ticks- advantage vs. revolution

Hi, I've been having a problem with my Toby and ticks...it looks like he's allergic to tick bites. The area gets very red and crusty and the last two bites left scars. The vet gave us antibiotics and a cream.
Toby is currently on Revolution for ticks and fleas. The vet told us that this doesn't prevent ticks, it just kills them slowly. My mom wanted to switch to Advantage based on what she read on petmeds.com She thinks it works differently, the vet says they work the same. Now she wants to use both, which the vet said won't hurt him (should I believe it?). I'm just confused.

I looked on the library provided by my veterinarian's website. Mixing these chemicals can be toxic to the dog, according to this information. It appears that Frontline Plus may be the best tick preventative:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=1&C=0&A=2311&EVetID=3001496

I've been reading all morning - everything you want (or don't want) to know about fleas and ticks.

I went to the Advantage website and found that it is only a flea preventative. Then I looked at the Revolution website, and while Revolution prevents several parasites, the only tick it controls is the american dog tick. Frontline Plus controls fleas and 4 major ticks. If you decide to go with Frontline Plus, you'll need a separate heartworm preventative, such as Interceptor, etc.

We live in an area that has a high incidence of ticks, including the deer tick which is a carrier of Lyme disease. That being said, I've only pulled one, perhaps two "attached" ticks from Charlie. (And these were pulled right before he was due for his next treatment.) We use FrontLine + and are very happy with the results.

We are required to give lyme vac to our pup where we live. I use Frontline Plus. So far all the deers living behind our forest has not been a problem yet.

Thanks, Cathy! I talked to my mom and it turns out she said Advantix, not Advantage icon_blshing. Mom thinks Toby gets deer ticks, but I just found out deer ticks don't live here on the West Coast, so I'll have to correct her.
I'm still a little confused, is the medicine supposed to prevent ticks from biting Toby in the first place, or does it kill them once they bite him? I'm looking for the first one, I think the vet said Revolution only does the second one. He gave us tick collars but Toby bites them off somehow and they're toxic, I don't like using them.
Again, thanks for looking it up, Cathy. It can't have been pleasant- ticks are disgusting. I really hate it when Toby gets one, not only is it gross but I always feel really guilty, and now that I know he's allergic I'm paranoid about letting him walk on grass.

I think Frontline Plus only kills them after they come in contact with your dog, but does not prevent them from biting. They say on the package that it takes 24-48 hours to kill a tick. Long after they have probably bitten and attached.

I posted a few days ago asking about wanting a tick repellant, too. Haven't had any luck finding one. If anyone knows of one, please let both of us know!

toby's girls, if you're going to use Advantix I've heard that it is toxic to cats (so if you have cats your dogs shouldn't be on Advantix) - I'm not sure if you have cats or how true this is, but you might want to check on it just in case...

^All the products are toxic to human infants and felines within 72 hour of application. These products should be used with caution.

Frontline & Advantix CLAIM to do both

I have used everything...and I can't find anything that works WELL. Advantix does seem to do the best job at killing them once they bite, but I haven't found anything that repels.

Advantix can be fatal to cats, so you have to make sure you keep your cat(s) isolated until it dries completely (which can take a while!) Also, I found the Advantix can leave stains on the furniture and ruined a Puppia. It's strong stuff, and kind of oily.