Want Advice on Dog Medication

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

We lived in City A and took our pets to Vet Clinic A. They recommended Trifexis for our 9-10 pound Shih Tzu. She seemed to be fine with it for a year.

We moved to City B and now take our pets to Vet Clinic B. We are now out of the Trifexis, so I called VC B to ask about pricing (so I could compare to buying online). However, they recommend Sentinel.

Both say either is fine.

The main difference I am reading is that Trifexis kills adult fleas, while Sentinel only prevents egg development.

But what I am also unfortunately reading is a bunch of idiots saying one or the other killed their pet without providing any real information. So, that's nice.

What do you give your dog?

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Fuck. Also, how do I change the thread title?

ETA: Nevermind. Figured it out.

[ceejay]

It seems like every pet medication (and many human medications, for that matter...) will have horror stories online about how the med killed their pet or sent it to the ER etc...

For our dogs, we usually use Frontline for flea/tick prevention and Iverhart Max for heartworm prevention. We haven't had any problems with either of those meds so I'm hesitant to switch to anything else when these seem to work fine.

[URMySunshine77]

We have been using Trifexis for two years, and it has been successful. If I happen to see a flea on the dog, it's always a slow one, I never find more.

[madamewaffles]

My dog happily chomps his Sentinel pill down once a month. He has never had a problem with it.

[URMySunshine77]

Also, you can use a Trifexis rebate to save a little money. On the Web site, they usually post a $20 rebate for a year's supply.

[kariann12]

Either should be fine. And any medication has the potential to have adverse reactions. I haven't heard anything major about either brand.

[lilsneezy]

I use Frontline on my dog and never had a problem.

[squeakyduck]

Our dog has been taking trifexis for 3 years and he's fine. He threw up after it once the first year, but now we just give it to him with a meal and when we'll be home for a few hours after.

If trifexis is working, I probably wouldn't switch.

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Jun 11, 2015 16:35:23 GMT -5 URMySunshine77 said:

Also, you can use a Trifexis rebate to save a little money. On the Web site, they usually post a $20 rebate for a year's supply.

I found out that Sentinel does the same thing. They must want to stay ahead!

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Jun 11, 2015 16:50:52 GMT -5 @nochill said:

I don't go here, but I'm a vet tech, so a question for you first and then my opinion.

Are you in an area with a lot of ticks or do you go on a lot of hikes, trips to the lake, etc? If so, you might consider something else, like Heartgard or Iverhart + something like Frontline or Nexgard for flea AND tick prevention.


Neither product you mentioned should be fatal unless your dog has an underlying condition, which I feel like you would know about already. The only fatalities I've seen that could *maybe* be attributed to a heartworm preventative would be in dogs who were already heartworm positive and the owners gave the preventative anyway. Heartworm preventative can be fatal to dogs who already have adult heartworms because it kills the microfilariae in the bloodstream. When a dog is already positive, the amount of microfilariae is significant, and the preventative tries to kill off the massive amount in the bloodstream, which can cause the dog to go into shock and (sometimes) die. So, as long as you are doing regular heartworm blood tests and your dog is coming up negative, either product would be fine. All heartworm preventatives work the same for the heartworm part, but each treats other times of worms (hookworm, tapeworm, etc) as well, and they are all different, so make sure whatever you're getting treats what you're looking for.

Now, as for the flea prevention, you are correct. Sentinel will only kill the egg development. But usually if a dog gets fleas, it starts with one or two, who then reproduce and then you've got an infestation on your hands. If they have Sentinel on board, then the fleas can't reproduce, and die off in their life cycle so you don't have a problem. If you have no other pets, Sentinel would be a fine product to use. But if you have other pets, or if your dog is around other pets who you can't confirm are on a flea preventative, I wouldn't use it, since the adult fleas could jump around and reproduce.

AFM, I treat my dogs with Heartgard + Frontline, as we are in a heavy tick area. But I've used Sentinel in the past with no flea problems at all.

Thank you so much for your reply (and giving a motherfuck!  )

I have yet to see her with any ticks, so that is why I was leaning towards one of these "one-in-all's".

They both should have the same affect with regard to the x-worms treatment, as they both have the same ingredient. Is that correct? The only difference is the flea treatment?

I think I might stick with Trifexis for this next year, as we have a cat (who is also treated, but just in case), plus I recently saw a flea, so I want to make sure I treat anything I missed. Yeesh, it gives me goosebumps thinking about it. Blech!

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Thank you all for responding!

[pismoduo]

We can we Trifexis for both our dogs (a JRT and shih tzu). The JRT has been on it for almost 3 years, the shih tzu for almost 2. Neither have ever had any issues with it.

FWIW, there was a pretty bad flea outbreak among the dogs at our local dog park. Quite a few people I spoke to had been using Sentinel or something like Front line and their dogs were still getting fleas. So it seems like it can depend on the type of fleas, or something.

[goldenlove3]

We used to use Sentinal+Frontline but last year Sentinal had a shortage so they switched us to Heartgard+Frontline. We get the Frontline from Costco.

[pibblemom]

I don't know about either of these, but we use frontline for flea/tick and were just switched from heartgard to interceptor for heartworm prevention. My pup came down with whip worms a month or so ago, and my original vet had never mentioned the difference between interceptor and heartgard. When I took him to another vet because of some bloody stools, he did a fecal sample and found whipworms, which heartgard doesn't protect against.

