# Flea Meds for Under 4 pounds



## kd1212 (Nov 5, 2013)

Hi All,

I'm going to be talking to my vet next Friday when I take Trissie for a Bordatella shot--we have to get this, so she can go to puppy classes. He gave her a 4 week dose on our last visit and she had no reactions. We're also going to talk about flea meds. I've got Tyler on Advantix II, but the doctor said Trissie can't take it because of her weight--Advantix is 4-10 pounds. He said we'll talk about alternatives. Before I go, I'd love to know what those with little ones use, so I know which to chose when he gives me the options.

Thanks!

xo
Kim


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

I have only given my guys flea meds one time. It got rid of the fleas and they did not come back. What I did was I bought the large size of Frontline and measured the dose precisely for the actually weight of each dog (MiMi and Ray) You can find weight charts online to get the right dose, in any case it was a lot less than the amount in the small dose. Ask your vet. 

Does Trissie actually have fleas or are you thinking prevention? I would only give it to my puppy as a last resort.


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## elly (Sep 11, 2006)

Whitney had a reaction to Comfortis she is about 4 pounds. Scared the crap out of me. She would sit and stare and would not respond when called. She would tilt her head up and open her mouth and close it slowly. It was very odd and lasted for a few hours. That was last May. The groomer found 2 dead fleas on her 2 months ago. Is that crap still in her system. The fleas were flat not alive. No one else had any fleas. In 15 years we never had fleas until last May. Mercedes and Emmet did fine on Comfortis but they are much bigger.


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## sherry (Jan 4, 2013)

I use Dr. Mercola flea and tick essential oil spray. I spray them when they are going outside. It has worked very well for us.


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

The only thing mine ,especially Dewey and Laurel can tolerate was Comfortis. I see that Cathys ,Whitney had a reaction to it. Dewey ended up in the vet emergency ER from Vets Best, a natural product that some people here on the forum have used. I guess you never know We never had fleas with any of my old dogs ,but we have had them on my group of dogs now. Never an infestation ,but one here or there. I treat it like an infestation though, I sure don't want to have fleas in my house. Never use Vectra!!!!! It was horrible , and mine had a flea or two even with Frontline Plus


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## kd1212 (Nov 5, 2013)

Sylie said:


> I have only given my guys flea meds one time. It got rid of the fleas and they did not come back. What I did was I bought the large size of Frontline and measured the dose precisely for the actually weight of each dog (MiMi and Ray) You can find weight charts online to get the right dose, in any case it was a lot less than the amount in the small dose. Ask your vet.
> 
> Does Trissie actually have fleas or are you thinking prevention? I would only give it to my puppy as a last resort.


Thanks Sylvia. No, she doesn't have fleas, so it's for prevention. I know that a lot of dogs around here get fleas and if I'm taking her to classes, I'd like to at least try to prevent it. Tyler actually got a a tick from a dog in one of his classes when I took him. When I took him the vet--as an emergency--I know I'm nuts, but I panicked--the vet said that there are fleas and ticks in the grass from other dogs too, so she felt strongly that using a preventive medicine was a good idea.

I'm worried about walking them around here--no one picks up after their dogs--who knows if they have any fleas/ticks or illnesses for that matter. I wash their feet the minute I get in the house.


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## kd1212 (Nov 5, 2013)

elly said:


> Whitney had a reaction to Comfortis she is about 4 pounds. Scared the crap out of me. She would sit and stare and would not respond when called. She would tilt her head up and open her mouth and close it slowly. It was very odd and lasted for a few hours. That was last May. The groomer found 2 dead fleas on her 2 months ago. Is that crap still in her system. The fleas were flat not alive. No one else had any fleas. In 15 years we never had fleas until last May. Mercedes and Emmet did fine on Comfortis but they are much bigger.


Thanks so much Cathy, I'll definitely stay away from that one. The Frontline that Sylvia suggested sounds good. I had Trevor on that his whole life without issue. The doctor recommended Advantix for Tyler and he's been fine on that.


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## kd1212 (Nov 5, 2013)

sherry said:


> I use Dr. Mercola flea and tick essential oil spray. I spray them when they are going outside. It has worked very well for us.


Thanks Sherry! I'm writing all of these suggestions down and will bring with me next Friday!


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## Tanner's Mom (May 27, 2005)

Living in a hot & humid area like South Carolina, my crew needs flea meds monthly. And I do the same thing Sylvia does, split the doses. Yeah I know "they" will tell you not to do that, but I have a real problem giving a 5# dog the same dose as a 25# dog.


