Frontline & Interceptor
How many of you use Frontline & Interceptor. How often to you use both or each on your dogs? I have been using both for years once a month (frontline on the 1st & Interceptor on the 15th). I don't use the Frontline after Oct & start it again in April. I am now worrying that this is too much & too often. Thx, sue |
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| Hi Sue,
We use the Frontline and Interceptor year round, once a month. If it is a very cold winter with freezing temps we stop the Frontline for one month in January, and resume in Feb. Please check with your vet for your area. I would love to stop the Frontline for the winter, but we have a very high deer tick population here. Our vet advised us to stay with the frontline as they were seeing ticks embedded in Feb/Mar. They previously advised taking winter months off but they are concerned about the prevalence of ticks in the winter season. This year we had very little snow. As for Interceptor, its monthly year round. We give it on the first of every month. When Bogart was a puppy the vet was discussing the importance of the Interceptor with me. He was very upset, because they had just tested a chocolate lab that came back positive for heartworm. It really impressed upon me that heartworm is out there and we have been on track monthly with the med. It's easier for them to take now---since it is flavored. Years ago it was a capsule, and my OES would cheek it, then when I turned around, it would get launched across the room like a rocket.  |
| On my vet's advice I was giving frontline and interceptor monthly, year-round, while living in Philly.
Here in Boulder, my vet said they don't need frontline anymore and only need the interceptor from May through November, but that it is ok to give it year round. I like giving it year-round because it is my understanding that it controls other worms in addition to heartworm. I agree that you should check with your vet to see what is advisable for your area. |
| I don't use any of those things... I prefer less chemicals.
However, in my area there isn't a heartworm problem, at least there hasn't been. I wonder about this year because we had a fairly mild winter so I'll be keeping an eye on it. |
| Oscar gets Frontline every month, weather dependent. I usually don't bother in December, January or February, unless we are going to Florida, or we've had a very mild winter. I start up again in March, as we usually get a couple of warm days, and that's all it takes before we see ticks.
He gets Sentinel (Heartworm prevention) monthly year-round. I have seen mosquitoes in my house in DECEMBER (yes, in Illinois!  ), so I don't take any chances with that one.
Hope this info helps! Laurie and Oscar |
| Sue, I used to give it to our dogs the same months you have listed but after dealing with the mite issue we had in the winter, and how that may have been adverted if they were on a preventative. I will be giving all of the animals the preventative year-round. |
| Panda gets frontline and heartgurard april to october.... |
| Bailey takes Interceptor monthly. My vet's opinion is that winters here are mild, and the prudent course of action is to continue it year round.
**Darcy, please don't freak out over this because obviously Panda is not sensitive to Ivermectin or you would have known a long time ago** Heartworm medications that contain Ivermectin as the active ingredient (like Heartgard) are not recommended for herding dogs. There are certain genetic lines of herding dogs that cannot tolerate Ivermectin. According to my vet if you have a puppy and are just starting heartworm medication you should use a non-Ivermectin medication like Interceptor. |
| Here we go with both all year round, though the vet has told us we can stop the frontline during the winter. We travel to so many different climates I feel better sticking with both all year. |
Bailey's Mom wrote: **Darcy, please don't freak out over this because obviously Panda is not sensitive to Ivermectin or you would have known a long time ago**
okay now that im sufficiently freaked out....WHY wouldnt the vet tell me this???? can i stop the heartguard and start giving her ivermectin????? boy will i have to have some answers on wed from my vet!!! |
| As the director of a county mosquito control I am asked the question how long should we give the pills?
First of all your environment plays a large part if you live in a warm climate were mosquitoes are present all year then give the pills all year. I live in the northeast and after the 2nd frost the species that causes heartworm is dead no need to continue the pills. Some people see mosquitoes in cold weather these species survive the winter as mated adult females that do not take a blood meal or carry the disease. Their are over 3,000 species of mosquitoes in the world and only 16 are hosts for heartworm. |
Darcy wrote: Bailey's Mom wrote: **Darcy, please don't freak out over this because obviously Panda is not sensitive to Ivermectin or you would have known a long time ago** okay now that im sufficiently freaked out....WHY wouldnt the vet tell me this???? can i stop the heartguard and start giving her ivermectin????? boy will i have to have some answers on wed from my vet!!! Told you not to freak out! Dogs that are sensitive to ivermectin have bad reactions immediately. You would have known three years ago. Your vet may not be aware of the issue, it only affects herding dogs - dogs with white feet. Until I read about this I never realized that all herding dogs have white feet
Here - this article says that the dosage of ivermectin in heartgard is too low to even cause a problem: http://newsday.typepad.com/news_local_f ... l_col.html |
Bailey's Mom wrote: You would have known three years ago. Your vet may not be aware of the issue, it only affects herding dogs - dogs with white feet. Until I read about this I never realized that all herding dogs have white feet
Not exactly true... while the gene (mdr1) that leads to sensitivity to ivermectin and some other dugs (due to a difference in how it crosses the blood brain barrier) IS prevalent among dogs who are part of the herding group, and is linked to the "irish white spotting" gene which is why our dogs have white feet, not all herding dogs have white feet. German shepherds for example.... |
Did I mention my husband is a mosquito man? The "guest" revealed 
sue |
Ok, I am nervous! Allie has been on Heartguard from the beginning, she is 1 year (and takes Advantix). I will talk to the Vet next month, find out why she does not know about this with hearding breeds....I thought she knew everything  |
Valerie wrote: I like giving it year-round because it is my understanding that it controls other worms in addition to heartworm.
