Can my dog go swimming after applying Advantage? Expert Advice

After all those dreary, cold and grey winter months its time to get out and about and soak up some of that spring sunshine with our pets! Walking your dog in the park or venturing further across fields to a lovely stream or a river is the perfect end to a springtime walk. So many of our canine friends love nothing more than to splash around in a stream or a pond, chasing after random sticks that float past, enticing them to jump in. A cooling soak can also be just the ticket after running and playing with friends in the spring sunshine too. However, be careful not to let your pet go swimming within 48 hours of applying your FRONTLINE® Spot On or FRONTLINE Plus®, as it can impair its ability to protect your pet against ticks.

This is especially important in the springtime when ticks are at their most active and your pet is spending more time outdoors. You want to make sure that your dog is protected at all times. Some of the water that our furry friends pick to paddle in is often less than fresh, and with the warmer spring weather, any standing water like ponds and lakes can quickly turn pretty stinky. A good bath with some lovely smelling shampoo should help to get rid of the stench. However, over-bathing your pet (more than once weekly) is not a good idea and can strip their coat of its protective oils. This may not only lead to your pet developing a dry skin and coat, but it can reduce the ability of FRONTLINE® Spot-on products to do their job! This is because FRONTLINE Plus® and FRONTLINE Spot On rely on the natural oils in your pets coat to spread across the coat and body surface for all-over tick efficacy.

Can Advantage be used on pets with itchy skin?

Advantage can be used in the management of pets with very itchy and inflammed skin due to flea bites – also known as flea allergy dermatitis.

What is the active ingredient in Advantage and how does it work?

Advantage contains imidacloprid. Imidacloprid is an insect neurotoxin and works by interfering with the transmission of impulses along the insect nervous system. This causes paralysis of the insect and its ultimate death. Because mammals have a different type of nervous system to insects, imidacloprid does not affect them.

To break the flea life cycle Advantage is applied directly to the skin every 4 weeks. By doing this Advantage ensures that fleas that jump onto your pet will stop feeding, become paralysed and die. In addition Advantage controls the immature stages of the fleas life cycle in the environment and so prevents reinfestation.

Should I bathe my dog before or after flea treatment?