Preventative Care

If you’ve stopped into the clinic recently to pick up heartworm or flea/tick preventatives, you may have noticed that we have changed the products that we are currently carrying and recommending. We wanted to take this opportunity to explain the rationale behind these changes. Our preventative options have previously included Heartgard Plus for heartworm/intestinal parasite prevention, Nexgard for flea/tick prevention, and Simparica Trio for an all-in-one heartworm/flea/tick preventative.

We have recently changed to offering Sentinel Spectrum for heartworm prevention, Bravecto for flea/tick prevention, and Nexgard Plus for the all-in-one heartworm/flea/tick preventative.

Sentinel Spectrum vs Heartgard Plus

Sentinel Spectrum offers a wider range of intestinal parasites coverage than Heartgard Plus. Sentinel Spectrum treats and controls hookworm, roundworm, whipworms, and tapeworms. It also prevents hatching of flea eggs to help control flea populations. The coverage for whipworms and tapeworms is not present with Heartgard Plus. This is important because there is a small risk of spreading these parasites to the humans in the home, especially children.

Bravecto vs Nexgard

Bravecto offers 12 weeks of protection against fleas and ticks instead of 4 weeks of protection with Nexgard. The longer duration of action of Bravecto makes it more convenient for owners. Bravecto is licensed to kill 5 types of ticks where Nexgard is only licensed to kill 4 types of ticks. Additionally, Bravecto kills fleas (2 hrs vs 4 hrs) and ticks (12 hrs vs 24 hrs) more quickly than Nexgard which is beneficial to minimize the risk of human exposure to ticks. Bravecto is also safe for breeding, pregnant, and lactating dogs where Nexgard has not been tested in these animals.

The only minor complication is that Bravecto cannot be used in dogs younger than 6 months old so a puppy would be started on Bravecto 1-month initially and then transitioned to Bravecto when they reach 6 months old.

Nexgard Plus vs Simparica Trio

These monthly all-in-one heartworm and flea/tick preventatives are very similar in their efficacy and coverage.

Final notes

If we’ve convinced you to change products based on the above information about improved coverage, then feel free to call or stop by the clinic to pick up new products. Ultimately, however, the most important thing is that your pet receives a heartworm and flea/tick preventative year-round to minimize the risk of disease exposure to the animals and humans.