# Comfortis Effective Against TICKS



## ls-indy

The other day I started a thread about tick treatment ideas after finding one on Daisy. jimandjudy4321 suggested Comfortis. I googled it and found the corporate website makes NO mention of it being effective for tick control - just fleas....

One of my daughters is a vet tech and I asked her about it. She told me that the drug reps say Comfortis has been very effective on ticks - but they can't advertise this until they run studies to prove this is the case. The manufacturer expects to be able to start advertising Comfortis as an effective tick control PILL as soon as the studies are completed.....

So - rather than a topical tick treatment, I may try Comfortis (for fleas and ticks) and add a separate pill for heart worms. This means I have to stop using Sentinel as it is also a flea preventative....

If this works I'll be thrilled as I didn't want to use a topical tick treatment since Beau loves to chew on Daisy's fur around her neck - and she seems to enjoy it too! Must be some kind of comfort-grooming thing.

Thought I'd share in case anyone else wants to check into this with their vet .....:tea:


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## casperkeep

Hey Lynda we are using Comfortis now and I love it. I love that they dont have the topical stuff on there fur and that I can give them a bath when ever I want. We use Interceptor on Ginger for heartworm. We use Pro-heart on the little ones. They get a shot every 6 months for heart worm prevention.


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## brugmansia

My vet had mentioned it, but I haven't tried it. I'll have to check it out. They take Interceptor for heartworm. I just have Luna Frontline Plus finally (hardly use it), but I found a flea and a tick on her. I haven't used anything on Dickson yet, but if we're going to walk in the woods, I'd better get some type of tick prevention. Where I live there are no ticks, and I have seldom had a flea problem for the moment, so for most of the year neither dog is on any tick and flea medication. I'm wary and nervous about using them.


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## SMARTY

Good information, keep us posted. Confortis would be my preference if it gets the ticks.


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## Kathie

I was a little hesitant to try Comfortis since it says fleas only but we've been giving it to Abby for nearly two years now and she hasn't had any fleas or ticks. We live on a very wooded property, too.


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## SMARTY

Kathie that is good to know, you probably have as many ticks as we do. I still have 3 or 4 months of Frontline Plus.I did try Comfortis once for some reason and remember the cost being very high. I need to check on that.


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## ls-indy

It would be worth it if I don't have to mess with the topical tick preventative since Beau like to "groom" Daisy. I am waiting to the first of the month to switch since they both had Sentinel on the first and I shouldn't double up. We will just check for ticks until then!


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## trueblue

I use Comfortis too. I like using whatever shampoo I want (not just the "soapless" ones) & being able to hold Santos without smelling the nasty topical stuff.


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## galaxie

YES!!! My breeder told me the same thing - she lives in central Florida and there are a lot of ticks in her area. She ONLY uses Comfortis and has never found a tick on any of her treated dogs.

I give mine Comfortis and Frontline Plus, just in case  I do them on a rotating schedule, so they get one every two weeks.


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## SMARTY

galaxie said:


> I give mine Comfortis and Frontline Plus, just in case  I do them on a rotating schedule, *so they get one every two weeks*.


Every two weeks? Was this recommended by your vet? That seems like quite a bit to me when both directions say every 4 weeks.


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## Me+Sydney

I think she probably means she staggers them - so Frontline every 4 weeks and Comfortis every 4 weeks, but not applied at the same time...?


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## SMARTY

"rotating schedule, so they get one every *two weeks*".

I didn't question the 2 products, but do question the every 2 weeks.


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## galaxie

SMARTY said:


> Every two weeks? Was this recommended by your vet? That seems like quite a bit to me when both directions say every 4 weeks.


Yes, recommended by my vet. They get ONE every two weeks - so Comfortis on the 1st of the month and Frontline Plus on the 15th. IMO, it's a lot to give them all that medication on the same day once a month. Plus, we all know that in the 4th week preventatives tend to be significantly less effective, so this rotating schedule prevents that from happening.


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## galaxie

SMARTY said:


> "rotating schedule, so they get one every *two weeks*".
> 
> I didn't question the 2 products, but do question the every 2 weeks.


ONE every two weeks, NOT both!


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## SMARTY

Natalie, I don’t mean to seem dense but you give one flea protection (Comfortis), then in 2 weeks you give another flea treatment (Frontline Plus)? Is that what you are saying? This just seems like a lot of flea treatment to me and I am having a hard time reasoning why your vet would suggest this.

I do have the same schedule but with the Heartgard on the 1st and the Frontline Plus on the 15th. So if there is a reaction I know which preventative is the cause.


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## galaxie

Sandi, because Comfortis isn't proven to protect against ticks, just fleas. Fronline Plus and Comfortis use two completely different active ingredients and work in different ways. It's kind of like taking Advil for your headache and Tylenol a couple of hours later if your headache starts to linger again - there is no danger of mixing the two drugs as they don't have any sort of interaction with each other within the body.

My vet recommended this method because the fleas down here are basically immune to Frontline Plus, but it still works on the ticks. I would put Frontline on the pups and literally two or three days later I would find fleas on them, but never a tick. However, during the 4th week of treatment I have found ticks on both dogs. So, using both treatments has been the most effective for us.


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## SMARTY

Natalie, thank you for explaining the reason for using the two products in conjunction with each other, I’m glad to know that they can be used successfully in this manner.


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## irishnproud2b

While looking for the best price for this product, I came across this:

http://www.bestpricepets.com/brands/Comfortis.html


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## pixie's mom

I looked into this product and spoke to my vet. It's good but it does not protect them from mosquitos. Her in FL they are as big as 747's when the wind comes out of the west.


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## ls-indy

Comfortis doesn't work against mosquitoes (which carry heartworm) and I am planning to use a separate heartworm preventative. Since Beau loves to lick Daisy, I am reluctant to use a topical tick medicine. That's why Comfortis appeals to me. I never saw a tick on Daisy or Beau until this week so I wasn't using anything for ticks....

I guess nothing's perfect. It's so hard to protect our fur-kids without over medicating!!


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## galaxie

SMARTY said:


> Natalie, thank you for explaining the reason for using the two products in conjunction with each other, I'm glad to know that they can be used successfully in this manner.


Happy to clarify! It was a frustrating ordeal for us getting to this point because I would find fleas on Roscoe LITERALLY two or three days after applying Frontline. And even if he hadn't been outside for a couple of days I would STILL find them. Ugh. Haven't seen one in awhile  thank goodness.


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## lfung5

Thanks for the info. I really need to look into this, because deer ticks are a huge problem here. I wonder if the ticks are repelled from the dog or just fall off.


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## galaxie

OK IMPORTANT NEWS HERE!!!

Found a tick on Roscoe yesterday, couple of days before he was due for his Frontline. He got his Comfortis just two weeks ago, so I'm no longer feeling confident that it is actually effective on ticks!


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## ls-indy

With either fleas or ticks - does Comfortis have a lag-time getting in their system and killing the pesty little buggers??? I haven't started it yet, but plan to start the Comfortis tomorrow and then give Heartgard on the 15th of the month. I can do this since they went to the vet this weeks and were negative for heartworms - so its okay for me to wait the extra 15 days. (They were on Sentinel...)


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## LuvCicero

I use Comfortis during the summer months. It's suppose to start killing fleas in 30 minutes. My vet told me I could use Frontline also if I was having a tick problem - just like Natalie explained above. They are two different meds and okay to use together if you need to.


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