Did Frontline Fail?

Dr. Marie replied:

What you are describing doesn't really sound like fleas. It's possible, but a pink dot that dissolves in your finger isn't really like fleas or flea dirt.

Flea dirt (the feces of fleas) is actually black in color. If you put a piece of flea dirt on a paper towel and put some water on it and smear it it can look pink or sometimes rusty red. But, on the dog it will look black.

So my guess is that there is not a flea problem at all.

With that being said, I am not a fan of putting half doses of medication on dogs even if they are tiny. If the package says it is for use in dogs "up to 22 pounds" or "0-10 pounds" then it really is safe for any sized dog. Using a half dose could result in the product not working because it is conceivably possible that the active ingredient is not spread out exactly evenly throughout the vial. So, you could get one treatment with 90% of the dose and the other half could contain only 10%.

There's no harm in putting a full dose on again, even now. Keep an eye out for more fleas but I'm guessing that there is no problem.

Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

Yes, it is safe to reapply Frontline even if it hasn't been 30 days.

Dr. Marie replied:

I've seen dogs often have black specks around the vaginal area and this can be normal. I am still guessing that the Frontline is doing its job.