Revolution or Trifexis?

crouchingcheese

...We will be treating the house with Dia. Earth (as well as the yard) but I still need some sort of flea preventative for them, they both have flea allergies (sigh)...

 If they have flea allergies, you need to stop the fleas from biting.  You'll want to use a topical flea/tick preventative, not an internal/pill one.  Topicals work by the pest coming in contact with the treated pet.  For the pills to work, the fleas have to bite the dog.

micksmom

 For the pills to work, the fleas have to bite the dog.

Why is this so hard for folks to get?    You are absolutely right.  Anyone who has ever had a flea allergic dog?  This is BASIC

I completely understand about using topicals to prevent the fleas from biting in the first place.  However, if you read anything about almost every topical available now most of them actually don't repel fleas.  Revolution doesn't repel fleas, and Frontline doesn't repel fleas.  K9 Advantix II claims to repel fleas, but that's the only one I could really find (at least quickly, I didn't have a lot of time to look).

 I aggressively treated our house back in March with the Dia. Earth, frequent vacuuming/washing of bedding, and frequent baths for a couple of weeks (I still do the Dia. Earth treatment about once a month, but it is messy and not very fun).

I haven't seen any fleas in the house and the girls have cleared right up.  I did make the choice to use the Trifexis and have been using it faithfully since March and they don't seem to have any problems with it.  I always feed it on a full tummy and I haven't seen one issue with them and the medication. 

It's also a great bonus that there's no topical residue on the dogs (that could get transferred to the couch, or to a bed that the cats sleep on, etc.).  I did a TON of reading, asked questions here, and asked my vet (and quite a few of the techs too, to find out what they all use).

Since we started this in March I haven't seen a single flea on the dogs, nor have I seen any ticks.The cats have been treated about every six months with Frontline Plus (they're indoor only) and they've been fine too.

 I want to thank everyone for their advice, and I'm so so so happy to be flea-free.

ladymagnolia

But when we got Willow 10 days ago our vet put her on Advantage Plus.

Do you mean Advantage-Multi?

If so be extremely cautious.  That has moxidectin in it which is what caused all the horrific dog deaths from IMHA (it was called ProHeart 6).  Bayer is what used to be Ft. Dodge -- the FDA took moxidectin off the market for a long time, but they've gotten it back on the market.  No way would I use that in any way on my dog.  IMHA is far far too deadly (immune-mediated hemolytic anemia).  It surely would not be my choice.

In looking online I am not seeing a product called "Advantage Plus" -- if I'm wrong I'm sorry.  Ft. Dodge proved themselves a very greedy company and have literally re-organized to distance themselves from what happened with ProHeart 6. 

Flea control is very very difficult right now -- most everything is systemic (the poison stays in their bodies all month rather than on the skin like Advantage or Advantage II, or the Frontline products).and what isn't is limited.  And Frontline is simply not working in many areas.

Hey, I'll tel you our great experiences with Trifexis. 3 years ago we were living in Ohio. The summer with fleas were awful.  My daughter is allergic and couldn't go to my mom's she'd come home with whelts from the fleas all over her.  My mom had 3 Golden Retrievers on an acre of land in the country.  They were horrific. Two of the dogs had hot spots.  The vet suggested Trifexis for the dogs.  We bombed the house gave the dogs the medicine and within 6 weeks no more fleas and the hots spots healed!!! Best medicine every!!!  

So two years ago I got a little Chihuahua, i started her out on Revolution, then she had some flea trouble even though she was indoors most of the time, so we switched to Trifexis.  Took care of it and even helped her with her allergies.  So we moved to Alabama.  Last month I decided to try something cheaper (BIG MISTAKE) and gave her Sentinel.  She had a horrible allergic reaction and is still taking meds for it.  So I have already picked up a 6 month supply of trifexis for her.  I love it and never had a reaction for any of our dogs.

www.facebook.com/TrifexisKillsDogs

There is a lot of controversy surrounding Trifexis and the active ingredient spinosad.  It might be worthwhile for you to investigate this.

I took my 70 lb dog off of the medication due to side effects.  I feel so fortunate that his reaction was milder than many others had experienced.

It never hurts to gain more information about a product before medicating anyone you love.

Anyone who reads the FB post listed above should keep in mind one fact.  Correlation is not causation.  Most of the so called illnesses and deaths attributed to Trifexis are based only on owners' opinions.  It's human nature to want to find something or someone to blame when a dog becomes ill or dies.  Blaming Trifexis makes as much sense as blaming the last meal the dog ate.

I would not give Trifexis to a dog who had any sort of seizure disorder and the label recommends it not be used for these dogs.

In my opinion,  the FB page is full of horror stories that are not based on fact.  It's similar to claiming that a person died after taking an aspirin.  The one is not necessarily related to another.

