Having a hard time choosing between heartgard and sentinel..
 

I was going to use frontline for fleas but there isn't much of a flea problem where I am.. and I researched some very bad things about frontline ( and other topical flea preventatives) - so that's out. Heartworm, however, I think I rather prevent because I personally get bit by many mosquitos in the summer which means Chloe has the same chance of getting bit as I do.

The problem is I can't decide between heartgard and sentinel. I don't really want to apply a topical so that leaves these 2. Which has been around longest? Chloe is under 3lbs so I'm having difficulty making myself give her heartgard which can be used for a 25lb dog vs sentinel which is much closer to her weight 2-5lbs. What I don't like about sentinel though is that it has a dewormer and I feel that's unnecessary.. or is it?

My main concern is the the huge weight difference in heartgard which is why I haven't given it. On the other hand, sentinel is a "combined" med but it isn't really any good for fleas? If I'm going to give a combined med I want it to at least work well.. so I can't decide how to weigh the pros and cons here. I need some opinions and what your babies are using. I'm scared if I give the 25lb dosage to my 2.5lb baby that she might get upset stomach.

Advice?

Here is my advice.

I would use the Frontline because there is a flea problem in NYC and also a tick problem, and the information you're googling about isn't what I would call scientific or reliable. I've been using it for 14 years without a flea, tick, or side effect/problem. I've been using it for almost 6 years on my epileptic dog as well....

Sentinel or Heartgard are both fine. I used interceptor for years (that's sentinel without the flea component) and it was discontinued. I almost went to sentinel but because I still need a tick med, I switched to heartgard. It is safe for small dogs.

You could also use Revolution which is dosed by weight. The holistic people tend to like that one a little more than the others (not sure of their rationale) but I think the better products are the Heartgard +/- Frontline.

Glad you have decided to give heart worm prevention. I use heart guard for several reasons one Callie will not take sentinel two I feel really great about heart guard because it has been around so long I feel very confident in it. Now Sentinel doesn't kill fleas it just keeps them from reproducing. Both are pretty trust worthy meds. I also use Advantix because it is the only thing that works with ticks here and it also repels mosquitoes.

I think the reason that some people like Revolution is because it contains only one active ingredient (Selamectin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) that fights heartworms, fleas, dog ticks, and internal parasites, whereas some of the other brands contain multiple active ingredients to accomplish the same thing. Also, so far (fingers crossed), Revolution has had relatively few adverse reactions.

I’m sure Frontline is an effective medication but I personally don’t feel comfortable using it because fipronil (the active ingredient in Frontline) is a carcinogen. I won’t go into the implications that can occur from carcinogen use on overall health of an animal (and the person applying it) but I will say that I prefer not to use it.

Lovetodream, yeah, that’s why I am questioning Sentinel.. only targeting generally the female flea isn’t much help for most people. The only thing I like about Sentinel is that it’s a smaller tablet and a smaller dosage. Heartgard seems to be the most stable and most popular, though.

About the Revolution, I asked my vet about it and it's kind of like Sentinel in that it doesn't really target adult fleas but only the eggs.

I REALLY wish we had more choices!

Actually about my comment of Revolution not targeting adult fleas, it does target them.. Revolution for Cats & Dogs - 1800PetMeds

Going to look into this now, lol.

They are BOTH combo products.
They are both good drugs.

Yes, there are quite a few of us who like the idea of flea sterilization.

I would suggest asking your vet about this supposed carcinogenic property since you do seem to trust your vet. He will probably be able to tell you that the carcinogenic issue w/ fibronil was demonstrated in laboratory rats when added to their DIET.

107barney, if all you wish to do is argue with me about fipronil being a carcinogen.. please do not try to help me anymore. I'm not here to argue with members, I'm here to ask for advice and I appreciate everyone who tries to help. I'm a 4th year medical student here in New York and on my way to being a doctor very soon. I know very well what is and what is not a carcinogen.

There isn't a lot of medication out for animals so all I am looking for is to see what the majority give their pets for heart worm prevention. If you like Frontline, that is okay - it is your decision and if it works for you, I have nothing against that. Also, my dog is not a lab rat, but thank you for the comparison.

At the risk of getting a brick thrown at my head, fipronil is classified as a "possible human carcinogen" due to increased rates of thryoid cancer in rats fed fipronil. There are very good reasons that potentially toxic chemicals are tested on rats instead of dogs and humans--I don't think that I need to go into them--and this is a standard procedure for determining carcinogenicity. You simply don't release potentially toxic medicines without testing them on lab animals first.

