Heartworm Meds

[Katie]

Hoping I'm not repeating a commonly asked questions here but what is the best heartworm medicine for our doodles.  I have a 10 month old GD (43lb) currently taking Trifexis.  She has always had a very sensitive stomach which I always attributed to eating something bad.  I've had a REALLY hard time finding a food for her and now I'm beginning to wonder if maybe the Trifexis is causing some of our issues.  

She has never taken the Trifexis very well.  I usually have to load it up with peanut butter.  She doesnt vomit either with it. I'm going to watch her this month when I give it to her and see if stomach issues start after the Trifexis.

She takes her Proviable like a champ!  

I love my doodle enough to know she NEEDS her HW prevention.  I've had fosters go through HW treatment and it's aweful!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If you do a search here for "Trifexis", you will find that quite a few people have had trouble with it. 

I've been using Heartgard for more than 30 years with three different dogs now, and have never had a problem. 

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

And what do you recommend for flea/tick, Karen? Thx!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There too, I stick with the tried and true. Frontline Plus. Both Heartgard and Frontline were recommended to me not just by Jack's regular vet, but also by his dermatology specialist. 

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Karen, how best to apply the frontline? I cut a patch in Maci's fur to apply, but it still ends up partially on the tips of some of her fur. I worry since it can't be washed for two days that humans end up absorbing some when they touch her.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You know, I've never worried about it getting on me, I've never had a problem, and I've used it for about 12 years now, and my last dog was a purebred Poodle some really thick, dense, woolly fur who slept in my bed. Never cut her fur to apply it either. You just have to make sure that you get it down to the skin, at the roots of the fur, and that's for effectiveness purposes. You can use a comb to part the fur to make sure you're getting down to the skin.

I think I'm probably less paranoid than most people about chemicals, etc., but nobody in my household has ever had any kind of reaction from it, including my grandson, who was in contact with these Frontline treated dogs from the age of 6 months. :) 

[Katie]

Heartgard or Heartgard Plus? 

What do you use for flea and tick?  Do you use it year round?  I was hoping to avoid a topical. 

Biggest concern is finding something that doesn't upset her stomach!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's one reason why I do use topicals. Jack has inflammatory bowel disease among other health issues, and really doesn't need anything else that is taken orally, with the potential to upset his stomach. 

Heartgard Plus and Frontline Plus for fleas/ticks.

I use the preventatives April through December. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Some of the discussions about bad responses to Trifexis:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/caution-trifexis-heartworm...

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/first-dose-of-trifexis-not...

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/dangers-of-trifexis

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...

There are more, but that should give you an idea. 

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

We started with Trifexis, nothing specific seemed off with our puppies, but we stopped after researching online and here at DK. Too much uncertainty for my liking.
We now use Heartgard. It's just been on the market a lot longer, and we do not have any trouble. They love it!

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

We use Nexgard for Yogi flea preventative. Maci wants no part of Nexgard, so she gets Frontline. I really don't like the mess of Frontline though with our furry baby causes it's impossible to keep out of her fur. The upside is frontline is more economical.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

The downside that I notice with Frontline, is that it dries out my dogs' coats.  All three dogs, but especially Ned have coat changes - dryness and matting.

[Bonnie Barber]

I'm interested in this discussion. Here in Santa Ynez, our vets say Frontline just isn't working anymore. They also don't push heart worm meds as the say there aren't any issues with it here.

There is a lot of discussion out there too about flea meds using toxic substances that can be harmful to dogs. Leaves me wondering. i gave my three dogs the new oral flea med last year and suspended it as soon as it got cooler. Not sure what I will do this year.