Is Vethical Comboguard safe for my dog? Are there alternatives?

These drugs are used for different reasons. Combo Guard is used to prevent heartworms and intestinal worms, along with fleas. Simple Guard protects against fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, lice, mites, and sand flies. In order to protect your dog again heartworms and intestinal worms, then yes you have to use both. You can use Advantage Multi that controls fleas, prevents heartworm infection, and kills intestinal parasites, but that is available by prescription only from your vet. If you want to go back to your vet to get it, then it's fine to use, but if not, I would use the medication your vet gave you for him.

You have a few options. If you want an all in one product, try Trifexis. Otherwise you will two separate products. You might try Simparica (fleas/ticks) and Interceptor (heartworm/intestinal worms). I also recommend to have Sparky's stool checked for worms in case that was a round worm. For that parasite, pets are often given bolus dewormings since people can get that worm. That will clear up the infection faster.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Timo. Great question! You are correct that collies can be more susceptible to ivermectin, which is one of the main ingredients in Heartgard. That being said, this lethargy, loss of appetite, and vomit can all be normal side effects of the Heartgard. If he carried the gene that made him sensitive to ivermectin, I would expect to see a reaction every time he was given it, not just on occasion. I do suspect that it's normal side effects, but you should check with his vet just to be safe. The Bravest will be fine. I hope this helps!

There are some risks associated with any medication, but certainly those risks can be more significant with some of the injectible medications. Unfortunately, we have rarely seen some serious side effects with Proheart. I am attaching the safety information from Proheart website below. http://www.proheart6.com/ "IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION: PROHEART 6 should be used in healthy dogs. Do not administer to sick, debilitated, underweight dogs or dogs that have a history of weight loss. Prior to administration, PROHEART 6 certified veterinarians should continue to assess patient health through a medical history, physical examination and if deemed appropriate, diagnostic testing. Continue to use caution when administering PROHEART 6 concurrently with vaccinations. Adverse events, including anaphylaxis, have been reported following the concomitant use of PROHEART 6 and vaccines. In some cases, anaphylactic reactions have resulted in death. Use with caution in dogs with pre-existing or uncontrolled allergic disease (food allergy, atopy or flea allergy dermatitis). Dogs receiving PROHEART 6 should be tested for existing heartworms as per the product label. In people, avoid PROHEART 6 contact with eyes. If contact with the eyes occurs, rinse thoroughly with water for 15 minutes and seek medical attention immediately. PROHEART 6 is available only to veterinarians through a restricted distribution program. Only certified veterinarians and staff can administer it. See full Prescribing Information." And here is the safety information from Heartgard's website. https://www.heartgard.com "IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION: HEARTGARD Plus is well tolerated. All dogs should be tested for heartworm infection before starting a preventive program. Following the use of HEARTGARD Plus, digestive and neurological side effects have rarely been reported. For more information, contact your veterinarian or click here for full prescribing information." If you cannot remember to give Heartgard every month, then Proheart may be a better option if the risk of heartworm disease in your area is significant. I have used Heartgard in my dogs for their entire lives and have been very pleased with the product. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your question. Thanks for using PetCoach.

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!

Side effects are generally very rare in heartworm preventative medications, but are certainly possible. I have attached a handout below that discusses the different heartworm preventative products. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=488 As you can see, there are a huge number of products on the market. Some herding breed dogs (such as Blue Heelers and Australian Cattle dogs) will be sensitive to ivermectin (the active ingredient in Heartgard), so I would discuss your other heartworm preventative options with your veterinarian. I have been very pleased with Interceptor or Sentinel for herding breed dogs. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

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.