It does! I thought taking a few months break would be okay but Bear somehow attracted every worm he could after I did. They stay on year round now. I take the guys too many places where they're exposed to keep them off of it. I give Heartgard because I know no one has sensitivity to Ivermectin. I learned this when I gave Immodium before I knew this could be a potential problem. Luckily, we didn't have any reactions so everything ended well. |
| I give Obe frontline plus and interceptor once a month from April to November. This past winter we spent in Georgia so we used both products year around. I spoke with my vet yesterday and she in formed me of a couple of things. (1) there is no need to use these products year around in the mountains of Colorado because of our winters ( snow and cold October- April). (2) Ivermectin should not be used with herding dogs. She actually gave me a print out to read about this product. She said that they use Iverheart but this heartworm medication contains Ivermectin so she recommened that I continue to use Interceptor.
I am going to try Advantix instead of Frontline and see how it works, anyone ever used this product before? They say it repels mosquitos as well as ticks and fleas???? I guess we shall see. |
| I give Allie the Advantix, being we are in Northern Michigan alot. Plus Mosquito heaven around here! I am concerned though, because I give her the Heartgurad! Will be changing that next month when I see the Vet. |
ccnwater wrote: I give Allie the Advantix, being we are in Northern Michigan alot. Plus Mosquito heaven around here! I am concerned though, because I give her the Heartgurad! Will be changing that next month when I see the Vet.
If she hasn't had a reaction from it, there's no reason to worry about taking her off of it. She would've reacted already if she was going to. |
| OK, Butterscotch..Then I will not worry about it. She seems very happy/healthy to me! But I will bring it up to the Vet for her future patients., being she must not have been aware of the Herding issue...Thanks! |
| Here's the info from Heartgard Plus... we give this also but have been considering a switch because of it's "food" ingredients instead-
http://heartgard.us.merial.com/download ... mation.pdf "...Studies with ivermectin indicate that certain dogs of the Collie breed are more sensitive to the effects of ivermectin administered at elevated dose levels (more than 16 times the target use level) than dogs of other breeds. At elevated doses, sensitive dogs showed adverse reactions, which included mydriasis, depression, ataxia, tremors, drooling, paresis, recumbency, excitability, stupor, coma and death. HEARTGARD demonstrated no signs of toxicity at 10 times the recommended dose (60 mcg/kg) in sensitive Collies. Results of these trials support the safety of HEARTGARD products in dogs, including Collies, when used as recommended..." |
| I can't remember exactly when I gave my dog his intercepter pill in Sept. I usually give it to him on the 5th. Is it critical, or can I get back on schedule? What if the doses are close together, is it harmful? |
| I think doses too close together can be harmful but being late a few days is probably ok. After all, months range from 28-31 days so it a monthly dose is already an approximation. You can always call your Vet and ask -- or, if you are worried, get a heartworm test before you dose. Perhaps consider how often heartworm occurs in your area. I am often a couple of days late in giving the pill but never early. |
| From what I have been told the medication is recommended at a monthly interval because it is easier for the owner to track. In reality the effects of the meds will last for another 7 to 10 days. Since that is the case it would be better to give the medication a little later than to early which could have an negative impact. |
| I have had Jenny on both year round since I got her at 13 weeks. She is now 2 and I haven't had any problems. My vet also recommends the year round preventive care. |
| We use Advantrix monthly from March until firt frost, usually December. No problem what so ever, except for some scratching the first day or so its applied. My older dog did test positive for allergy for Ivermiten but does fine with Advantrix. Advantrix is for fleas ticks and mosquitoes. We use a heartworm monthly also, same period of time and no problem except some maybe looser poop the first day or so. We ahve a very HIGH risk of mosquitoes and ticks. We live on the water and almost all year the mosquitoes are a problem. Even humans are getting West Nile from mosquitoes and Lymes from ticks. In almost four years of using these two products, we ahve no problem...and dogs have had no big reaction. |
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