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Capstar and Revolution

judy

Well-known member
Does anyone have any experience with these flea treatments? I've noticed most people use Frontline or Advantage/Advantix. Is this because there is some problem with Revolution? They're all three topical that you put on the back of the neck.

Zack had skin lesions, pyoderma, and he had antibiotics for it, and it was going away, there were no new lesions, they were all healing, they heal slow, leaving a big scab that takes a long time to fall off. but they were going away, mostly gone. Then, last Sunday he got some new ones.

I called the vet and she said regretably, i should give him Revolution. She said it was the most gentle of the topical insecticides. I was put off because it also kills ticks and heartworms, and i don't have those, but it seems like it would be stronger if it kills all those things. The vet was guessing the pyoderma might be caused by fleas, and said it would be better to give him the insecticide than to give him antibiotics again. She also said to give him Capstar too, which is in pill form, taken orally, and is fast acting (within an hour) and short acting (only lasts 24 hours).

So i got both of those. I thought i might give them to him tomorrow when i can be home with him all day, in case he has any reaction. I was just wondering if there's something inferior about Revolution that would cause people to use Frontline or Advantage instead.

About the new pyoderma lesions, i started giving him colloidal silver orally three times a day, and spraying it on his new lesions, and i'm really pleased with how fast they are healing up compared to the first wave when i didn't use CS. And no new ones. Maybe it works, although many people say it doesn't. I've used it for stuff though and thought it did work, that's why i have it around the house.

As for the nontoxic flea control stuff i've been trying, if he didn't have the pyoderma, i'd still be working with those things, but basically i didn't know what i was doing this year, the learning curve was so steep, and i haven't gotten on top of it, but i feel hopeful that based on what i've learned this year, next year it will work out and there won't be any fleas. It's only Zack that is having fleas, they are so attracted to him, they leave me and Fluffy alone completely. but he doesn't have it too bad, he's not allergic to it, he doesn't scratch much, he goes hours without scratching. But when i flea comb him, there are usually a few fleas there. They are not getting less despite what i've done. He's getting new ones from the yard. I put nematodes out, but too late i think, and maybe i didn't apply it right, who knows. I used a sprinkling can. Next year i'll buy a sprayer or have Fleabusters come out and do it professionally. also i have to treat the rug and inside the house with diatomaceous earth or boric acid powder, and i haven't done that correctly, i'm not good at stuff like that. so, i'll probably have flea busters do it next year. The heat wave we had really ramped up the fleas, and i have just not gotten over the top of them. i feel defeated and not thrilled about the insecticide, but i am hopeful for next year. The possible ill effects of the poisons are more likely when cumulative. This is just one year....
 
Revolution is the treatment that my vet recommends first. I have used it on my dogs and did not experience any problems.

The reason I switched to using topical Frontline Plus and Interceptor tabs is because India and Geordie had worms several times, and the Interceptor has additional worm protection; it removes and controls adult roundworms and whipworms. We had a behavioral vet do a home visit in our attempts to address their problems with eating acorns and getting bloody diarrhea (in the end we sold our house and bought one with NO oak trees!!), and she recommended the new regimen after reviewing all of our veterinary records.

If you use Revolution, I don't think it's recommended to use Interceptor at the same time.

Revolution does not leave a spot on their coat, like Frontline does. It's just a spot that looks a little discolored and slightly stiffened hairs.

When we adopted Chocolate, her previous owner (a very good breeder) had her on Revolution, but I switched her to my regimen to keep things simple.

I have thought about changing back to the Revolution, but we have a lot of wildlife around here. I would hate for them to pick up a worm infection, which we have been free of since using Interceptor.
 
Thanks Cathy. That's helpful and reassuring. I'm so used to hearing about Frontline and Advantage, and not Revolution, and when i've called vet offices asking about diatomaceous earth and alternatives, I've been told repeatedly tht Frontline is recommended. I know that sometimes happens at least in part because of special relationships with drug company sales reps, who will schmooze vets or doctors, take them out to nice restaurants and who knows what else. Maybe Frontline has been the best at doing this, and it's highly effective at what it does, so vets can feel good recommending it. The first vet i took Zack to said the choices were basicallly Frontline and Advantage. You can't buy Revolution (unlike Frontline and Advantage) at pet supply stores. i don't know why that would be. It must be fairly new, it's not discussed in the 2002 WDJ article about the toxicity of topical flea meds.