Someone else in this thread or maybe another thread, concerning the use of Trifexis, implied I must work for Elanco or Eli Lilly or have some sort of financial interest in the sale of Trifexis.  That's not the case but some people will be all too happy to believe the unfounded, misinformed and factually deficient stories that circulate on the net.

If you are worried about giving Trifexis, ask your Vet.  They almost all sell a variety of products for flea and heartworm prevention and are the best, most accurate source of factual information based on your individual dog.

There are always going to be dogs that are sensitive to certain products and to certain medications.  Just like humans.  What I can take with no side effects, someone else may have to avoid completely.  I believe Trifexis is a safe treatment or I wouldn't give it to my dogs.  I don't care if someone uses a different product but I do care that people aren't pointed to information that is clearly not factual.

The most common side effect is vomiting but feeding with a meal usually prevents that problem.  

www.facebook.com/avmavets

Unfortunately fb by its nature  promotes a fast emotional reponse which in this case helps no one.  Jackie and i will likely never agrees  but i do notlike to see the emotional blasts either.  It simply makes everyone switch off and mskes sensible discourse impossible.

I have a pug.  For me that has meant from aDday 1 that she * might* be prone to seizures.  Tharrs not doom and gloom ... that is just recognizing sshe is bady brred and an ounce of prevention may save  me grief.  

For me it hunges on the fact  that you usually  don't  know if a dog is prone to seize until the first tiime they do seize.  Wuth Trifexis that can be too late bc it seeems tottrigger cluster seizures ... a point the mfg doesn't  want to explore.  I just  wish people were a touch more proactive rather than blindly ignoring what they should be watching for and instead scream murder later.

I can't  qquite figure where the woman thot Sdntinel was cheap?

Umm this is a tad outdated post but ill add my 2 cents. I'll start out by saying that, remember, each dog, like each human, is chemically different. Similar species have similar chemistry but some are lactose intolerant, allergic to peanuts and so on. So, like humans, each dog will react  differently to meds (fyi, humans even dont know why or even the whole reaction of most medications that we use... so it'll be even more so for dogs whom very little research is done for  or not as fully as we would do for humans). So no one will know how your dog will react to either medications. You need to try one, but make sure you have a full understanding of your dogs 'healthy' behavior. When he starts taking new medication monitor for any new behaviors (bad or good ) and note day and time (this is also very good to do for yourself, or when you or your dog get sicks.. patterns help doctors find out whats wrong with you or your dog) , Keep all this information in you doggie record book. To make a good observation, make sure the first time you give your dog medication your with him/her all day.. if you can two days. If you see anything wrong you should contact your doctor and go to an emergency room if he has seizures..or any of the major symptoms of that medication.

Now, i have tried trifexis.. my dog did ok. No major symptoms but he was lethargic, wouldnt play and just laid around. He laid around for two days and then was fine.And his stool was runny. If he eat food with it he always threw it up (he always ran away from me when i brought it out) but was fine without food.  I had him on it for 6 months, but his reaction became worse over time (at fist no reaction and by the end he would just lay around the first two days) . I took him off it to frontline tritak and  heartguard plus. and no symptoms. Hes never had flees or parasites.. though to be fare, he was on nothing the first two years of life (no local dog products available where i was) and hes never had a flees or parasites so maybe he has some kind of immunity.

Now referring back to my first paragraph, herbs are just another chemical reactions.( Tylenol or advil was first used by native americans because it comes from a tree) . so if we have knowledge on how to use them safely then why not use them. Alot of drugs originate from herbs or chemicals in animals, scientist just learn to concentrate it and make it with out the use of the plant. But follow the same advice, use one herb at a time, test it at low dosages, monitor, and when no adverse reactions occur try another herb by itself and so on (dont mix unless u know for sure they r safe to mix).

Remember most of life is just chemical reactions. we just need to monitor it so we know when we combined the wrong ones. Alot of people miss the small clues a dog may give and by the time the bug clues come around it may be too late.

Lastly, these medications are all toxins and long usage can be bed.. ex is Tylenol or advil can cause liver damage in humans when used for a long time (which wasnt known at the time it first appeared in the market) . we are all miniature science projects.. some will be fine  and some people will build up chemicals because of some body reaction we have yet to find. So do these medications have long term affects, i believe they do. what are these affects, i have no idea. and thats the scary part.Hell, over using vaccines have been shown recently to cause problems (most vaccines in dogs work for years with a multi year immunity from 5 years to life! please stop over vaccinating!) . When i talk to me vet about vaccines or long term affects she either didnt know, ignored the research on the matter, or was not willing to come clean about it (even lied to me about an immunity question i gave her). remember vets are running a business and they want you to buy a specific brand  at their office so they can make a profit., Im actually switching doctors to a clinic with a holistic vet but ill keep my old vet for medications because they do price matches for online sites.

sorry foe the supper long reply...