Went to my AKC club meeting tonight. We had a power point on fleas and ticks and a guy from Frontline came to talk about their new product Certifect. It's pretty much like Frontline Plus, but kills ticks even faster (starts killing in 6hrs vs. 24hrs) with a new chemical. And they did tests to see if it was okay to use on pregnant bitches and puppies over 8 weeks. They found no ill effects. They tested 30 bitches and followed their litters to 6 months of age. Anyway, thought I'd share since it's such a new product. It's only been out for 3 weeks so far, so don't be surprised if you can't find it at your vet's yet.

I wonder if this is their way to create a new patented product since their patent expired on Frontline Plus.

Not questioning the product at all, so I hope my post doesn't come across that way. I'm glad you mentioned it, always good to know about new products. But is the only difference the speed of killing ticks?

Any idea what the price point on it will be/is?

Btw, I'm just asking to know. I don't use chemical flea/tick meds on my dogs.

The vets said it would be about double the price, cause it's two meds that combine when you apply it. And yes the only difference is that it kills ticks quicker.

Oh another interesting point the guy made. He said in their tests, Frontline Plus killed ticks for up to a month, but kept killing fleas for 3 months. Oh and that they only sell to vets, so places like Petmeds get their products on the blackmarket. Kind of weird. I wonder how petsmart and petco gets all theirs. I'm sure there's a loophole somewhere that makes it legal.

SaraB wrote:

Oh and that they only sell to vets, so places like Petmeds get their products on the blackmarket. Kind of weird. I wonder how petsmart and petco gets all theirs. I'm sure there's a loophole somewhere that makes it legal.

Guarantee you that's a BS line to bolster vet sales. I'm sure that stores have vets do the actual purchasing of the products to make it "legal" but still. That sounds like a sales pitch to me.

It did sound weird to me too, but that's what the Frontline guy said. By that point the meeting had gone on way too long and I didn't feel like asking questions.

And this is what it says on the website:

Why are FRONTLINE Brand Products only available through my veterinarian?
It is Merial's sales policy to sell our small animal products only where a veterinarian/client/patient relationship exists. Merial believes that the veterinarian is the only professional qualified to serve the health care needs of pets, the concerns of their owners and the appropriate use of our small animal products such as FRONTLINE Brand Products.

Hmm, all this information is really making me dislike Frontline. I wasn't against them before but you can bet I am now.

Wait. Why? They seemed fine and seemed to go a little above what other flea and tick companies did by testing with pregnant dogs and puppies and they did a test where they applied the product to dogs in dog/cat households to see if there were any affects on the cats and found no ill effects. Seems to me they are fine. I don't like big companies all that much and really I've never had any luck using treatments like that (I think a husky's coat is too dense), but they seem just like any other company. But if I had a really big tick problem, I'd probably use this product. The reason it's "better" is cause it gets the ticks off your dog quicker, so there is less chance the tick will transfer disease to your dog. The vet there (not associated with frontline) said he'll use something like that on his dogs after he goes hunting with them, but as regular treatment, he uses something else that isn't quite as strong.

Being so picky as to only sell a product at a vet that doesn't require a prescription? Everyone knows you can buy Frontline pretty much ANYWHERE and I highly doubt everyone gets their products on the black market.

Coming out with this immediately following their patent expiration seems more than coincidental to me...just way too convenient timing. Pricing it at possibly double, as if that stuff doesn't cost enough already.

Do you still have cats at your home Sara? I use Rose Geranium oil to repel ticks, best thing I've EVER used for getting rid of ticks. That stuff outperforms even chemical tick repellents and it's a million times safer for your dog and cheaper. Obviously if you still have cats (foster or otherwise) that come into contact with your dogs then it wouldn't be an option for you. But my dogs lived with cats for a year while on the Rose Geranium oil and there was never a problem since the cats and dogs didn't really interact, pretty much avoided each other.

I just don't like how everything is adding up with Frontline and their practices.

SaraB wrote:

Oh and that they only sell to vets, so places like Petmeds get their products on the blackmarket. Kind of weird. I wonder how petsmart and petco gets all theirs. I'm sure there's a loophole somewhere that makes it legal.

