# K9 Advantix



## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

I have noticed other sites warning about the use of K9 Advantix on dogs, particularly small dogs, but not here on this site and I thought I should bring it up because Kubrick had an averse reaction to it.

I put him on Advantix (he used to be on Frontline) because the vet recommended it. I gave him his first dose on Monday and on Tuesday I noticed him scratching the area that I applied it to a lot. I thought that was strange, but didn't think anything of it. On Wednesday morning he threw up (I thought it was an empty stomach thing but he actually had a late dinner the night before - at 9:30pm and he threw up at 8am) and was feeling very lethargic most of the day. Later on he started acting normal, so I didn't think anything of it. However, today I just noticed that not only has he not stopped itching the area where the Advantix was applied, there was actually something strange about it. When I touch him anywhere on his body he is completely fine, but if I touch the area where it was applied directly, he gets a muscle twitch and his whole body tenses until I stop touching it. Spencer (who is the most laid back, just let's see what happens type of guy) saw it when I showed it to him and immediately said to not give it to Kubrick anymore. He isn't in pain since he's not flinching away or yelping or anything, he acts totally normal, it's just like an involuntary spasm. It's really scary to see, though.

I started researching this more online and a LOT of people have noticed muscle problems with their pets after applying Advantix (anything from a constant tick to muscles completely giving out!). This has scared me enough that I'm going back to the Frontline, even if it supposedly isn't working as well anymore. I know some people use Advantix with no problems, but there are plenty of pets out there that do have a reaction to it and I guess Kubrick is one of them.

Just a warning in case anyone is thinking about switching from Frontline like I was... just keep an eye on your pets or just don't do it at all. Like I said, not all pets have a bad reaction (I'm sure there are people here who give it to their Havs with no problems), but enough of them do that I am now very wary of it and just wanted to share Kubrick's experience with you all.


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Oh Carolina, how scary! Linda (lfung5) went through something similar last summer. It would be an easy topic to miss if it wasn't on your radar at the time though. HELP!!!!!Adverse reaction to K-9 Advantix? 

At any rate, I am so glad you guys caught the reaction quickly. It is freaky how strong some of the reactions are and yet, other dogs have no reaction at all.


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## Leeann (Feb 28, 2007)

Thanks for the reminder Lina. I had used Advantix only once on Riley, I do not recall him having any bad reactions but did not want to chance it once I heard of others having problems. I think Frontline is the way to go.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

Havtahava said:


> Oh Carolina, how scary! Linda (lfung5) went through something similar last summer. It would be an easy topic to miss if it wasn't on your radar at the time though. HELP!!!!!Adverse reaction to K-9 Advantix?
> 
> At any rate, I am so glad you guys caught the reaction quickly. It is freaky how strong some of the reactions are and yet, other dogs have no reaction at all.


Good memory! I used Advantix on all my dogs, and Freddie and Scudder got itchy ALL over. It turned into a staff infection. After a few visits to the vet, it was determined it was not the Advantix. I have been using it since with no reaction. For the winter I switch back to Frontline, but that does not work well for them. I still find live ticks on them. With the Advanix, I never found a tick on them. I will go back to the Advantax when tick season is in full force, but proceed with caution and look for any reaction! Thanks for the warning!


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Linda, after the staph was gone, did you ever use the Advantix on the dogs again? It seems like a freak coincidence that two of them ended up with staph infections at the same time, but of course, if they are both scratching and one had it, I can see how it would be transferred.


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Kimberly, thanks for letting me know! I did a search but somehow missed Linda's thread! I was really scared when I noticed all these symptoms. It is weird how some dogs have a bad reaction to it that is so major and yet others don't react to it at all.

Linda, that is so scary! I'm glad that Freddie and Scudder are okay, though if you're using Advantix still with no problems it probably was something else, as you said.


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## Leslie (Feb 28, 2007)

Lina~ I'm sorry to hear about Kubrick's reaction. Thanks for sharing it, though. I know it will help someone. I use Advantix on Tori at the vet's recommendation. She has had no reaction to it whatsoever. My DS and DIL use it on their little Peke and she's fine, too.

Like you said, some will have a reaction so, it's up to us to be watchful and sensitive to how are babies are acting and reacting to their environment.

Hope Kubrick feels better quickly.


