I like to give Heartworm medication year round and use flea and tick prevention sparingly. For that reason, I don’t like the combined products. I used to use Frontline for fleas and ticks, but I wanted a product that repels ticks since we have so many tick diseases here. I went with Vectra this year. After walking the dogs I’ve found ticks crawling on me (ew) but I haven’t found any on the dogs yet. I use the Iverhart generic for Heartworm as that is what my vet keeps in stock. I honestly prefer Heartguard since it is easier to get dogs to take it, but it is never available when I need it.
[QUOTE=vtdobes;8127320]
I use good old Heartguard Plus and garlic from Springtime Inc for ticks. [/QUOTE]
Does the garlic actually work? I think this was posted recently here and the OP didn’t respond again.
We are overrun with ticks; I honestly can’t see garlic being enough, but I suppose it could be useful in combination with other products. We always had good luck with Frontline Plus, but switched last year to Advantix Plus because it supposedly repels ticks (to some degree, anyway) and Frontline explicitly doesn’t. We are picking them off every day, and since I run my dogs through heavy cover I need real protection. I have heard good things about Vectra as well…can’t remember if that’s a collar or a topical?
I also use Heartguard Plus.
I use Trifexis. My dog hates it, but it does its job.
I will be switching to Pro-Heart injections and Bravecto more than likely, when my clinic gets it. Even though I work in a clinic, I’m so bad about remembering to actually GIVE the Trifexis. Pro-Heart is 6 months and Bravecto 3 months… I can live with that!
Also, I would be very careful about ordering from somewhere in a different country, especially if we don’t sell it here. Companies have to go through a lot of testing in order to get a product approved in the U.S…
I work in a vet clinic. Personally, I’ve had good success with Seresto collars and think they are worth the cost for the time you get out of them, if your animal keeps collars on. Frequent swimming and bathing reduce the time you get out of it (from 8 months to 6 months, I believe).
I have not tried Bravecto, but have heard amazing reports from people who have had flea problems. This includes one client who had tried close to every product on the market and were also doing exceptionally good home treatment, and still couldn’t get the fleas under control. It broke a flea cycle that had been going on for 6 months. So that would probably be my top choice for flea control. However, you may have to set a reminder in your phone to remember to give it again.
Trifexis, Sentinel, Heartgard… all good products, that are best chosen based on your dog and its lifestyle. They all have benefits and drawbacks.
[QUOTE=S1969;8127545]
Does the garlic actually work? I think this was posted recently here and the OP didn’t respond again.
We are overrun with ticks; I honestly can’t see garlic being enough, but I suppose it could be useful in combination with other products. We always had good luck with Frontline Plus, but switched last year to Advantix Plus because it supposedly repels ticks (to some degree, anyway) and Frontline explicitly doesn’t. We are picking them off every day, and since I run my dogs through heavy cover I need real protection. I have heard good things about Vectra as well…can’t remember if that’s a collar or a topical?
I also use Heartguard Plus.[/QUOTE]
I think it works as well as anything else. But I also LOOK for ticks daily in hopes I can get them before they attach. I refuse to purposely put chemicals on my dogs skin…
Please don’t use garlic as it is toxic to dogs. Like onions, it can cause a hemolytic anemia. I recommend Bravecto and ProHeart, except Proheart is on backorder and hard to get right now, so we are using Heartgard until it comes in again. The Seresto collars are great.
Love, love, love Proheart! We just opened a brand new clinic (2 weeks on Saturday), and our rep was able to get us 2 bottles, which we are hoarding like gold. We used it extensively at my old clinic, on literally hundreds of dogs-big to small, and I can think of only one pet with a reaction. It’s got 100% compliance. I do suggest regular routine oral deworming as well however.
For flea/tick, we got sample of Nexgard, which is the monthly chewable and Bravecto which is good for three months. For those of you who are adverse to chemicals on your dogs, the active ingredient in both of these products was discovered in sea sponges, so they are technically organic! 
Topicals do work, though I do not recommend regular Frontline as it no longer seems to be at all effective. Frontline Plus is a good alternative, however it does not repel ticks. All the topicals that repel ticks are toxic to cats, and I have two of them who love the dog. And she hates being locked on the porch for a day.
Annnnd cue the “don’t use garlic” posts…
I just treated my foster dog with Frontline Plus for lack of a better tick killer. A friend of mine swears by those collars (Soresto? ) so I might look into that. My beloved Std poodle died from tick-related diseases and I don’t want this dog to have the same fate. I HATE ticks, I have human friends with chronic Lyme disease (one of them was convinced there were no ticks in her area…) and it’s horrible.