BabyChloe,
If you're going to be a doctor, then you should start with reading things with the EPA and other sources and reading the studies so you will know what is accurate info. I think being open minded and gathering facts will serve you well, because you didn't even know it HG was a combo drug.

I won't hold your elitism against you, because I'm sure you didn't mean it in that way... I truly hope you pass the boards. And, when/if you become a doctor, I hope you have patients who will want to actually listen to your advice because you don't even want to listen to your dog's doctor!! But, that's really not for me to judge.

BTW, I can comment on any thread here on YT if I feel that it is in the interest of the YT community to do so. I don't appreciate you telling people frontline is a carcinogen when the EPA has deemed it to be a "potential" in regards to that, and the studies were only done on rats when fibronil was added to their diet.

Good luck !!

Exactly. Rats who ate the medication.

I've used Sentinel year round for the past three years and have never had any issue with it. Like you, I like that they offer a dosage specifically for small dogs up to 10lbs.

Prior to using sentinel, I used interceptor (made by the same manufacturer) for my last yorkie, for 12 years, again year round, with no issues ever.

I don't use any topical flea control as I have never had an issue with fleas. I do however bathe with Minksheen during the summer months which is supposed to repel fleas..although I don't know if it actually does or if we've just been lucky.

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/fiptech.pdf

Yeah, I'm aware they ate it....

Signs of Toxicity - Animals
• Mice injected intraperitoneally with fipronil exhibited tonic-clonic seizures, facial clonus, or head twitching.5,14
• Signs of acute toxicity in rats and mice given single doses of fipronil via oral or inhalation exposure generally include
changes in activity or gait, hunched appearance, tremors, convulsions, and seizures.7
• Clinical signs of toxicity in mice fed doses of fipronil (87.4-97.2%) in the diet for 6 weeks included overactivity, irritability,
abnormal gait or posture, body tremors, convulsions, and death.7
• Signs of toxicity during a 52-week chronic rat feeding study included reduced feeding and food conversion efficiency,
reduced body weight gain, seizures and seizure-related death, changes in thyroid hormones, increased mass of the liver
and thyroid, and kidney effects.12

I use Sentinel and Heartgard. I have used them both on pups that were between 3 - 5 pounds with no issues whatsoever. I prefer Heartgard, but once in a while I get a pup who does not like it.

As for topicals for fleas, I used Advantage for many years, but don't have a flea problem so I don't use anything.

*ziiiiiiiiinggg* (Managed to dodge that brick, LOL!) To clarify, I believe that the original Heartguard was a single component drug containing only ivermectin. Now it looks like it's sold as "Heartguard Plus," which is a combo medicine containing ivermectin and pyrantel.

And I can't stress this enough--the reason they feed this stuff to rats to determine potential adverse reactions is because it's unethical to do these tests on humans, and too expensive to do these tests on dogs. The extrapolation of the results of tests done on rats to potential effects on humans is done all the time in the drug testing industry...

BTW, I'm not here to jerk anyone's chain, I'm just here for the sport of vigorous scientific debate!

I think I'm just going to have to decide between these 2. Sentinel looks like a really small tablet compared to the regular heartgard - I don't want the heartgard plus because it has a dewormer. Okay, tough decisions but she needs something, lol. Thank you everyone! I guess it's really a mix between what everyone gives, it's not really 1 definite winner so I'm going to try and weigh the pros and cons and get her something today.

Appreciate the advice!

I'm sorry, but the issue of Heartgard is not one I understand. I have used that product for more years than I care to think about. Not one pup I have owned or fostered has ever had an issue with the under 25 lb Heartgard and none of them were close to 25 lbs. I get what people are saying, but it is not killing pups so I am not sure why it is so frequently a topic/concern.
As to the dewormer, I am actually happy it is in there. The thought of worms creeps me out.

We used Interceptor until it was discontinued. Switched to Heartgard Plus, and the boys love their "treat." Since they won't chew it like they are supposed to, I cut it up into smaller pieces on a plate for each of them.

Are the dewormers in Heartgard Plus excessive/unnecessary? I thought it was a good thing, especially for an area like mine where roundworms and hookworms are prevalent.

Fleas have become a problem in our area. I saw a flea for the first time in my life 2 summers ago. We use Frontline during the summer, but it doesn't seem to work 100% for us. We have not had an infestation, but I have picked one or two off of Teddy every time we go to the park.

I tried Advantage on Teddy but had to wash it off right away. It burned his sensitive skin.

