Flea and ticks prevention for Goldendoodle

[Andy A]

Hi All

I have a 5 months old 40 pound Goldendoodle - Chiku. We live in San Jose (Bay area). Chiku is our first puppy ever so we are pretty much learning everything as we encounter :-). It has been super amazing 3 months since we got him. 

We are now grappling with this question of Flea and Tick prevention. We obviously want to protect our fur baby from these parasites but seems like most of the flea/tick prevention options seem to be riddled with risks!

In fact we gave him Nexgard tablet last month without even doing much research as the vet clinic just presented that as a default choice. While he tolerated that well but as I researched NexGard, I was shocked at the possible issues with that. I mean seizures, tremors, neurological issues, death! Come on! FDA has now issued a warning as well. 

But seems like pretty much every other option including topical solutions have a lot of risk associated with them. I am finding it hard to poison him knowingly. 

I just wanted to pose this to the community and see if

1. You use Nexgard already and what are your thoughts?

2. What do most of you use?

3. How do you judge the risks?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We've had many discussions about this here. It's always a question of risk versus benefits. 
The "safest" products are generally those that have been around for the longest. With fleas/ticks, that's going to be Frontline. You will hear some people say that it doesn't work in their area any more, the fleas or ticks have become immune, but I used it for 14 years and it worked just fine. Also lowest risk according to my last doodle's dermatology specialist. Revolution is also considered relatively safe.

My current pup's sire's breeder will void her health warranty if an owner uses Nexgard or Bravecto. She favors Frontline, as well. 
With my newest pup, his vet recommended Sentinel, which is only for fleas and HW, it doesn;t protect against ticks. Since I have never seen a tick in 61 years of living with dogs and 42 years of owning them, I feel comfortable with this. For others, especially those who live in high tick populated areas or whose dogs spend time in the woods, it would obviously not be the right choice. 
If I change, it will be to Frontline, and Heartguard for HW.
I personally would not use Nexgard; I have a purebred Poodle and Poodles are prone to seizure disorders, which should be a concern for doodle owners too, since all doodles are at least 50% Poodle. 
Here is a recent discussion on the topic of Nexgard and the FDA warnings:
https://doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/flea-prevention-and-breeder-w...

[Andy A]

Thank you so much for this response!