ETA Nexgard and other chewables do not repel ticks either, right?
The Soresto collar has worked very well for my pack who Like to roam in a highly tick infected area. Have not found one tick, or flea on them since they started wearing the collars. Well worth the cost, imo.
Has anyone tried the 6-month Proheart injectable for heart worm? My vet offers it with a flea/tick collar (Scalibor) and oral dewormer medication.
Sorry, just saw Sockmonkey’s and Sillypony’s posts re Proheart…
I just gave my two the Bravecto pills. I’ll report back on if they’re effective or not. We are infested with ticks everywhere. Frontline stopped working a few years ago, and last summer Advantix didn’t work either. Do you know if you can use those Soresto collars in conjunction with Bravecto?
Edit: What marketing dolt comes up with these useless names? Soresto? Bravecto? Scalibor?
I was just mentioning don’t use garlic as I am a veterinarian and I know that it is toxic to dogs. If you don’t want to believe a doctor, I’m ok with that. Hopefully you’re not giving your dogs grapes, raisins, Macadamia nuts, or onions as they are also toxic. But again, if you don’t want to listen to the doctor, that’s fine.
See my separate post on Bravecto! It’s SO amazing!
We used the Soresto collars last year on 4 dogs and a barn cat. Our dogs go hiking with us and swim weekly if not daily in the summer. We bought one collar each in the spring and did not replace until Feb this year. No fleas or ticks.
However we are currently going thru testing for the dogs to become therapy dog and they are not allowed to wear insect repellent colors so switced back to oral treatment.
[QUOTE=rockonxox;8119421]
I go to my vet and use Trifexus. I know there is conterversy about it but, personally, it is the best option for me. I have 3 dogs so having something that is a “triple threat” is very helpful. It is expensive, especially with my large dogs, but it works great. I despise topicals. Messy, greasy, pain to apply, etc etc. The pill is so much easier.[/QUOTE]
What is the controversy over Trifexis? I was seriously considering switching my two shih tzus from Sentinel to Trifexis. Primarily because one of the dogs cannot have any form of chemical put on her skin. She has horrible reactions to it. We have a lot fleas and ticks here in Oklahoma, but luckily my dogs don’t go many places and I do not take them to the barn. I liked the idea of Trifexis because it will kill any biting flea, whereas the Sentinel essentially sterilizes the eggs of the biting flea - disrupts the life cycle.
Is it really neccesary to give indoor cats heartworm protection? I had my cats on Advantage multi for years now but it just seems like so much overkill. THey never go outside and all the windows are screened. The dogs have flea stuff on so rarely see a flea. Is it worth it for the kittys?
^ I’d rather be safe than sorry, personally.
I use Nexgard for fleas/ticks, which I’ve been super pleased w after trying many things that didn’t work nearly as well, and Heartgard for heartworms. Though Heartgard is still the standard in this area I’ve heard that Pro Heart may be better(though I’ve also heard its backordered right now), so I’m planning to ask my vet about that soon.
[QUOTE=Another Poster;8256614]
Is it really neccesary to give indoor cats heartworm protection? I had my cats on Advantage multi for years now but it just seems like so much overkill. THey never go outside and all the windows are screened. The dogs have flea stuff on so rarely see a flea. Is it worth it for the kittys?[/QUOTE]
For what its worth my vet is 70+ years old. He has had a private practice for a really long time. He does not recommend heartworm preventative for cats as he has NEVER had a cat with heartworms. He has had plenty of dogs over the years that have needed to be treated for heartworm.
[QUOTE=SonnysMom;8258873]
For what its worth my vet is 70+ years old. He has had a private practice for a really long time. He does not recommend heartworm preventative for cats as he has NEVER had a cat with heartworms. He has had plenty of dogs over the years that have needed to be treated for heartworm.[/QUOTE]
Same. We have two vets at my practice, and the one I work with has been in practice for 65 years. He generally tells owners to get it if they want, but most of our clients are on ADV Multi for all thee other stuff that is in it. HW is just an added bonus. We don’t think its necessary by any means, and we live in a bad HW area. Dogs? That’s a different story.
I just want to update that pro-heart is still on back order for us. We are on a list, but I guess we are pretty far down. :no: I got tired of shoving the Trifexis down my dogs throat, so I have switched her to HeartGard and Bravecto. Bravecto works AMAZING, seriously. Our clients can’t get enough of it, and we constantly hear about how amazing it is.
