Flea/tick treatment that avoids leather furniture damage?

February 16, 2010 12:22 PM

Learn from my mistake ... K9 Advantix flea and tick spot treatment does not mix well with leather furniture! Question: are there other brands of spot treatment for fleas and ticks that won't require me to cover every piece of leather furniture in the house before applying to the dogs?

First let me say that I am not knocking K9 Advantix by posting this, in fact their fine print does instruct to avoid leather furniture and the product works extremely well. Unfortunately I'm not one to read fine print which resulted in this permanent discoloration/stain on the back of one of my couches. So, does anyone have an idea of another product that would do the same job without the nasty furniture-ruining experience? Thanks.

posted by Dave. to Pets & Animals (6 answers total)

I am assuming that you carefully followed the instructions, parted the dogs hair and applied it only to the skin on the back of the dog's neck. The problem is that this stuff is oil-based in order to stay on the dog's skin longer. All of the spot treatments I have seen use an oil vehicle to ensure that the medicine stays on the dog long enough to be toxic to the fleas.

One problem you face is that there are flea eggs in the places where the dogs lay around, sleep, etc. A strong flea soap bath will take care of the critters that are on the dog, but the dog will be re-infested once it goes to its bed or favorite spot. I would try daily baths with flea soap for a few weeks, coupled with a spray of the areas where the dog rolls around. Look for botanical sprays that are not toxic to the dog and use only as directed. You have not stated what kind of dog you have, but some breeds are allergic to some kinds of flea toxins, so seek advice from your vet.
posted by Old Geezer at 1:06 PM on February 16, 2010

Thanks Old G, good info. The dogs are Labradors, and they've not had a single flea or tick problem in the last 3 years (actually they've not had a problem since I started using K9 Advantix).

For clarification, I'm actually looking for another brand of spot treatment that does not discolor leather and, failing that, perhaps an orally administered treatment?
posted by Dave. at 1:16 PM on February 16, 2010

Since you don't have a current infestation have you considered one of the prescription pills (Program or Sentinel)? I've been using them for years and haven't had any infestations...knock on wood.

Sentinel is what we're using right now and it's a little pricey, but it also covers heartworms. Program is a bit cheaper and still just as good at stopping fleas.
posted by Zoyashka at 1:40 PM on February 16, 2010

We use Revolution, which also protects against Heartworm, on our casts, and it dries really fast and it says that, with dogs, you can bathe them after just 2 hours has passed, which (I think) means it is absorbed into their skin very quickly.

And we have leather couches and they have not been stained (been using Revolution for about a year now).
posted by misha at 2:57 PM on February 16, 2010

I've had great results with Frontline and no issues with the leather furniture. However, I do make it a point to keep the critters away from the furniture for a short period of time after applying.
posted by curie at 8:56 PM on February 16, 2010

Yikes! We use Frontline Plus and I never thought about protecting the leather couches, but thankfully we haven't had any problems with discoloration. We were considering switching to Advantix, but there's no way we will now.
posted by wherever, whatever at 10:18 PM on February 16, 2010