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## kd1212 (Nov 5, 2013)

Furbabies mom said:


> The only thing mine ,especially Dewey and Laurel can tolerate was Comfortis. I see that Cathys ,Whitney had a reaction to it. Dewey ended up in the vet emergency ER from Vets Best, a natural product that some people here on the forum have used. I guess you never know We never had fleas with any of my old dogs ,but we have had them on my group of dogs now. Never an infestation ,but one here or there. I treat it like an infestation though, I sure don't want to have fleas in my house. Never use Vectra!!!!! It was horrible , and mine had a flea or two even with Frontline Plus


Thanks for all of this information. I've never had a problem with fleas ever--just that one tick on Tyler. Like I said to Sherry, I'm going to write everybody's responses and bring them with me to review with the doctor. I'm worried because she's so small. I weighed her today and if it's actually correct she's 3.13 pounds and will be 5 months old tomorrow. Tyler was already over 6 pounds when I started using the Advantix--he's now 7.72 pounds and Trevor was 9 pounds and did well on Frontline.


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## Snowball Pie's Mommi (Oct 16, 2008)

Snowball, with the okay from his vet ... is off flea and tick meds. He was on Frontline and started breaking out in little white pimple like spots. Since I have stopped the Frontline ... his skin is okay. 

He does take heartworm medicine every six weeks ... Sentinal.


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## kd1212 (Nov 5, 2013)

Snowball Pie's Mommi said:


> Snowball, with the okay from his vet ... is off flea and tick meds. He was on Frontline and started breaking out in little white pimple like spots. Since I have stopped the Frontline ... his skin is okay.
> 
> He does take heartworm medicine every six weeks ... Sentinal.


Thanks Marie. We don't have a heartworm issue here, but definitely the fleas and ticks. 

From reading through these responses, it seems that some have reactions and some don't. I'll see what the Vet says is the least risky and least reactions with testing.


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## pippersmom (May 21, 2012)

Just an idea....what about Revolution for heartworm because it prevents against fleas too and it comes for all different sizes of dogs. I think you can get from 0 - 5 pound doses.


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## kd1212 (Nov 5, 2013)

pippersmom said:


> Just an idea....what about Revolution for heartworm because it prevents against fleas too and it comes for all different sizes of dogs. I think you can get from 0 - 5 pound doses.


Thanks Kathy...I'll ask the Vet about that--we don't have the heartworm issue here, but if I take them back east or to Texas, then I have to worry about it.


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

I wouldn't do it unless they actually had fleas. Any of that stuff is poison. When MiMi and Ray got fleas last spring, I tried just removing them, but then they got more fleas. When I used it, the fleas were gone in less than a day. I never used it again and they have not had a flea again. I can understand that ticks are worrisome, but again I just wouldn't put poison on my babies as a prevention. What ever you decide, if you do a topical find the right dosage. My vet was the one who told me to do that. It also saved a lot of money....or it would have, if I had used it again.


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## Maglily (Feb 3, 2009)

Jodi has been on Sentinel since he was 4 months old (4 lbs then and 9.5 now) except for that time there was a Sentinel shortage. This winter I decided to just give Interceptor for heartworm (which is basically sentinel minus the product to treat fleas).

I did this to reduce the product that I'm giving him and I don't think it is necessary here in winter, with his limited exposure to other dogs. (and I would have to admit it is half the cost so that is also a plus but not the main reason).


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## Maglily (Feb 3, 2009)

kd1212 said:


> Thanks Kathy...I'll ask the Vet about that--we don't have the heartworm issue here, but if I take them back east or to Texas, then I have to worry about it.




I didn't realize heartworm was an issue depending on your area, I thought it was for all dogs...well I learned something new.


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

Maglily said:


> I didn't realize heartworm was an issue depending on your area, I thought it was for all dogs...well I learned something new.


Brenda, Heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes. I saw a mosquito once about 6 years ago, so I do not do it.


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## Maglily (Feb 3, 2009)

Sylie said:


> Brenda, Heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes. I saw a mosquito once about 6 years ago, so I do not do it.


Wow that's interesting, thanks Sylvie. There are plenty of mosquitos here so that explains it, in the summer mostly of course and they make up for not being around all year.


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## kd1212 (Nov 5, 2013)

Sylie said:


> I wouldn't do it unless they actually had fleas. Any of that stuff is poison. When MiMi and Ray got fleas last spring, I tried just removing them, but then they got more fleas. When I used it, the fleas were gone in less than a day. I never used it again and they have not had a flea again. I can understand that ticks are worrisome, but again I just wouldn't put poison on my babies as a prevention. What ever you decide, if you do a topical find the right dosage. My vet was the one who told me to do that. It also saved a lot of money....or it would have, if I had used it again.


Thanks Sylvia. I'm just worried about them getting it--I'll talk to the Vet about alternatives for them both--Sherry uses one.


