. And they are always 100% legit and packaged way before the exp date.
 
#14
sorry to hear about your misfortune with vectra... My vet recently quit carrying it for my cat and changed to another one, but before this change we had been using it for about a year. Never had any issues, she didn't seem to mind and after a day the greasy spot was gone. Killed the fleas fast too when we initially started it. I still use it on my dog, he is doing well with it, we have only had him since march and been using it since. Luckily we have had no issues. I had never tried the frontline and the vectra was a good alternative and a little less expensive. Again i am sorry to hear you had such problems with it and i want to thank you for the heads up...I will be watching a little more carefully to make sure we don't have any issues.
Thank you
adia
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back