My dog reacts to NexGard & Advantix. What are safe alternatives?

Hi. Unfortunately there is no "all natrual" and effective flea/tick/heartworm prevention medications. It takes an actual medication and antiparasitic medication to prevent these. The natural products you see when you look in to these are not nearly as effective or studied as those recommended by your veterinarian. This is obviously completely your decision, but from a medical standpoint I do not recommend the all all natural medications or collars for this. If your pet is having reactions to vectra and interceptor, please discontinue them and speak to your veterinarian about other options such as revolution, heart guard, simparica or Brevecto. Good luck.

One of the active drug ingredient in both meds is milbemycin, so if the allergy or reaction to was that specific drug, it would be better to avoid it. Of course we can't know that for sure. It may be that Rexy is allergic to one of the other active ingredients in trifexis, or to one of the inert ingredients. However, I think the best recommendation would be to use a prevention that does NOT contain milbemycin or praziquantel (the ingredients in Trifexis). Heartgard is a good alternative. Make sure that he is up to date on his heart worm test first. I think its fine to go ahead and get him started on a different heart worm prevention ASAP, even though he just had surgery. I hope that helps you ! Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hello, so sorry to hear that Kya had this problem with the Nexgard. Personally, if my dog had a reaction to one of the oral flea medications (like Nexgard) I would not using any oral products in the future. I suggest you switch to a Seresto Collar. ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/seresto-flea-and-tick-collar-for-dogs ) One collar lasts 6-8 months depending on how much swimming/bathing the dogs does. I think you will be happier (as will Kya) with this collar. It is almost less expensive than using a monthly prevention. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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.

It is generally not recommended to use two oral products together. It's not to say it's impossible but many of these companies have not done the testing to know if there are interactions. You may discuss this with your regular vet to see if they have any experience with this. Most topical flea and tick products are expected to be safe to use with Trifexis. There is also a collar called a Preventic which is fine to use with oral products. Most people only put the collar on the pet when it is going out to tick areas and they remove it when the pet is not in those areas. Another option is to ask your vet if they would exchange the product for something like Simparica and Interceptor which would get all your parasite concerns. Some clients will also switch products when ticks are in season or when exposure is expected and then switch back once the exposure time is over. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

No worries. You can safely switch up flea medication every 2-4 weeks no problem. All flea prevention is labeled as safe for dogs but pets can have adverse reactions to just about any medication unfortunately. But these are not expected to happen. I have seen fewer reactions with Nexgard if that is any consolation. : ) Best wishes with your pet Jack moving forward and I hope that he tolerates Nexgard well! Take care.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Yes, there are lots of other non-topical flea and tick prevention options. Nexgard and Bravecto have oral chews that dogs can eat as treats. Nexgard is monthly whereas Bravecto is every 3 months. Both of these prevent against fleas and ticks. Heartgard is an oral medication that protects against heartworm and other intestinal parasites. There is a Seresto collar that can be worm by dogs to prevent flea and tick infections for up to 8 months. I recommend reaching out to your local vet to see which products they have available. I hope this is helpful!