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## kd1212 (Nov 5, 2013)

Maglily said:


> Jodi has been on Sentinel since he was 4 months old (4 lbs then and 9.5 now) except for that time there was a Sentinel shortage. This winter I decided to just give Interceptor for heartworm (which is basically sentinel minus the product to treat fleas).
> 
> I did this to reduce the product that I'm giving him and I don't think it is necessary here in winter, with his limited exposure to other dogs. (and I would have to admit it is half the cost so that is also a plus but not the main reason).[/QUOTE
> 
> Thanks Brenda. I used to do the same thing with Trevor when I lived in NY--definitely a money saver. With Trevor I used Frontline and Interceptor--I'd stop the Frontline in the late fall then start back up in the spring.


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## Steph_L (Jul 20, 2015)

Daisy uses Revolution every month and she's only 3.2 pounds. She's been using it since we took her home at 3 months when she was under 2 lbs. Here there are fleas, chiggers, and mosquitos galore. Heart worm is a big problem here. We tried taking in a mini poodle before Daisy and he had heart worms so bad that it was terminal. Even with treatment there would have been life long problems with his heart and lungs and he was only 2. We only had him a week. He was a sweet boy and I do wish his previous owners had spent the $10 a month to prevent heart worms. (That's what it costs here in S. Korea)


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Kim - like when you were in NYC, I give Tyler Frontline Plus and Interceptor and he has no adverse reactions to either. I don't give him the full vile of Frontline and I hadn't been giving any in the winter. We have had a very late fall this year but I had stopped the Frontline probably in late October. About 5 weeks ago we took Tyler on a walk on the sidewalks of NY -- not the park. We went to a Christmas party and came back and that night I felt a lump on Tyler's head. A very engorged tick. :w00t: This was a first. Took him to the ER to remove since I couldn't get it to let go. They said that they've seen ticks year round in recent years in NY even in the freezing cold. (Zombie ticks? :innocent: JK) Day before yesterday I took Tyler in for tick borne disease blood test checking 11 diseases from ticks. All came back negative :chili: so am relieved but have not rethought my no winter rule.
BTW I have PetPlan and they said they don't treat tick born diseases unless you can prove that they were on tick preventative so keep those receipts everyone.


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## kd1212 (Nov 5, 2013)

Snowbody said:


> Kim - like when you were in NYC, I give Tyler Frontline Plus and Interceptor and he has no adverse reactions to either. I don't give him the full vile of Frontline and I hadn't been giving any in the winter. We have had a very late fall this year but I had stopped the Frontline probably in late October. About 5 weeks ago we took Tyler on a walk on the sidewalks of NY -- not the park. We went to a Christmas party and came back and that night I felt a lump on Tyler's head. A very engorged tick. :w00t: This was a first. Took him to the ER to remove since I couldn't get it to let go. They said that they've seen ticks year round in recent years in NY even in the freezing cold. (Zombie ticks? :innocent: JK) Day before yesterday I took Tyler in for tick borne disease blood test checking 11 diseases from ticks. All came back negative :chili: so am relieved but have not rethought my no winter rule.
> BTW I have PetPlan and they said they don't treat tick born diseases unless you can prove that they were on tick preventative so keep those receipts everyone.


Thank goodness he have any tick borne diseases. I have Healthy Paws--I never even thought to see if they reimburse for flea meds--totally forgot. I had VPI with Trevor and got reimbursed. I'm going to check--thanks for indirectly reminding me...LOL!


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## maggieh (Dec 16, 2007)

My girls had a reaction to Frontline so we use Mercola essential oils spray. One time a year I use a half dose of Advantix because we go to the national forest which has a ton of ticks, but for the majority of time the essential oils spray works fine.


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## kd1212 (Nov 5, 2013)

maggieh said:


> My girls had a reaction to Frontline so we use Mercola essential oils spray. One time a year I use a half dose of Advantix because we go to the national forest which has a ton of ticks, but for the majority of time the essential oils spray works fine.


Thanks Maggie. Sherry uses that as well-it's on my list to discuss with the doctor. I like the idea of a natural product-I'm not sure how bad the flea and ticks are here. I guess I can research that as well. Obviously not as bad as a forest, maybe enough to warrant something stronger-that's what I need to know.


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

kd1212 said:


> Thank goodness he have any tick borne diseases. I have Healthy Paws--I never even thought to see if they reimburse for flea meds--totally forgot. I had VPI with Trevor and got reimbursed. I'm going to check--thanks for indirectly reminding me...LOL!


My insurance won't reimburse for flea/tick care products. Just won't pay for treatment of diseases unless you've been using a product. Guess they want you to be pro-active.


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