I really don't think that is true. My vet encourages us to shop around for a better price, but has a "buy 6 doses, get one free" deal that makes her Frontline right in line with the prices at Petmeds and discount stores (I think our Wal-mart now has Frontline). It seems to be pricier at the pet store chains.

I also don't understand the part about killing ticks faster. I thought these products repel ticks. I don't want tick bites at all... I don't care how long it takes for them to die, they should not be biting anyway. I've typed all this without reading up on this product. I think I may need to do that...

Most of the topical meds for fleas and ticks are not repellants, they just kill them later on. That was one of the big points the vet(not the frontline guy) made in his power point. Pretty much they added something that makes the chemical work faster and kills the ticks faster. The ticks don't have to bite the dog, they just have to walk around on the dog to get exposed to the chemical.

Honestly, I hardly ever use flea and tick meds, cause thankfully I don't have a problem with them. Don't understand why I don't since my backyard is a solid forest and rats and stray cats frequent it a lot. But somehow...

Oh and yes we still have our two cats and we still foster kittens during kitten season. I might try the Rose Geranium oil if I ever have a problem with ticks. You just put that on their collar right? Might put that on their "dirty" collars that they wear to the dog parks and while on walks. Elara doesn't wear a collar in the house or in the backyard, but Siku does (cause she seems more likely to escape than Elara).

But I didn't know about the whole patent thing. But it makes sense that they'd roll out a new product just in time to keep making money. lol.

This product only seems helpful if you have a really bad tick problem, otherwise the other cheaper products would work just fine. Though I can see how it would be helpful to rescues. My mom once found a hound dog just covered in ticks. She spent all day pulling them off the dog. A product that could just kill the ticks in a few hours would have been much easier.

Have you heard of pet armor? Frontline's patent ran out and they acted quickly and made a generic version of frontline. There islet armor and pet armor plus. I use the plus it's 28 for three months...which is really cheap. Everyone I know has started using it. It's the exact same ingredients as frontline and it works the same (better in my eyes because it's affordable)

SaraB wrote:

I might try the Rose Geranium oil if I ever have a problem with ticks. You just put that on their collar right?

Yes, that's what I do for my dogs. I also sometimes put a drop on their harness if we're going to be in a heavily wooded area or an area that has a lot of ticks present.

Where do you get this Rose Germanium oil? I would like to have something like this for when I take mine to the campgroung

I usually use Frontline but this year the vet gave me Trifexis. It has heartworm and flea control in one pill.

26nikita wrote:

Where do you get this Rose Germanium oil?

I bought mine at Amazon.com, it was really cheap.

I've been using the 1/2 ounce bottle that I bought for less than $9 for 14 months now on my 3 dogs and the bottle is still about 75% full.

26nikita wrote:

Where do you get this Rose Germanium oil? I would like to have something like this for when I take mine to the campgroung

I usually use Frontline but this year the vet gave me Trifexis. It has heartworm and flea control in one pill.

Quite often it is available from health food stores.

Thanks! I will check both places out!

Ok, just watched this: http://www.peta.org/features/professional-laboratory-and-research-services.aspx Warning it is very disturbing, but you can just read it instead of watching it. It says Frontline was one of the companies to pay this facility to do "research" for them. These poor animals and what terrible people! I don't understand how anyone can treat animals like that. I don't like all of what PETA does, but I'm glad they got these people in trouble. Needless to say, I'm not going to be switching to Frontline products (and yes I know other companies probably test the same way, but now I know Frontline did so I'm going to avoid using them).

I couldn't even watch the whole thing... It'd disgusting and horrifying what are society has become and is becoming. I don't understand how someone can be that heartless and have that much hatred and anger in their hearts...

Hence why I recommended reading it and not watching a video. Those ladies just really hated those animals.

This product actually works remarkably well. We were having a MAJOR tick problem about a month ago, maybe longer. Nothing was working. Put this stuff of the dogs and the problem ceased within a week.

Won't even waste my time watching since its probably typical PETA alarmist B/S





(yeah its probably true but its also true that PETA is flakey)