Just moved to Phoenix: Best flea & heartworm prevention for my dog?

Congratulations on your new dog! I like Revolution if you are looking for a topical product. It consistently works well and is well tolerated. If you like the idea of an oral product better, I like Trifexis (it’s another all in one product). Sometimes though the pets can smell the Trifexis and they won’t eat it. In that instance, I like Simparica and Interceptor. My personal preference is oral products. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

The dog should be heartworm tested and then started on a prevention, if negative. Heartgard, Interceptor, and Sentinel are all oral medications that work well with preventing heartworms. You should also treat him with a flea/tick prevention. I like oral NexGard, Bravecto, or Credellio instead of the topical spot on solutions.

Fleas: Revolution or Advantage spot on treatment. If you wanted to use a tablet instead, I'd recommend Comfortis or Nexgard. Worms: Panacur or Drontal (available by prescription only from the vet. Parvovirus: Vaccines. Prevention of skin cancer: Use of dog safe sunscreen when out in the sun a lot and providing shady areas for them in the yard.

There are several medicines to choose from, but you will need a current heartworm test and a prescription from your vet for the medicines. You can look into Heartgard or Sentinel for monthly heartworm prevention or Proheart 6 is a 6 month injection for heartworm prevention but you will need a separate product such as Nexgard or Bravecto for flea and tick control

Heartworm disease is completely preventable dogs. There are now multiple options for heartworm preventative is available to pet owners. Most often these preventatives are given orally once a month or sometimes applied topically once a month. There are options now also for injections that last about six months. It just depends on what your veterinarian has available. It is usually recommended to give heartworm preventative year-round but this may vary depending on where in the country you live. Any dog who has not been on heartworm preventative, should be tested for heartworms prior to starting prevention. And then heartworm testing is recommended every one to two years while on heartworm preventative.

You are very welcome! For most pets, Revolution is fine for heartworm prevention unless your area is experiencing very high levels of heartworm exposure or immunity to the product. Call your veterinarian and ask if there is a specific reason that he/she recommends an additional heartworm prevention. It’s always best to gather all the information! Also make sure to remind them she is on Revolution. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

Flea and tick products: Spot-ons: Advantage, Advantix Advantage Multi (Advocate in the UK) Frontline (ticks as well) Bravecto spot on (ticks as well) - for cats, in tablet form for dogs Revolution (stronghold in the UK) Tablets: comfortis (will only kill fleas once) Collar: Seresto (ticks as well) Heart worm : Here is a comparison chart: https://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?articleid=580 Usually there are no long term side effects.