Is Nexgard Spectra safe for my dog? I'm worried about side effects.

Hi there and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, NexGard Spectra has been shown to be both safe and effective at treating and preventing ticks and fleas as well as preventing heartworms in dogs. However, this product is currently only available in Europe and Australia. Hopefully it will be approved for use in the United States soon, but until then you may need to stick with the NexGard/HeartGard combination. I hope this helps and thanks again for posting!

Yes, I like NextGard Spectra. It is a good flea and tick preventative, and it has the added benefit of treating roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms. It does work, and I would recommend using it on Bella :-)

NexGard Spectra is an oral chewable medication that is given monthly to protect your dog against fleas, ticks, heartworm, lungworm, hookworm, whipworm and roundworm. It does not treat tapeworm infection, but you can give the tapeworm medication concurrently if necessary. As long as Bella does not have fleas, she should be safe from tapeworm since fleas are how it is spread. You can read more here: http://www.nexgardspectra.com.au/faq

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.

Yes. Like all medications, there can be side effects, including vomiting and diarrhea. Here is the product insert that discusses everything about the medication. Look at the section called "Adverse Effects": https://nexgardfordogs.com/assets/NexGard_PI.pdf

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Love the name Tikaani and I hope she is doing great. She is certainly old enough to take Nexgard. I have prescribed many doses of Nexgard to dogs and puppies of all sizes and ages. There are no known contraindications with this product so it should be extremely safe to use. Now just remember that all dogs are different and they all don't react to the same products or drugs in the same manner, so it's always possible that you try Nexgard and you notice some problems. This would be uncommon although not out of the question. I would not hesitate to use it on my dogs although right now I use a topical product for fleas/ticks. Just make sure you follow the manufacturers and your veterinarians instructions for administration. Good luck and I hope you and Tikaani are greatly satisfied with Nexgard

I think both are good products with few side effects. The topical medications do sometimes cause some irritation to the skin, even if it doesn’t seem red, but it typically does not last long. Oral preventatives in he same class as Simparica can cause gastrointestinal signs and lethargy. You could try a different oral medication like Nexgard or Bravecto - some do better with one over the other. I wouldn’t worry about the smell from the Vectra.