[LovesMeSomeCake]

Jun 11, 2015 17:30:54 GMT -5 @nochill said:

Also if there is one thing that I will always give a motherfuck about, it's animals.

@nochill What are your thoughts on the new chewable flea and tick preventative? I can't think of the name but they suggested it with our new puppy, and its great not having the big oil patch on his fur for a week.  We have a HUGE tick problem by us, so its important to me, and I'm never sure if the vet is just pushing something because they get a better rate.  We get our frontline from Costco for our big guy, but I'd switch him over if the chewable is legit.  

Sorry to shop talk you, hope you don't mind!

Edit: NEXGARD is the name of it

[lovegrilledcheese]

My dog (14lb terrier/poodle mix) has been taking Trifexis for the past three years with no problems. I make sure he eats a full meal before I give him the pill. We have never had an issue with fleas while he has been on it.

[mrss44]

We use Trifexis and have never seen fleas on either of the dogs. We like it.

[cheshie6]

My dogs have used Trifexis for 3 years or so and I loved it! But we moved to New England from PNW and had to switch to a topical and a separate heart worm medication because nothing protects from Ticks. That being said. I had a hard time giving my dogs Trifexis. They didn't like the taste. From what I've seen they are comparable and I would see which one your dog likes more. (or dislikes least) Then I would play the cost game.

[NariaDreaming]

Jun 11, 2015 16:35:12 GMT -5 madamewaffles said:

My dog happily chomps his Sentinel pill down once a month. He has never had a problem with it.

We have used sentinel for 2 years with no issue. We also don't do any major hiking or deep woods activities though

[pismoduo]

Jun 12, 2015 15:50:30 GMT -5 cheshie6 said:

My dogs have used Trifexis for 3 years or so and I loved it! But we moved to New England from PNW and had to switch to a topical and a separate heart worm medication because nothing protects from Ticks. That being said. I had a hard time giving my dogs Trifexis. They didn't like the taste. From what I've seen they are comparable and I would see which one your dog likes more. (or dislikes least) Then I would play the cost game.

My dog will never take pills voluntarily. Doesn't matter what it tastes like.

So... all pills get smooshed into a spoonful of peanut butter. Pretty much impossible to spit the pill out, and they go nuts for peanut butter.

[rablissful]

Jun 13, 2015 12:58:41 GMT -5 pismoduo said:

Jun 12, 2015 15:50:30 GMT -5 cheshie6 said:

My dogs have used Trifexis for 3 years or so and I loved it! But we moved to New England from PNW and had to switch to a topical and a separate heart worm medication because nothing protects from Ticks. That being said. I had a hard time giving my dogs Trifexis. They didn't like the taste. From what I've seen they are comparable and I would see which one your dog likes more. (or dislikes least) Then I would play the cost game.

My dog will never take pills voluntarily. Doesn't matter what it tastes like.

So... all pills get smooshed into a spoonful of peanut butter. Pretty much impossible to spit the pill out, and they go nuts for peanut butter.

That's how I get my dog to take pills as well!

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Jun 13, 2015 13:02:32 GMT -5 rablissful said:

Jun 13, 2015 12:58:41 GMT -5 pismoduo said:

My dog will never take pills voluntarily. Doesn't matter what it tastes like.

So... all pills get smooshed into a spoonful of peanut butter. Pretty much impossible to spit the pill out, and they go nuts for peanut butter.

That's how I get my dog to take pills as well!

My girl is a cheese fan. But I am certain she would love PB, too.

[pismoduo]

Jun 13, 2015 13:52:39 GMT -5 ♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ said:

Jun 13, 2015 13:02:32 GMT -5 rablissful said:

That's how I get my dog to take pills as well!

My girl is a cheese fan. But I am certain she would love PB, too.

Somehow the JRT manages to get the pill out of the cheese. Our vet's not a huge fan of me using peanut butter, but when I listed off all the things I'd tried to get her to take that damn pill, she gave up telling me not to. I mean we've tried the pill pockets, bread, cheese, crushing it into her food bowl, pretty much everything they make to trick dogs into taking pills.

Only the PB works. Because the pill sticks to the roof of her mouth and she has to swallow to get it off.

[samanthasays]

Jun 13, 2015 13:58:04 GMT -5 pismoduo said:

Jun 13, 2015 13:52:39 GMT -5 ♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ said:

My girl is a cheese fan. But I am certain she would love PB, too.

Somehow the JRT manages to get the pill out of the cheese. Our vet's not a huge fan of me using peanut butter, but when I listed off all the things I'd tried to get her to take that damn pill, she gave up telling me not to. I mean we've tried the pill pockets, bread, cheese, crushing it into her food bowl, pretty much everything they make to trick dogs into taking pills.

Only the PB works. Because the pill sticks to the roof of her mouth and she has to swallow to get it off.

You have probably already tried this, but I like to share this tip in case it helps

If you have a dog that eats around the pill in many cases you can get past that by having 2 treats, one with the pill in it one without. Show the dog both treats, give them the one with the pill, but keep the one without close to their nose/face so they know they get it as soon as they finish the one they have. Normally they get so happy to have another treat coming they eat the first one with the pill no problem. They do have to be pretty high value treats, and just using peanut butter might be easier. But its another option if anyone is struggling to get dogs to take pills.