Originally Posted by Ellie May (Post 2289829)

There are charts online that show mortality rate with these drugs.
Heartgard averages about 6 a year.
Interceptor 9 a year (but less reactions than Heartgard).
Sentinel I think is 6 a year.
Revolution 36 a year.:eek:

Either these charts aren't accurate or Revolution is 4-6 times more dangerous than the other ones. And then the heartworm protection from it is being questioned. I can't help but wonder why it is still on the market.

It is hard to know if Heartgard or Interceptor is better for Yorkies because different vets have different opinions but I'd really like to see the FDA's data on all of this (right from them so we know that somebody didn't just put a false chart online).

With Heartgard's smallest dose working for dogs 25 pounds and under, our dogs are getting about 4 times what they need a month.:mad: But with Interceptor the smallest dose is 2-10 pounds. It does look like a better dose for Yorkies but it isn't because the company uses five times more than they need to of the active ingredient so that they can say it controls intestinal parasites.:mad: There is a safe heart dose of Interceptor available in other countries, I believe, which would be the perfect dose... Not in the US though.:(

Originally Posted by bellasmomok (Post 2290251)

We use Interceptor too....because of the 2-10# range, and also because a vet here said that he had seen whipworms in dogs recently and Heartgaurd Plus doesn't prevent them.

I value your opinion highly, Crystal....you are soooo thorough in your research and so knowledgeable about our babies! I was just wondering....why are you opposed to the intestinal worm preventors (like what's in Interceptor, besides the obvious--so much more medicine and dosing for something the pup doesn't have)?? I probably need to research more, but the vet said whipworms were deadly, and that he'd seen several cases recently.

(Note: same vet also told me how "safe" Frontline spray was, saying that it says to wash your hands afterward, but it wasn't really necessary; that it had been originally marketed to children with head lice [now I'm thinking about the fact that it's NO LONGER used on children!!!], and then LICKED his finger after touching it just to prove how safe it was!!! And now I read about products like Frontline having the potential [including documented cases] of not just attacking the fleas' nervous system, but attacking the dog's as well....and can attack the human who administers it nervous system as well!! Just saying that to point out, I can't really trust everything a vet says!!)

Originally Posted by tjdmom (Post 2290263)

When you throw out numbers like these it can be scary but I would wonder how many use the various one's. For instance if more people use Revolution, then that would explain why more deaths. Does not necessarily mean that it causes any more deaths per use than others. I have a Collie and the herding breeds are very sensitive to certain drugs so Revolution is about the only one I can give her. So again, I think a lot of research needs to be done and honestly I'm not sure how safe any of these drugs are. And just because it doesn't kill your pet doesn't mean it doesn't have negative consequenses. :( Why can't things be easy?

Originally Posted by bellasmomok (Post 2290330)

I understand that looking at just the number of years in the research isn't as telling as looking at the differences in the numbers of dogs included in the research, but it appears Interceptor was studied over 9 yrs, Sentinal over 5 yrs, and it doesn't say the number of years for Revolution (weird!?) My "guess" would be that a product that has been used over a long period of time would more than likely have more "participants" than a product that has been around for a shorter period of time. Of course, unless we saw the actual numbers, we'd never know....just be guessing. The article mentions a 2004 FDA source, so it may be possible to get the actual results of the research....probably have to do some digging though! :)