Why do we need prescriptions for flea/heartworm meds?

[Simkie]

@Impractical_Horsewoman

There are obviously flea and tick meds you can get OTC but they aren’t very effective.

That’s just not true. There are so many topicals out there that work great across very wide swaths. The seresto collar is fab for many. Capstar is a pill that kills all the fleas on the dog in a single dose.

Yeah, if you want a feed through preventive, or if you want a flea/tick/heartworm combo, you’ve got to hit up your vet for a script. But there are soooo many spot on options and they’re not all “not very effective.”

This looks like a pretty comprehensive overview, including what’s rx and not.

I dislike feeding my dogs insecticides, so use topical stuff. The adult dog has worn a seresto collar for … 4 summers running? And it’s been perfect for us. I used Vectra on the puppy this summer, which worked fine. She’ll wear seresto next year.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

I admit I was prejudiced against flea collars because of past experiences, but that’s a powerful recommendation for the Seresto! I am in the northeast and when I get my next dog will keep it in mind. It’s been really bad insect-wise in my area, and it seems like many fleas are now resistant to what worked in the past.

[trubandloki]

@Impractical_Horsewoman

I admit I was prejudiced against flea collars because of past experiences, but that’s a powerful recommendation for the Seresto! I am in the northeast and when I get my next dog will keep it in mind. It’s been really bad insect-wise in my area, and it seems like many fleas are now resistant to what worked in the past.

My older than dirt self grew up in the age when flea collars were far less advanced and considered just plain bad.
I think the general flea collar that you can buy at Walmart still fits into that category.

I tried hard to not use a Seresto collar on my barn cat that kept showing up with ticks on him. I tried several topical (between the shoulder blades) treatments that my vet suggested, but that cat still had ticks on him.
I finally gave in and tried the Seresto collar. Darn it, that thing worked amazingly. I will add that we lost a couple over the years, so either some random person was removing them (outdoor only barn cat) or he would get them snagged on something. Losing it made me feel better about him being safe wearing it, that he could break it and get loose of it if snagged was one of my worries when I first put it on him.

[Simkie]

I also use seresto on my barn cat, but was worried about the break away ability of the collar. So I glue it inside an actual break away cat collar. We keep a collar and tag on him anyway, so this way he’s just wearing one, and I know for sure it comes off.

It works really well. He’s got just a massive amount of hair. Never any fleas or ticks.

We’re also in the north east, so there are plenty of ickies. I feel that a low, consistent topical dose is better than a monthly dump (spot ons) or a feed through.

Some have reported that seresto has stopped working for them after a few years, but I’ve not seen that here.

[trubandloki]

@Simkie

I also use seresto on my barn cat, but was worried about the break away ability of the collar. So I glue it inside an actual break away cat collar. We keep a collar and tag on him anyway, so this way he’s just wearing one, and I know for sure it comes off.

This is such a smart idea!

[endlessclimb]

My dog had a very very poor reaction to the Seresto collar. It took a few weeks to develop, so it took me another week to ID the Seresto collar as the cause. She was super lethargic, occasional vomiting, mediocre appetite on a dog who typically needs a slow feeder bowl.

Took the collar off, and she was back to normal in a week. I’m not the only one with this experience.

I’m sure it works great for 99% of people. Just really pay attention to your animal’s behavior. Just an FYI!

[atlatl]

@endlessclimb

My dog had a very very poor reaction to the Seresto collar. It took a few weeks to develop, so it took me another week to ID the Seresto collar as the cause. She was super lethargic, occasional vomiting, mediocre appetite on a dog who typically needs a slow feeder bowl.

Took the collar off, and she was back to normal in a week. I’m not the only one with this experience.

I’m sure it works great for 99% of people. Just really pay attention to your animal’s behavior. Just an FYI!

Thank you for being a voice of reason and not a hysterical wacko!!

[endlessclimb]

Haha yes! I just wish I would have better realized at the start there was the potential for the side effects. My fault for not reading the fine print!

All in all it’s a cool product, just not for my pup.

[kmwines01]

Interestingly I don’t believe any of the lack of licensing and distribution in the US for thalidomide had anything to do with the birth defects. It was more a lack of efficacy that denied initial licensing. Australian doctors were the first to connect the dots if I’m recalling my history correctly.

[Ghazzu]

@kmwines01

nterestingly I don’t believe any of the lack of licensing and distribution in the US for thalidomide had anything to do with the birth defects. It was more a lack of efficacy that denied initial licensing. Australian doctors were the first to connect the dots if I’m recalling my history correctly.

Yes and no.
Frances Kelsey, the FDA reviewer refused to sign off on approval because she felt the application for thalidomide did not contain sufficient proof of safety, and was also troubled by reports of a peripheral neritis side effect in users. She was concerned that it might cause worse problems in developing embryos.
She rejected the application in 1961.
The company withdrew the application in 1962, and later that year, thalidomide was linked to birth defects in eeurope.

[halla]

It used to be like pulling teeth to get a (paper only!) prescription from my vet office, yet they also didn’t carry Heartgard chews and my dog won’t eat the much more expensive one they had me try. I’m willing to pay a little more and deal with a little inconvenience because I want to support them, but not so much that I want to struggle with getting the dog to take the medication every month.

Now they push their online pharmacy really hard, which is mildly annoying but OK. At least I can auto order online now. Except now the pharmacy is claiming that Heartgard plus chews have been discontinued by the manufacturer and I have to switch…no indication of that on the Heartgard website so I’m rather confused.

[Ghazzu]

I suppose it’s possible that the online pharmacy is discontinuing stocking the product.
With all the buying and selling of veterinary pharmaceuticals and bologicals these days, it’s difficult to keep up with which company it now belongs to.
It was originally Merial, but now it’s Boehringer Ingelheim.

[iberianfan]

I used Seresto on my dogs for several years. It finally quit working on my Aussie, so I had to switch. But I never had a bad reaction and it was very effective for a while.

[Mosey_2003]

@halla

Except now the pharmacy is claiming that Heartgard plus chews have been discontinued by the manufacturer and I have to switch…no indication of that on the Heartgard website so I’m rather confused.

I bet the one your dog doesn’t like is the Simparica? It’s hard as diamonds, I don’t understand it. If you do end up being forced to switch, maybe grind it and add to a little bit of canned food? I was just about to do that for our old toothless guy before I had him PTS.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

Towards the end of my chihuahua’s life, the chewable Heartgard became harder and harder to find, and she also hated the pills and other formulas. It was so frustrating because she actually looked forward to the Heartgard as a monthly little treat, and she was so bad about taking pills.

I know it’s not possible for all medications, but I really wish manufacturers would take into consideration how many dogs and cats don’t like pills and make meds more palatable!

[ASB_Stars]

I think the pill pockets are really useful, for some.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

For sure, but my dog wouldn’t even eat them without the pills! (I tried one on her as a demo.)

[Angela_Freda]

I lean on peanut butter for those meds

[trubandloki]

@Angela_Freda

I lean on peanut butter for those meds

The peanut butter box is here, the peanut butter box is here.

(I totally love that Chewy commercial, sorry, could not resist.)

[Sandysmom]

From what I’ve been able to find it’s the unflavored tablets that have been discontinued, not the chewable. FWIW, I use hotdogs to give pills to my dogs.