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In recent years there has been a surge in pet products and medicines available from the Internet. New government regulations are starting to take control of a potentially dangerous situation.
The problem was that some online pharmacies offered prescription products without a pet ever seeing a veterinarian by using in-house vets to write a script. This circumvented the law dealing with how veterinarians can prescribe medicine. State officials have cracked down on this procedure. Medicating a pet without a veterinarian examing them really doesn't do your pet a good service either.
Many illnesses have common symptoms and what treatment is helpful for one can be harmful to another. Even common drugs from antibiotics ( Clavamox ) to Prescription Heartworm medication for Dogs & Cats (HeartGard  / Filaribits / Revolution ) can have serious consequences in individual cases. Some can even mask the real source of a more serious condition.
Now the system isn't perfect, there are some medications (like dewormers and diets) that are low risk and many in the veterinary community feel it would serve a better purpose to have these labeled (over-the-counter). Unfortunately, drug companies with patent rights (and those who don't have them), Internet companies, regulating boards, the livestock industry, veterinarians and pet owners are arguing over which direction animal medicine and it's spin-off industry should take. The procedure for approving a drug for "over-the-counter" is sizeable but some drugs are starting to trickle through the process like the tapeworm medication for cats and Praziquantel for dogs. Or the Best Selling Flea & Tick Products. But given time more will come available.
Remember, it is your and your veterinarian's job to make sure your pet is adequetely monitored when taking all medications to minimize any side effects and account for the increased aging process. You wouldn't even take Tylenol if you had a latent kidney problem and there's no way of knowing that unless you have a check-up. A pet is no different. Some vet's don't even like dispensing a script for medications because of the potential for abuse. Good communication is key because by current law, vets don't have to accommodate a client's request for a prescription. A major factor in this decision is that vets have strict state guidelines for prescribing and dispensing medications, which are hard to oversee when a company is on the Web. A practicing vet is also required to take pharmacology seminars every few years to continue to keep up-to-date on new medications and their drawbacks.
Natural or herbal pet medicines are also a viable option in some cases like joint stiffness, some of the Best Selling Joint Care and other natural products seem to have less side-effects but are more varied in the responses. Some it doesn't work at all, others it works great but my take a while to start it's effect. But even natural medicines should be taken with advicement. They too can have harmful drug interactions, reactions, dosage limits, organ stress or what may be worse in some cases, delaying time critical medical treatment. So, again please make sure you check with your vet to see if your pet can handle these remedies before using them.
 
Convenience and cost is a large motivation to order online. It is the wave of the future, but you should take some precautions when ordering pet medications on the web.
- Be sure to get the correct spelling of the medication prescribed.
- Check the company's reputation.
- Ask about return policy.
- Ask how the medication has to be stored.
- If it should be refrigerated make sure the cold pack is still cold when it arrives.
- Ask for product info sheet to be sent with order.
- Make sure expiration date is sufficient.
One way to tell if the pet pharmacy is reputable, like 1-800-PetMeds or PetCareRx, is if they ask for a prescription from your veterinarian for a prescription drug, if not then they are breaking the law and don't deal with them.
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