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By: Impact.
Does Frontline Have the "Advantage" Over "Advantix?"
We love our dogs and cats, but we hate the bugs and vermin that love to munch on them. No doubt you all know about the many flea/tick treatments to choose from, with Frontline Plus and K9-Advantix being the most popular; but which one is the best for treating your pet? Both products promise that they are the best solution for fleas, ticks and other parasites. Someone must be mistaken here. For years my family has used Frontline per recommendation from our veterinarian. He told us that Advantix was toxic to cats and humans if swallowed, so we naturally went with Frontline because we have had cats and we occasionally have small children, you know for safety's sake. Whether or not Advantix is toxic I have no first hand account though, so I decided to do a little research to find out the opinions of people that use different treatments.
I decided to look up K9-Advantix first, I found this product is produced by the Bayer company, who also manufactures aspirin and other medications. For their Advantix information I found a chart comparing their effectiveness to that of Frontline Plus, though it may be biased, it makes the appearance that Advantix is clearly the superior product. According to their chart, Advantix and Frontline both kill ticks, fleas, and lice; but in addition, Advantix also claims to kill mosquitoes and repel all of the above nuisances, as well repel (although not kill) biting flies. I was unable to locate such a chart on Frontline's website, but they claim to be the number one recommended solution by veterinarians. I myself can attest to the recommendation as my own vet recommended it for my dog as I said before.
Frontline also has products for cats, while Advantix has a stigma of being highly toxic to cats and humans (however the website does not seem to provide any "official" elaboration). After looking at the websites for the two products I decided to view some forum entries on SD to see what we dog lovers prefer to kind of get an objective third party opinion. What I found was quite interesting. I only saw one
reference to Frontline and none to K9-Advantix, despite being the most heavily advertised products for killing parasites. I mostly found recommendations in forum posts for other products such as Adam's or Comfortis. So I guess the big question is still quite a mystery, but survey says that both products, while getting the most media buzz, are actually the lesser recommended of a wide array of options for fleas and ticks. But for expert opinion, it is recommended that you consult with your veterinarian to verify the best option for your pets, because what may be a great option for one, may be worse for another.