Flea and Tick Prevention Choices

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

It is tick season here in NJ and I have always given Olive Sentinel (every 39 days) and Frontline Plus every 27 days. What’s the deal with Frontline Plus vs Frontline Gold - I see one new med added to the Gold, but figured I’d ask the experts. I’ve stuck with Frontline as it has been the forerunner in this and is tried and true, and I’m a bit leery of those oral tabs. But should I switch her to Frontline Gold? Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's up to you. Frontline Gold has an additional ingredient (pyriproxyfen) that supposedly kills fleas faster than Frontline Plus. I believe it's also more expensive. If Frontline Plus has worked well for you, I personally see no reason to switch. 

[ginny]

My vet recommends Bravecto--Does anyone have info on that?

[Stacy]

I have one dog who has taken Bravecto for several years without any adverse effects. It seems very effective. My new vet likes Simparica because it's cheaper than Bravecto and he says people aren't good at remembering to give a medication every 90 days. I don't have an issue with that. I just put it in my calendar. 

I keep reading that this year might be a really bad year for ticks. Some people are really uncomfortable with the oral medication, but I am comfortable with it, and I am confident that it works. I'm really afraid of ticks.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Riley is on bravecto as well.  She had a dose in the fall with no issues so that's what we went with this spring.  Ticks are really bad in our area (and they are commonly the lyme disease carrying ones) so we don't want to take any chances.

Thanks for the reminder to put her dose dates in my calendar :p the vet gave us a printout so I can easily just put it into my Google calendar.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We had a discussion about this. The FDA has a warning about Bravecto, along with Nexgard and Simparica (all the same ingredient, isoxazoline). Some dogs have had significant reactions to it, and there are breeders who actually have a clause in their health warranties that if you use these, the warranty is void. 
FDA info: https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/cvm-updates/animal-drug-safet...

Previous discussion: https://doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/flea-prevention-and-breeder-w...

My feeling is that if something else (something older) has worked for you in the past, stay with that. I hate to say it, but I think some vets may be recommending these isoxazoline products because unlike most of the others, you can't buy them online or at pet supply stores and have to buy them from the vet. 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Our vet's reasoning was that the ticks are awful in our area and the topical ones like revolution don't work as well against ticks.  They said no pets at their practice have had adverse reactions thus far so I gather it's pretty rare.

[Barbara, Zoey and Zeke]

My breeder posted a picture of a seizing doodle on their page after the warning came from the FDA.  They also void the warranty if it is used.  I'll stick with Frontline Plus

[Stacy]

I really don't think my vet recommends it just for profit. I think I paid around 200 for a year's worth of Simparica. Even if 60% of that is his profit, that's pocket change for him. He profits from me walking in the door. If he was doing something he thought would hurt the dogs I don't think he would keep his clients.

I don't think I can overstate my fear of ticks. They are just little vectors for disease. I personally know 2 people with chronic diseases from ticks. One has the disease that causes an allergy to red meat. The other one has an autoimmune disease, antiphospholipid syndrome, believed to coincide with Lyme disease - it's a really awful one. It causes blood clotting. One of my own dogs had tick paralysis.

Now, I know that most people won't have that experience. But when I took the girls to the lake last year I had ticks on me every time I took them out. It was a week long tick check and they were the tiniest ticks I've ever seen in my life. If I could have taken a dose of Simparica myself I think I would have. Fleas might be bigger. I never did find any on the dogs, whether it was because of the medication or because they were too small to find. But they sleep in bed with me. I don't want to get ticks from the dogs. I don't think I would have slept all week if I wasn't confident in their tick coverage. 

There is of course a chance of side effects, but I've gone back and forth over and over and I think that's a chance I am willing to live with. If my dogs weren't ever exposed to ticks I might make a different decision. We all take certain calculated risks in life. And so far I have three dogs with no side effects from oral flea/tick medication. 

Funny, I also just saw a facebook post of a dog who had a horrible looking chemical burn on its neck that they claim is from the Seresto collar. Nothing is without potential for side effects.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think using any of the flea/tick prevents is a risk-benefit issue. I feel the same way about fleas as you feel about ticks. But I used Frontline Plus for 15 years and it really was effective. I would not have taken the risk of using something that wasn't with Jack, because he could not have tolerated a flea infestation. I have no idea how effective it is on ticks because I've never seen a tick. But the other side of that is that maybe, the reason I never saw a tick is that the Frontline was effective, lol. If I were using one of the older (and by most standards, safer) prevents and my dog got fleas or ticks anyway, I would take the chance of using something newer and maybe with the potential for more side effects. So far, I haven't had to do that. 

My point is, to me it makes sense to start with the safest products and then if you have to switch to something else, okay. But why start cold with the newest and riskiest ones? 

This discussion started out with someone asking about the difference between Frontline Plus and Frontline Gold. She uses Frontline and intends to continue using Frontline. She didn't ask for recommendations for other products. I just want to make sure that the OP doesn;t think that people are trying to encourage her to use something other than what she's using and apparently has been happy with. 

[Stacy]

I'm definitely not trying to change anyone's opinion. More of a "this is what we do and why." I mean, we can probably get away with using nothing for a long time, and that's okay until it isn't. I had never seen a tick in my yard either, until the girls found those baby bunnies. When I went to put them back in the nest I saw that they had ticks on them. I would have bet you money that there weren't random ticks in my yard, but there they were. 

I'm surprised your vet thinks Sentinel is enough. My understanding is that Sentinel doesn't kill fleas, but only controls their ability to reproduce. I would think they could do a lot of damage before the life cycle ended. But since my fear is more of ticks than fleas I would need a second product regardless. I know Sentinel doesn't have any coverage for ticks. 

I still just have an issue with breeders dictating that flea and tick meds void their warranty. Katie's did the same. She wanted us to use essential oils only (that we bought from her, along with our MLM dog food.) What happens when otherwise great breeders start putting in their contract that grain free food will void their warranty? And I can see it happening. When I hear about vets telling their clients that grain free dog food will kill them I think even the good breeders will take that to heart. And I don't think the vets are just saying it to sell dog food. I hear a lot of recommendations for Pro Plan, which the vets don't sell. I think they really believe it. So if you've done the research and you don't buy into the hokum that is that grain free foods cause DCM, what are you to do? I mostly don't think that warranties are worth the paper they're written on, unless your puppy comes home with some horrible disease or illness. But even if they were, I think many of them are intentionally written to be so restrictive that no one can meet all of the requirements needed to make a claim on them. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There are some doodle breeders who void their warranties if you don't buy NuVet vitamins from them, lol. I've seen any number of breeders whose purchase contract requires you to agree to feed raw food only.   I think if anyone is unhappy with the particulars of any given breeder's warranty, they should choose a different breeder. There's no shortage, really.

I looked at what food the breeder was feeding before I chose to buy from her. That matters to me. It seems that to many people, the only thing that matters when choosing a breeder is whether they have a particular size, color and sex puppy available ASAP. People need to be educated buyers. 

I also think that any vet who tells his/her clients that grain free dog food will kill their dogs should have his/her license taken away. Because that's a flat out lie with no clinical evidence to support it. 

I got away with using nothing for 14 years with my last Poodle. Big mistake. That's when I started using Frontline.
I may go back to it.

[Stacy]

I would have to look, but I think the NuVet vitamins were also required. I know she sent home a sample with me. Her puppies are the gift that just keeps giving. 

I agree that the vets have lost their minds. But I keep reading that someone's vet said they needed to get off grain free food because it was causing DCM. I find it disturbing. But I also met a vet who told me that the three year rabies vaccine was three times as strong as the one year vaccine. I was horrified by that outright lie.