So Many Medicinal Choices!
Baxter and I just came back from Banfield, where I inquired about potentially getting a prescription for Sentinel or Interceptor (with K9 Advantix) instead of what they usually sell (First Shield and Worm Shield). I asked about the pros/cons for both but instead he went on this whole spiel about how First Shield is superior to K9 Advantix and how if I purchase heart worm medication elsewhere, the company won't cover the treatment for heart worms should Baxter get them. It sounded a lot like a scare tactic to me. He told me to research the medicines online and suggested Pro Heart, a bi-yearly injection, which I'm very skeptical about. I wanted to tell him that researching First Shield was what prompted me to want to switch medications in the first place.
So a few things:
1. Worm shield is the generic version of Heart Guard. Does anyone have any experience with this preventative?
2. What are reputable online sites that sell pet medication? I've heard horror stories about knock-offs.
3. I know that everyone has their own medicinal preference, and I would really like to learn more about flea and heart worm medications to make an informed decision. Does anyone know of any good, quality resources that I may check out?
Any assistance is greatly appreciated! Much thanks corgi lovers!
Ps.
We decided to try out the Banfield Wellness Plan for a year, knowing how overly paranoid I will be about every little health issue since Baxter's just a puppy. I'm becoming a little frustrated with them and will switch out once our contract is up. :end mini rant:
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Becky S on
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Our first vet did not want to give us an rx for the heartworm I wanted to used because they did not carry it (advantage multi once a month heartworm, flea and tick all in one) I had to sign a waver to get the rx and send it in. Now my way of thinking is that if I were the patient and asking my MD for a medicationI really don't believe that he can direct me on brand or pharmacy to get it from. Our new vet (had other reasons we changed)faxes the rx to Dr's Foster and Smith. They are DVM's located here in Wisconsin, very reputible. I also had heard / had concerns about the 1-800 pet meds sending out lesser quality meds, etc. Not sure how much of that was true and how much internet legend. Hope that helps, I just went on and looke, they have a number of articles and comparison charts on the different meds.
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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Hi Baxter's mom,
1. The main difference is taste, HeartGuard is larger in size and beef flavoured, WormShield is a non flavoured tablet, it had a brief recall due to dosage not meeting standards. Be very careful with HeartGuard if you have other herding breed, avermectin can be bad news to some.
2. Very hard to say, laws are too loose in the US. Most responsible vets will talk you out of buying rx online because 1. They need to "sign off" on the Rx. 2. If anything goes wrong, they can be held reliable. Every vet office I worked with have offered to price match, so compare your price, print them out and talk to the clinic manager directly. If you insist on buying online, google their physical address and double check it with the Board of Pharmacy.
3. Flea is a different story, it really depends on the severity of infestation. The most important thing is understand the flea cycle, otherwise all your cleaning / bathing effort = useless. When it comes to toxic rx, less is best, do it when you only need to. Avoid all topicals until the Gov have put enough pressure on the manufacturers to regulate its safety, OTC is no exception. Cat owners should be very careful with Dog topicals.
Capstar is a 48 hr short kill, Comfortis offers month long kill, most importantly - find and fix the root of the flea problem, rx is not the answer. If you do use Comfortis (Spinosad), don't use it concurrently with HeartGuard (ivermectin toxicity)
As far as Heart worm rx goes, it is a MUST. I've dealt with fosters who had heartworms and I cannot stress how important prevention is. It is cheap, do it. There are 3 choices, tablet, topical and injectable. All 3 can cause adverse reaction / death.
Topical
If you have cats, beware.
Injectable
ProHeart6 is the ONLY injectable rx on the market, there were a lot of deaths reported in the early 2000, it was taken off the market for a while and then re-introduce back in 2008. (injectable have the highest death rate)
Tablet
Check out the table below
now check out this 2005 FDA data comparison chart
For the latest info, check out the FDA Cumulative Veterinary Adverse Drug Experience (ADE) reports. Locate the drug name and its active ingredient here, then click on the ADE report link above and search the active ingredient by alphabetical order, remember to scroll thru the drugs for dogs, cats, human...etc. Then you'll have a complete compiled data.
For just a generic background info on drugs, check out FOIA. They don't include death / reaction numbers there.
Conclusion
We picked Sentinel because it had a reasonable length of time on the market, with the least number of reaction and deaths.
Sounds like it's Time for you to go vet shopping :) good luck with your choice!
