So about once a month, Sparky has an accident in his crate. I woke up this morning and his crate was full of loose stool, which prompted a quick visit to the groomer, he needed a shower anyway. Nothing new with food or treats. Also, no contact with other dogs because of the oral canine papilomavirus. The only recent thing done was his monthly application of Frontline plus Tuesday night (two days ago). Also, he had heartgard but that was over a week ago. I've been trying to narrow it down for a while now. He had a small amount off loose stool again before I crated him, I think I'll try to take him out again a little later, just to make sure his system is clear. Usually, this clears up after a day. It seems that his LBMs coincide with Frontline Plus. Has anyone else have this issue before? and what other alternatives are there besides Frontline?
A friend of mine gave frontline to her two dogs and they both had diarrhea as well. Too strange to be a coincidence.
Why don't you try stopping the Frontline Plus for a couple of months and see if there's a difference?
I think it is unlikely that the Frontline Plus caused the loose stools. It is not systematically absorbed. Being a topical medication, it "sits" in the hair follicle and releases the drug onto the skin surface,and targets the fleas/ticks. This is why there is more likelihood of a dog reacting locally with irritated skin. Indeed this is mentioned as a possible S/E. You mention he has an accident about once a month? Maybe just jot down in a diary when this happens, and what else is going on, walks, activity, diet etc... I am not sure though, regarding your Heartgard Plus medication. Reported in trials diarrhoea was 1.1%. Outside of clinical trials the incidence could be higher, however that was administered over a week ago. Saying all that, you could just give the vet a quick call, just to check. Hope it all clears up soon! Bramble had the same problem when younger, well up to about 8 months old she would randomly have explosions in her crate, we never quite got to the err...bottom of it!
Yes, very effective too against ticks. I know in this part of the world and heading into Spring, I do get very worried about ticks and associated health risks from a tick bite.
Only problem with the scalibor is that it is poisonous to aquatic life, so I will be taking it off before Poppy does any swimming.
I've used frontline a couple years ago and switched to nexgard. never had any problems with frontline (luckily) but maybe frontline is not good for some dogs.
While I do agree that Frontline is a topical medicine, it really does not remain topical. It is administered to the nape and supposedly, the dog's natural oils will help spread all over his body. This process probably takes a couple of days. Now what dog does not lick himself? I am sure he probably ingests some of the frontline and gets diarrhea from it. There are a few threads on the web mentioning diarrhea with frontline. Sparky was also more "laid back" after the last Frontline application. No really lethargic but compared to his rowdy self, he was pretty laid back and just laying down. His stool has improved now. No accidents today in the crate. His poo is semi-formed now, somewhat soft, but leaves little residue when picked up.
That's interesting, I do wonder if the application of frontline causes a "sensation" which is not entirely pleasant for the dog. I am sure with their sensitive noses that they do not actually like Frontline being applied. That is just speculation though, I don't actually know the answer. The reported side effect is scratching/itchy sore skin. Any nausea might indeed be caused by licking. There are a lot of choices now available in preventing fleas/ticks. As long as something suitable for your particular dogs circumstances, and which actually does the job as we head into summer is the main thing.
We've never used Frontline but we have used a couple of spot in treatments that Ella has had an immediate reaction to, long before she'd have the chance to lick anything. I never really thought about their ability to lick it once it's spread. An interesting thought but surely manufacturers would have explored this during their design and testing?