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## Brady's mom (Dec 1, 2006)

Lina,
I hope Kubrick is feeling better. I was just asking my breeder about this the other day. I had asked my vet before and they advised me against using the Advantix. She said she had seen a lot of bad reactions, especially in small, white dogs. She said it was strange, but true. I was just thinking with the spring coming and the Frontline not repelling ticks (the last time we went for a hike on a warm, wet afternoon, I pulled 11 ticks crawling off of him, yuck), I thought it might be time for a change. My breeder had the same reaction as my vet and said she would not switch to Advantix. I think Brady and I will just have to give up hiking in the woods for a while. We will just go on long neighborhood walks instead.


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## Julie (Feb 8, 2007)

I used Advantix and didn't have any problems....I'm sorry to read some of you have had reactions to it,as it works great.I will use it on both my guys this spring/summer. We have had lots of ticks in this area in the past,and they are nasty!


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

I used Advantix on my other dogs with no problems. I use Frontline Plus on Kodi and Shelby with no problems. I do think Advantix works better, but I'm not switching from Frontline.


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Thanks all! Kubrick is feeling much better now, but his muscle thing is still twitching. I wish he didn't have this reaction as I know that Advantix is supposedly better than Frontline Plus, but what can you do? I'm curious as to why some of you use Advantix because you have ticks around but not Frontline Plus? It also is supposed to prevent ticks. Does it not work as well in that regard either?

Also, does anyone use Revolution? How good is the flea control and heartworm prevention in that product? I would think it wouldn't be as good in one thing since it does two, but I could be wrong.


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## Leslie (Feb 28, 2007)

The vet recommended Advantix because we take Tori camping w/us and it repels mosquitoes. I'm not sure if any of the others do that.


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2008)

Just a reminder to those thinking of switching...if you are in a lyme geographical location....keep that in mind. Some remedies out there work better than others.

My mother and father take their dog camping and outside in their acreage a lot and she now has lymes disease. They did everything right in prevention and used frontline at that time.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

Havtahava said:


> Linda, after the staph was gone, did you ever use the Advantix on the dogs again? It seems like a freak coincidence that two of them ended up with staph infections at the same time, but of course, if they are both scratching and one had it, I can see how it would be transferred.


Kimberly,
Yes, I continued using the Advantix up until a couple months ago. The only reason I went back to Frontline was I had some left over. They had no reaction and I used it several months in a row. I will put them back on it, because we have a ton of deer ticks around here.

Lina,
I am glad Kubrick is feeling better. I hope the muscle twitching stops soon. That is so scary!


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## Lola (Mar 22, 2007)

Both of my dogs were on that and when Maggie was diagnosed with liver problems I took them off it. My groomer also warned me that that medication was very strong for the small breed dog. He had seen quite a few reactions from it ranging from rashes to seizures. So at the moment I am not using anything during the winter and will probably go to frontline in a few weeks or maybe even a flea collar. Lina I hope your dog is ok.


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## kelrobin (Jan 21, 2008)

Lina
I am so sorry Kubrick had a reaction to Advantix. My old lab, Barrett, had always used Frontline, and it became so expensive that I decided to try just a flea and tick collar. It worked well for the fleas but not the ticks. We have an old magnolia tree that the dogs like to get under and it must be full of ticks, so I decided to try Advantix - Barrett immediately went crazy scratching. I didn't put two and two together until the second month, and then he scratched worse. My vet said he does not recommend it for any dogs because of the many reactions. My groomer recommended Biospot which I tried on Barrett with great success. It worked well all last summer and seems to be a little less expensive. 

I am dreading the season with Jackson since he loves to get under the tree too. I'm afraid he will have ticks stuck in his long hair. Has anyone here used Biospot on a Hav? I also need to go ahead and start applying it to Barrett as the ticks start early here. Is it safe to put it on another dog even though Jackson is not yet 6 months? He romps on Barrett's back so much that I know he will get some of it on him.

Hope Kubrick's little twitch settles down soon . . .


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Biospot isn't the one made by Hartz, is it? 

(The Hartz product is really bad and well-known for adverse reactions.)


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## mintchip (Apr 19, 2007)

Leslie said:


> The vet recommended Advantix because we take Tori camping w/us and it repels mosquitoes. I'm not sure if any of the others do that.


"Lina-Just a warning in case anyone is thinking about switching from Frontline like I was... just keep an eye on your pets or just don't do it at all. Like I said, not all pets have a bad reaction (I'm sure there are people here who give it to their Havs with no problems), but enough of them do that I am now very wary of it and just wanted to share Kubrick's experience with you all."

I just saw this today. Glad he is doing well.