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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Drs. Foster and Smith and 1800-PetMeds are online pharmacies that will stand behind their products and are certified pet pharmacies. I apologize for this but Banfield is just about the worst pet hospital out there. Their main goal is to push their product and the vets are instructed in very black and white terms how to treat each patient. Vet medicine is NOT black and white so you will frequently be given bad advince, pay lots of money for a wrong diagnosis, and then end up having to switch vets and start from the beginning, OR switch to a new vet to fix all the issues Banfield created with your pets.
The heartworm vaccine is NOT recommended by ANY of the vets I have talked to. Heartgaurd, Sentinel, and Interceptor however ARE. Advantage multi is not recommended as a Heartworm preventative either because it is so easy to not put the topical on properly and therefore not properly dose your pet. On this same note, Comfortis is usually a great way to go for flea protection because you give it as a pill so you know your pet has gotten the whole dose. Frontline and Advantage/Advantix work well also. If you get them from a reputable pharmacy they will also stand behind their products.
There was a scandal around 1-800-PetMeds in the not so distant past where they were doing some very unethical things (i.e. faxing medication requests when they knew hospitals were closed then giving the hospital a deadline to respond and filling the request without dr. permission, as well as getting medications from Australia, like heartworm medications, where the dosages are VERY different so pets in the US were being significantly overdosed). They have since been slapped with heavy fines and have cleaned up their act. I am a HUGE fan of Drs. Foster and Smith, and they are generally cheaper anyway.
Mar Vista Animal Medical Center has an AMAZING website, covering everything from medical issues, to vaccines, to medications. Go to their Pharmacy link and on there you will see flea, tick, and heartworm medication comparision boxes. I love their website and they are VERY informative for all my pet health issues. Many other vets I have seen even link to their website for client information.
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Permalink Reply by Ollie & Prie Misra on
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I just wanted to throw in there that you might want to look into comfortis & revolution... I won't do back to other brands b/c Ollie and our other family dogs haven't had one issue with them, nor one flea, etc. Good luck -- all this stuff can be so overwhelming!
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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I use Heartgard and Frontline Plus on both my dogs. I order mine from http://www.drsfostersmith.com/, they are very reputable and will stand behind their products - they're often the cheapest as well. You can place an order with them and they will contact your vet for the prescription. But from what you've said about your vet I personally would find a different one...
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Permalink Reply by Baxter on
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Thank you so much for all the wonderful information everyone has provided! MyCorgi.com is such a great community and resource!
We decided to try out Banfield because family and friends have had good experience with them, but unfortunately, we cannot say the same for us. We're under contract for a year but will definitely find a different vet once it expires!
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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Long ago, Seattle, we had 1 cat, wall-to-wall shag carpet, lots of fleas. A company called FleaBusters dusted our carpets and upholstery with sodium polyborate (essentially borax, a dessicant, not a neurotoxin). They guaranteed results for 1 year; it worked so well we never called them back. YMMV. May work differently in other climates. Perhaps this stuff can be purchased directly.
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Permalink Reply by Jessica & Johann on
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My vet told me that Sentinel is her preferred choice for the following reasons:
1. prevents heartworm, fleas, and a couple other intestinal worms
2. it's chewable!
3. if your dog takes Sentinel monthly but gets heartworms anyway, then the company will pay for the surgery.. which costs about $500.
Buy it directly from the vet!!! I foolishly went ahead and bought a 6month supply of the meds online at PetRx.com and my vet chewed me out for it. She said that the ones that are not sold by a veternarian are made in Korea and have harmful additives in them.. she was very upset with me. So I chucked them and now I just get a tab from the vet once a month for $15. :)
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You can buy meds online but make sure it's a reputable source. I buy my Heartgard and Frontline Plus from drs.fostersmith and it's the exact same thing I can get from my vet.
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Hi Jessica, your vet LIED to you. Novartis don't even have a manufacturing or R&D site in Korea period. Sentinel in NA are all made in Lincoln, NE.
If you want to order Rx online, order them via a Vet-VIPPS accredited pharmacy. Here's a list.
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Permalink Reply by Rachael & Waffle on
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I can tell you what I know about heartworm medicines... which is not that much. Waffle's breeders give their dogs Interceptor every 7 weeks and have been doing so for a very long time. The box says once every 4 weeks, but the medicine lasts 8 weeks safely. They have never had a problem with heartworms under this regime, so it's good enough for me and Waffle! They do not give their dogs any other pesticides. I don't either, but their experience is more valuable than mine.
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