I see that you are a medical student which is wonderful. Your parents must be very proud of your achievements. Working in the OR with breast surgeons I have seen many Med Students over the years. Med Students have a rough life learning from their superiors as well as staff. There have been many students that stand next to me during surgeries and learn from me by asking questions regarding the procedures they are observing. They ask many questions and I am able to answer them not because I have MD after my name but simply because I've learned by listening, questioning and gaining knowledge from the surgeons that I work with daily. There have been times over the years that I've pulled very nice students aside, explained the procedure and given them the correct answers to what I knew the surgeon would be quizzing them about once he came into the room. I've had surgeons turn to me when the Med Students didnt know the correct answer to their questions and I was able to answer correctly. The point I'm trying to make in telling this to you is that it's the EXPERIENCE that you need to obsorb from the people in the room and not be quick to tell those people to leave. Although we are all sitting behind a computer there are many very intelligent members of this forum that do not speak of their professions and their knowledge base is HUGE! Embrace it instead of fighting it and take that same idea with you learning from everyone as you go. A very wise doctor years ago told the student in his OR this "learn everyone's name, from the cleaning crew all the way up to the Medical Director. They all have pieces of knowledge that will enrich your stay here". It was and still is my favorite surgeon OR suite speech. I can also tell your the Med Students that are not liked are sent out of the room to look for an Otis Elevator......;p

We had our Heeler on Sentinel from puppy to 14 years 8 months but last time I ordered they had changed the Formula and make up of pill (bigger and super hard). I couldn't get her to take it as she had the old form. She was in final stage of Kidney failure so Heartworms were least of our worries. I will not buy Sentinel again and see about a new brand for Yorkie.

Please disregard above post, after reading other post I remembered we had Interceptor before and they recommended Sentinel as the replacement. Memory goes when you get old and didn't get in on the 5 minute time limit


We had our Heeler on Interceptor from puppy to 14 years 8 months but last time I ordered they had discontinued it the replacement was Sentinel and make up of pill (bigger and super hard). I couldn't get her to take it as she had the Interceptor. She was in final stage of Kidney failure so Heartworms were least of our worries. I will not buy Sentinel again and see about a new brand for Yorkie

The component in Sentinel that controls heartworm (milbemycin oxime) also treats for whipworm, hookworm, and roundworm, so there isn't another dewormer added to it. The second component -- lufenuron -- prevents flea eggs from developing.

There is another newer product, Sentinel Spectrum, that does have a third component that treats for tapeworm, and if that's what you are talking about I would have to agree with you. There is no need to treat for tapeworm if fleas are not present.

The Ivermectin in Heartguard (and Heartguard Plus) controls heartworm, while Heartguard Plus does have another deworming component -- pyrantel -- that is for roundworms and hookworms.

With regards to standard Sentinel or Heartguard/Heartguard Plus, they are all fine. I started using Sentinel about 16 years ago, and before that used Heartguard. They have been around a very long time with a great track record.

I've never used sentinel, but heartguard plus is the only "treat" ;) Yuri will roll over for. Yumi likes it too. I like the wormer that idea freaks me out too.

I can understand your concern for the weight up to 25 lbs for the heartgard i too questioned that to my vet after I got home with it. I said it was quite a span for my 3 lber. And they said yes feed her the whole thing and all the same day. It was huge! I thought she would never eat all that. Much to my surprise she loved it , and wolfed it down ....oh my goodness.....ok then.just seemed like too much to me too.

How funny! My boys love it too. I have to separate the boys because they try to eat one and then get the other guy's. Then they look at me like, "Got anymore of those?" They recognize the box and go crazy when I put it on the counter. Much easier than getting Teddy to swallow the Interceptor pill.

I don't use a flea/tick medicine when not necessary. Jackson hasn't been on any since last July and we haven't seen a tick or flea since then. Now, I WILL be applying either Frontline or Advantix at the end of the month, as the weather warms up. I typically only end up using a flea/tick preventative in May, June, July and August. Otherwise, we just don't really seem to have issues. I don't see the point in giving it all year. Also, Frontline seemed to be ineffective 2 yrs ago here. I was still finding ticks in the summer when I used it which is why I switched to Advantix. But I may give FL a try again this year.

I use Heartguard year round mainly because it's super easy to give it to him, as he takes it as a treat, and I don't need the flea protection that is in Sentinel. We used to use Interceptor. Sad when it went off the market.

Another option is to not give any at all, but have her tested for HW every 3-4 months.

I can't get mine to eat Heartgard to safe my life! Lol! We use Revolution every 6 weeks per my vet.

That's really not safe. Then if your dog tests positive they have to go through the treatment for heart worms and that can be really bad for dogs and if it dosent kill them it can make them extremely sick and leave them with heart problems and other lasting issues. Heart worms is nothing to play with.