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## marjrc (Jan 13, 2007)

Sorry to hear about Kubrick's reaction, Lina. Thankfully, it wasn't too severe and nothing else will pop up from it. Thanks for the warning!

you wrote: *"Also, does anyone use Revolution? How good is the flea control and heartworm prevention in that product? I would think it wouldn't be as good in one thing since it does two, but I could be wrong."*

Yes, remember the thread I bumped last week asking about that? I've only ever used Revolution on my two cats and on Ricky and Sammy, but have been worrying. You mentioned ..... "Marj, I actually have just started looking at ProMeris the new flea medication. I think it's been available for about 6 months but you can only get it through your vet's office. I have heard really good things about it with the only exception being that they use eucalyptus oil so if you're allergic to that, you can have a reaction and that it smells very strongly of eucalyptus when applied. The smell wears off after a few hours or something."

That thread is here, if anyone wants to add to it... http://havaneseforum.com/showthread.php?t=1498&page=2


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## kelrobin (Jan 21, 2008)

BioSpot is made by Farnham. Kimberly, I think the Hartz one is OneSpot (similar name). I compared the ingredients in BioSpot and Advantix, and they both use Permethrin. The difference is other small percent of ingredients each uses that are different. I have read a lot of information on the dangers of these, and the BioSpot and Frontline worked fine on my lab so I will stick with one of these. The Advantix made him break out. I am nervous about what to use on Jackson, but I will study the ProMeris. Thanks for that tip, Marj.


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Marj, I only saw your post after I posted that Revolution question. I am still really looking into ProMeris. My vet doesn't carry it yet, but he will write a prescription if I can find another vet that does. I guess we'll see!


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

[email protected] said:


> BioSpot is made by Farnham. Kimberly, I think the Hartz one is OneSpot (similar name).


 Thank you, Kathy. I went to BioSpot's web site, but didn't see any mention of Hartz, so I'm glad you confirmed why it seemed familiar.


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## marjrc (Jan 13, 2007)

Ok, Lina, good to know. I still have another month of snow and ice before I have to worry. lol

I see there's another thread just started about Revolution. I get the feeling there will be many more questions about these meds as the season gets warmer for everybody!


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## storybookstory (Dec 29, 2007)

I'm trying to decide between Frontline Plus and Advantix. There seems to be support for both. I'm a little leery of Advantix - since some people have reported problems with it - and if it's lethal to cats, then I worry about putting it on a small dog. I may try Frontline first. My vet supports either product.

What do you experienced owners think of buying Frontline in bulk on ebay. See this listing :

http://cgi.ebay.com/FRONTLINE-PLUS-...46302QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

The seller has over 1400 positives and no negatives, all with selling flea products. It is SO much cheaper to do it this way. Has anyone gone this route?

Thanks -

SBS


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

The only problem with buying online is that you don't know if their products are expired. That's the only thing I would worry about.


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

In addition, some manufacturers don't guarantee their product if they are sold via a third party that is not a veterinarian or veterinary supply company.


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## storybookstory (Dec 29, 2007)

Lina said:


> The only problem with buying online is that you don't know if their products are expired. That's the only thing I would worry about.


Well it seems that they are sending product in original packaging, so you would know when you get it. But, and this is where I'm clueless, the description says that Frontline doesn't have an expiration date. And the EPA link for detecting counterfeits that is on the listing also does not talk about expiration dates. 
Do regular boxes of Frontline have expiration dates?

So much positive feedback is encouraging though. And I'm not concerned about the manuafacturer guarantee.


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

I don't have any boxes on hand, but if I remember correctly, I'm pretty sure that they did. I could be wrong, though.


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## Me&2Girls (May 11, 2007)

Personally, I've used Advantage without incident for years. Luckily I haven't had them for many years - I think it was the cat bringing them in - treated him and no one has had any problems since.


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## Brady's mom (Dec 1, 2006)

I order my Frontline from Petedge. I use the regular Frontline, not the plus. I am looking at a box right now, and much to my surprise, I don't see an expiration date. I see a lot #, but not much else. I did just notice that it is made in France. Who knew? I wonder if that is where Petedge gets it from, or if they are all made in France. If you order from ebay, let us know how it works out. That certainly is a cheap price.


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## marjrc (Jan 13, 2007)

I just came across a warning on the canine liver health list about Pro Meris. Just thought you'd want to know, though of course I can't prove anything. It was a note from someone who had used it on her 7 dogs and they all had reactions, some requiring ER vet care. She suffered from the inhalation of the fumes from this product and was sick as well. 

Take it for what it's worth..... I dunno...


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## marjrc (Jan 13, 2007)

More info on some who have used Pro Meris: http://thewholedog.org/wholedognews/?p=114#more-114

Here is an alternative, perhaps... http://www.thewholedog.org/artfleas.html


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