Capstar is a tablet which can be used to get rid of existing fleas very fast, they're gone in an hour but it wears off in 24 hours, so it's good for certain situations. Like if you took your dogs to a place where you know it's likely they'll be exposed to fleas and you don't want to carry the fleas back to your home afterward, you can give Capstar.

my vet said to give him that along with the Revolution, to get rid of the fleas quickly. From what i could find out, including calling the drug company and reading the product insert, it has no adverse reactions at all, and is given to 3 week old puppies, and animals as small as 2 pounds. But it can have somethnig called the "tickle effect," where when it takes effect, the fleas start biting more because of the effect of it on their nervous system, they're agitated, so the animal scratches much more. that would make it kind of hard to tell if the animal is allergic to the medication or if it's just the tickle effect.

i love your story about selling your house because of the acorns. That's quite dramatic, to sell a house! But i can imagine your desperation--having experienced chronic bloody diarrhea for a few weeks with zack.
Did the worms come from the acorns? I hope you love your new house even more. :)
 
Yes, I think Revolution is newer. It takes care of both fleas and heartworms, so you only use the one med.

With fleas, once a dog brings them in the house, aren't they difficult to get rid of? I thought that was a huge deal to get rid of the fleas and all their eggs. That's why I use flea medication on my 3 dogs year round.

We had talked about selling the house for a few years, but didn't feel we were quite ready to do it; however, it was very bad not being able to use our fenced yard for our pups! We wanted to see if they'd outgrow the behavior, but last July when the tiny green acorns started falling we could not keep them out of their mouths!!

Our real estate agent must have thought we were a little weird turning down houses we otherwise liked if there were large oak trees in or near the backyard. The house we bought only had one small oak tree, which we cut down ourselves, and will use in the fireplace this winter! I'm glad we moved after all because we have more room and the dogs can run around and play!

I'm not sure how the dogs kept getting worms - maybe the panacur did not kill them all off and they'd multiply back. The vet had told us whipworms are especially difficult to get rid of. The Interceptor has cured the problem completely.
 
wow, the Capstar was impressive. I gave zack the pill in the late morning, then vacuumed, then gave him a good washing, and by the time that was all done, there were no more fleas, nada zilch none zero. but he was scratching more than ever.

I was so torn about putting the Revolution on him, so filled witih regret, knowing there's no way around the fact that it's poison. But because he was scratching more than ever, i didn't want to mess around anymore. I put it on him and was going to take him to the dog park, but his harness was close to the area and i didn't want to rub it, and also, i thought other dogs might lick or bite hs neck and rub it off, and possibly poison themselves, so i decided to go to the store, get some dinner, eat dinner and then take him to the dog park.

By the time i got back from the store, he had become abnormally lethargic, depressed, apathetic, and mostly sleeping, just like when i put the Advantage on him a month ago. Uncharacteristically, he showed no interest when i picked up his leash, no excitment about going out unlike before i went to the store, which is the way he always is.

So this seems to be the effect of neuro-toxin on him. He is never never never like this except the times he's been sick. He is difficult to arouse and lethargic. So...I hope it wears off soon. There's no turning back, it can't be washed off and i don't want to wash it off anyway, i need to kill the fleas.

I gave him Program on Tuesday, it doesn't kill adult fleas but it sterilizes them and they stop being able to reproduce, their eggs can't develop. The literature says some dogs have GI side effects from it. My cat did the last time i gave it to her, last year, though she never did before. When i got home from work on Wednesday there was diarrhea all over the kitchen and vomit in the hall on the carpet. So i probably won't be giving him Program anymore.

But i'm really hopeful that next year i can start in April and treat the yard and the rug, and the fleas will be minimal and manageable with flea combing. In fact, in the coming month while he's protected by the Revolultion, i'm going to try to treat the carpet and the yard some more, and better than before, and hope he won't need any more doses.

