Advantix Flea & Tick Review

We have been owned by Newfoundland Dogs and Golden Retreivers for about twenty years.  We initially used Adams Flea and Tick Spray because that was all that there was available to fight off the ticks in the woods of Minnesota, Wisconsin and the parks near our home.  Adam's smell was not the greatest, and it hung around in the car and our home for days after we sprayed the critters.  Frequent swimmers, the Newfs and Goldens had to be sprayed down as soon as they dried off.  We never had any luck with any product stopping bug bites around our male Newfies' eyes.  There are no safe bug repellents to rub in that sensitive area.  The areas around the boys' eyes would swell leaving the boys looking like they had gone 13 rounds with a prize fighter.

We switched to Frontline in 1999.  All of our Newfie friends were using it because it was convenient (once a month) and not bothered by swimming.  However, it did nothing for the bug bites around our male Newfies' eyes.  Also, Frontline was expensive as all get it out.  With several LARGE dogs, the cost to dose them for a season was over $500 and going up each year.  At that price it should keep ALL the ticks off our dogs.  Still, after a hike in the woods at my in-laws' place on the lake in northern MN, I'd be pulling ticks off the dogs.  That was disappointing.

Two years ago my wife and I researched the various topical dog flea and tick products.  We were surprised to find that each manufacturer has its own study and set of results for its own products.  Each one's test report said that its product was far superior to all the others by wide margins.  Sadly, there is no independent organization (such as Consumer Reports or major veterinary university) to have made a study of the efficacy of dog or cat flea and tick products.  We were at the mercy of the manufacturers.  Therefore, those results mean nothing.  So, we talked to our vets.  They supported Frontline because they made piles of money selling it to their patients.  But, our vets said that there was absolutely nothing wrong with K9 Advantix, unless we had a cat.  K9 Advantix is toxic to cats.  Since a cat would stand little chance of surviving playtime with our critters, and since I am deathly allergic to cats, that wasn't a problem.  We talked to a couple other vets and other dog owners at our obedience club who used K9 Advantix.  Former Frontline users, they gave positive reviews of it.  Then, we switched to K9 Advantix.

We checked the online sources, and Pets.com was and still is the least expensive for K9 Advantix.  I think shipping was free.  It is CONSIDERABLY LESS EXPENSIVE than Frontline. Going into our third year with K9 Advantix none of our dogs has any problems with the product.  It isn't phased by swimming as long as one applies it as directed.  A big, big side bonus has been the lack of bug bites around our male Newfies' eyes.  The eyes look great!  The dogs are very comfortable.  Best of all, we haven't pulled a single tick off of any of the dogs after hiking in the woods!