Pets
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Trifexis?
Our new vet doesn't offer Sentinel (which is what we gave our old dog). When we got a new dog, we got a new vet and she highly recommends Trifexis. I was reading about some scary side effects online last night. And, it's about $60 more than sentinel. Anyone have experience with it?
Re: Trifexis?
If I didn't live in tick country my dog would be on it in a heart beat. It's a great product and quite safe. I know what's out there about it but I still consider it quite safe.
As far as sentinel goes the flea prevention sucks so I would highly recommend using an alternative flea prevention with sentinel which would make sentinel comparable to trifexis price wise.
I think a lot of the different pet medications have the potential to have scary side effects - my parents dog had a crazy reaction to those topical, behind-the-neck flea treatments when they first came out (he acted like a zombie for hours and looked almost like he had a stroke, but came out of it). My dog doesn't do well with the topical ones, either.
I have a 20-pound Shihtzu mix, and he does really well with Trifexis as long as he's got a full belly. I love it. We live in south Georgia, land of bugs, and other medicines just weren't working here until we found the Trifexis. He goes about 5-6 weeks between doses.
All that being said, the only one that my vet has ever made a point to tell us NOT to use is topical Hertz flea stuff that can be bought at Petsmart, etc. He said that there are awful chemicals in there.
In the heart of heartworm country I HIGHLY recommend giving the medicine every 30 days. You are putting your dog at risk of heartworms. Which is treated with arsenic. It's not worth the risk.
Not being argumentative, but my vet was the one to tell me to dose every 5-6 weeks. I used to do the four week schedule, but he said it wasn't necessary.
ahh that drives me CRAZY, especially from a vet in a highly endemic area! Yes there is some wiggle room in the dosing of heartworm prevention so if you forget for a week go ahead and give it and you are most likely ok. However, intentionally extending the length between doses is risky.
1. The company will not back their product if not given as labeled. (this is somewhat minor, but if you get a positive dog and have records to prove they are on preventative the companies will cover the treatment)
2. The way HW prevention works is in kills all the heartworms the dog has been infected with in the last 30 days. The heartworm life cycle has about a 60-90 day window where it lives in the skin before it starts migrating through the body towards the heart and lungs. The first half of that period it is susceptible to heart worm prevention. However the older the larval stages become the more resistant to the drugs they are.
The age at which the worms are becoming resistant is becoming younger and younger. Standard has been 45 days for a long time. Obviously 6 weeks falls just short of that time frame. However more and more evidence is stating that the worms are becoming resistant before the 40th day. So 6 weeks is taking a risk and 5 weeks is also cutting it close.
I am also curious to know how frequently your vet test for heart worms?
I understand trying to save money, but heartworms is not something I mess with. There is too much of a risk for your dog to chance it by increasing the dosing length. Flea medicine? a whole different story, but I cannot recommend that dosing protocol with heartworm prevention and keep a clear conscience.
We switched to Trifexis about 7 months ago. Our boxer has never had any reaction to it whatsoever, but I'm ALWAYS sure to give it to her after she gets her dinner, never ever on an empty stomach.
So far, I'm much happier with it than the K9 Advantix II topical I was using before. I used Sentinel for the first couple of months we had her as a puppy, and I just wasn't happy with the medicine not KILLING fleas, only making them sterile so they can't reproduce. I'd rather those things DIE!
Buying the Trifexis gives us a cost savings vs buying the flea topical and heartworm preventatives separately, so I consider it a win!
The only thing I don't like is that it doesn't have tick protection, so I need to apply a sort of natural tick repellent whenever we go out.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
aggiebug - instead of requoting all of our stuff, I will just try to address everything
As a side note - this is not my regular vet from my hometown, who was fabulous. I take Buddy to regularly scheduled appointments, I'm assuming he tests for heartworms then (vet takes blood and requests a stool sample)? Money is not an issue - I love this dog. Plus, Trifexis is only like $22 a pill here. I'll be honest, I am not familiar with how the heartworm prevention or infestation works so I appreciate the information you've given.
We are moving soon, so I will be hunting for a new vet in a month or two.
Sorry coming from another endemic state it drives me crazy to hear vets make those statements. Its just not worth it to take the risk. And like you said for you it's not about the money and I imagine you would be livid of your pup came up heartworm positive because of the way you were told to give the medication.
And most people don't know the life cycle of the heartworm or how the prevention works. I didn't for a very long time :-)
The company will not back their product if not given as labeled.
This exactly. We made the mistake of being a couple of weeks late on the prevention (by accident of course) and guess what our dog has now and is currently being treated for. Heartworms! It only takes one mosquito to bite your dog (which is how they're transmitted) for him to get heartworms. Even though we were only late by a couple of weeks, the company would not pay for the treatment. It's much more practical to pay for prevention than it is to pay for treatment, which is costing us about $1700 right now.
We also give trifexis because the flea preventative works better than topicals in our area and our dog does not have an issue with it. Keep in mind that trifexis is both heartworm and flea prevention, which is essentially a double dose. Most people tend to give their pets flea meds one day and wait two weeks and dose them with heartworm preventative to space out the amount of chemicals in their bloodstream, which helps with toxicity levels.
Some dogs do not have a problem with the trifexis, but others do. I would only buy one pill for now and try it on a day when you will be home - like Saturday morning, so you can monitor your dog. I would also give it with food and make sure there is plenty of water.