Right now, i just want Zack to feel ok again. At least he's not going to have fleas. That Capstar was really amazing, how fast and completely it worked...

just now, he has started perking up. wagging tail, picking up the ball in his mouth, making overtures to the cat. i am so relieved.
 
We use Revolution and have never had any problems with it, but admittedly, we havnen't done any research on it - the vet where my mom has worked for 13 years and who we trust tremendously recommends it, so we use it. Good luck!
 
thanks for the feedback on Revolution. as someone reluctant to use topical pesticide, i was put off by how it also kills ticks and heartworms, since i don't have problems with those and i thought that would make it more dangerous or more toxic. my vet said it was the only one that was tested on humans, and she said it was the "gentlest."

He did get over the after effect sooner on the Revolution than with the Advantage. I was less scared of Advantage because you can wash it off. Revolution will not was off, you can dunk them in water two hours after applying but it will still work. I also like better than Advantage that it's not greasy and it only wets a very small area of their fur and is dry in two hours. The Advantage left a rather large section of heavily oily fur, which had not diminished after 8 hours, and it smelled like poison. The Revolution smelled like poison too but only briefly. So, as much as i hated doing it, it was easier on me and apparently Zack too than when i did Advantage.

The Capstar was amazing, there were no fleas after an hour. But he was scratching more than ever. Technically, you can safely give Capstar once a day, so i could've accomplished getting rid of the fleas without having to use a topical, but it was the scratching that persuaded me to use the Revolution. Until the last few days, despite having plenty of fleas on him, Zack had hardly been scratching over several weeks, and it was worse than ever yesterday. I don't knows if the Capstar was causing the scratching--it's supposed to have the effect of increased scratching due to the effect it has on the fleas, but according to their website, not for that long. The scratching diminished rapidly last night. That was after the Revolution.

Today, Zack is not scratching at all. :D :D :D There was a flea on hiim, but i guess that's to be expected, they keep hatching for weeks. I vacuumed yesterday and i vacuumed again today. I also put diatomaceous earth in the carpet and bedding and furniture today. My goal is to not have to give another dose of Revolution. I only bought one dose. I hope that after a month, they won't come back, the nematodes will eat them in the yard and the DE will kill them in the house. I have a supply of Capstar if needed. I gave both Fluffy and Zack Program so any fleas that bite Fluffy will not be able to reproduce, their eggs won't mature and will never hatch. I'll vacuum a few times a week. i think the peak of the flea season will be over by a month from now.

now i can think about other things besides fleas. what an ordeal. what a relief.
 
I use Revolution as well and have been very pleased with it. I just give an intestional wormer every 3 months as routine. I do not recall ever seeing fleas and start my puppies on the "puppy" revolution before they leave for new homes as well :)
 
thanks for the feedback on Revolution. It certainly has worked, fleas are over. I see an occasional one, which must be from the carpet, the yard and/or the cat, but it's virtually a nonissue now. The cat is barely scratching, i gave her Program as well as Zack (it made them both vomit so i'm not going to use it again) so any fleas that bite her are sterilized. I'll give the cat Revolution if a problem evolves but for now, everything is pretty peaceful. I have treated the carpet with DE. That takes a while to work. I put nematodes in the yard. I have my fingers crossed that by the time the Revolution wears off, the flea season will be over anyway, but i will certainly use it again if needed. i really did appreciate that it only wet a very small area and was dry in two hours.

I guess no one is familiar with Capstar. Throughout this whole thing, i have not been bitten. It's mainly been Zack they want. In the past, in bad years, i have gotten bitten a lot, last year was the worst ever. This year, no bites until the day i gave him the Capstar. I got three of them, big ones. I bet it's because of the effect of the Capstar--it is known to increase fleas' biting behavior, it makes them more aggressive as they are being poisoned. So, i doubt i'll want to use Capstar again. That was Zack's worst scratching day ever, it had me worried for the first time about flea allergy. There were NO fleas at all an hour after i gave it to him, but apparently they were biting from somewhere.
 
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