I couldn't agree more. I wouldn't do it for stuff for myself so I wouldn't do it for my dog. There is a lot of info and warnings out there about buying meds from 'iffy' sources.

You can buy safe meds online from approved companies - and lots of Americans buy their meds from Canada because they are so much cheaper. I buy online from a UK company (but costs in Cyprus are ludicrous and it is only Frontline I buy)

I think I would be changing vets, if they started charging for prescription as well as the drugs I have never heard of that before.

The point is, whether its a few pennies or pounds, buying drugs from unknown sources , is gamble I would not be willing to take.

Would you buy antibiotics from a market stall because they were cheaper than prescription prices, it may well look the same, have the same packaging and ingredients listed, but you really have no idea what's in them....would you really give them to your children or yourself, it's the same thing, you are buying cheap drugs, hoping the ingredients are what it says on the tin.... Not a gamble I would risk.

Sorry - I didn't make myself clear. We got the prescription from the vet, but filled it ourselves cheaper on line. I was annoyed though because they had taken £40 off me for checking the boys over - fine, no problem with that, but I do think they could have thrown in the script for free!

My husband used to work for a pharmaceuticals company - he is more than capable of being able to read product information, PIL's, and sort the kosher from the non-kosher.

Reading what it says on the Labe does not mean that's what s in the box, your hubby may well be able to read the chaff from the wheat, but unless he tested the medication each time you bought it from your offshore sites, he is as clueless as anyone as to what's actually in it.

That's what those people who fake products do, they make it look kosher, but whether it is, well it's anyone's guess.

A young British backpacker died after drinking poisonous methanol labelled as gin during a holiday of a lifetime.

To answer the original question...yes you do need a prescription to buy advocate.

Sounds to me like you need to change vets Gnasher! They seem to be taking the p**s! My vets charge £28 for a consultation. £9 for a written prescription. Just the cost of the meds if purchasing from them.
When I buy advocate/wormer from my vet, I just turn up unannounced and ask for it. Receptionist, checks with vet it's ok, they print the labels(with patient details, dosage, etc), I pay and go.

I get written prescription for one tablet my dog needs for an auto immune disease he has, phone up to ask for it, collect it couple of days later and take to asda pharmacy where its way cheaper! That is a human drug though.

I never have to pay for or have a consultation fee if all I want is medication, that has been used before on my dog.

However you aqcuire your pet drugs is up to you, but I would think about switching vets, that could save you some money!!!

Fair enough - but I will continue to save myself a lot of money - safe in the knowledge that hubby has found a reliable and kosher source for any medications we need. No names no pack drill

Precisely. Same with fake perfumes. Anyone who puts those on their SKIN

My son is a Chemist and he warns louder about all this than anyone else and not BELIEVING what the counterfeiters put on the labels. They are crooks after all, and breaking the law - whyever would you think they'd be TRUTHFUL?

From the WHO website:

Full article and more info here:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs275/en/

agree with many people on here, so much rather stump up the cost and pay the premium vets charge on some products, dogs are far more valuable to me than any saving i could make ordering potentially dangerous drugs over the internet.
I'd find believing the packaging of them extremely foolish.