How to do my 2016 due diligence on Bravecto, Frontline Gold, and which formats to choose for HW, flea, tick...

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Hi Friends,
I'm trying to research (Google) recent scholarly articles on safety of Bravecto with no luck. Anyone have advice? Vet recommends this now, and I have to do my due diligence...
Our breeder recommended we always stick to topicals for flea/tick and oral doses for heartworm. But vet seems to think Frontline Plus is currently high risk/almost ineffective. Also got a scoop that Frontline Gold is soon to be on market - apparently the updated, more effective version. But I know newer isn't better. Lots to consider.
I'm game for a nice balance between safety (please no more cancer) and effectiveness - with a huge perk in being able to take Ollie OFF these chemicals from Oct-May here in NJ (harder to control with these 12 week oral doses).
Happy as always to hear any thoughts on how you've made your decisions, and how/where to find out current safety information, apart from that one beagle study. Thank you! :-)

[Kamela & Beckett]

We use Sentinel on our dogs. It's an oral heartworm/ flea preventative combo. Been around forever, inexpensive. Two drawbacks to Sentinel- fleas are sterilized, not killed. If your dog doesn't have a way to constantly get infected with new fleas, it's great. Other issue is it doesn't address ticks (but it does address intestinal parasites which in my house we seem to have issues with). I love it, have used it forever. It's always worked well for our schnauzer, who is older and a homebody. We have a fenced in yard in suburbia, so not a lot of new sources of fleas introduced. I've been pleasantly surprised on how well it's worked on our young doodle who goes to the dog park and daycare.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Glad to hear! Sentinel is what we have been using too, with no issues.

[Amy and Annabelle]

I liked Sentinel, but when I wanted to switch to Nexgard for the fleas and ticks, my vet said it was too much flea med since they both have it. So he put her on Interceptor Plus when I made the switch.

[Amy and Annabelle]

Annabelle is on her meds all year. She takes Nexgard for fleas and ticks and Interceptor plus for heartworm. I chose the Nexgard after doing research and I liked the idea of a chewable. She was on Revolution at first and I always made a mess and was never sure if she was getting her full dose. My vet chose the Interceptor Plus. For me it might be a little shelfish, as I want to do everything I can to prevent ticks and a flea infestation in my house. It sounds like a royal PIT you know what to take care of a flea infestation. I would love for there to be something natural that works just as well, instead of giving her all of the chemicals, but there's not. A lot of the so called natural things like cedar oil can cause skin issues for their pets. So as much as I don't really like the idea of chemicals, I don't like the idea of parasites even more. My vet told me that Frontline had become somewhat resistant, so they may have made a different formula that would work better. It is hard to make these choices, especially when it is coming from the heart. Everyone has to do what they feel is right for them.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Thanks for sharing how you've made your choices, I appreciate it!

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

I like Nexgard, it's a chewable. Yogi takes it. Maci refuses it, so I use Frontline Plus for her. We have been in a densely forested area for a few months now with LOTS of ticks. I have only pulled one off of Maci that was just crawling on her head. Yogi has had a couple, again just on the top of the fur, one on his head and one on foot.
Neither have had ticks actually in their skin, so I guess we are doing okay

I HATE TICKS!

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Agreed! Ripley (nor Ollie, yet) never had a tick - so this will be new for me. Glad you're doing okay. :)

[F, Calla & Luca]

I have no advice on Bravecto but I find the tiny ticks on my doodles mostly in very late fall in NJ.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Whoa, good to know, my NJ friend - thank you. Darn.
Maybe a break from Dec-Apr then? Do you keep them on throughout the year?

[Kris and Sawyer]

Not sure on data, but Sawyer is on Bravecto and we've had no issues. It's also his vet's first choice. I only give it to him for the months the ticks are out, so March-November (which is overkill for here). Since its every three months dosing, he really only gets 2-3 a year. I love that it's chewable!

[Kris and Sawyer]

Also, our vet told us the topicals are very ineffective for dogs that are in the water or getting bathed often, which is another reason I went with Bravecto.

[Wasseem Sidhom]

been using the seresto collar since spring and zero ticks and flees. I think I'm a converted consumer.