Our customer asked:
Can I place Frontline Spot-on on my dog's tummy, as the hair on the scruff is so dense, the frontline might not reach the skin? My dog is very itchy and I think the Frontline is not getting to the skin.
Our reply:
In fact it should be fine to put the Frontline anywhere on the body, as long as it gets onto the skin without running off, or being removed by the dog. However I am not sure this will make the difference for you. I believe in fact that if the Frontline goes mostly onto the hair of the scruff area, it will still work. As long as it does not drip off the dog by running over the surface of the hair and falling to the ground, it should work. The active ingredient diffuses through the oily coating of the skin and hair. This oily stuff (sebum) coats all the hairs, as well as the skin surface, and indeed Frontline passes over the surface of the body partly through hairs rubbing against each other as the dog moves, so transferring the Frontline by moving contact as well as diffusion.
If your dog is itchy, some form of allergy (dietary or inhaled) might well be the reason, unless you are seeing evidence of fleas. I would continue to use Frontline regularly, however you apply it, but be open to other possibilities. If your dog is really bad then you should see a vet, but otherwise you could try one of the oil supplements designed to help with itchy dogs. (Yumega Plus is very popular at the moment for this purpose. I would try that too personally.)