Sentinel
 

So, we changed vets the end of 2015. Previously, my fur butts have taken comfortis for fleas and we used Heartgard for heartworm preventative. Rin and Tyson went for annual check ups December 2014. The new vet was adamant Comfortis/Triphexis was very dangerous. She prescribed Sentinel, which prevents fleas and heartworm.

I absolutely rely on a vets knowledge about what is safe for my pets and Sentinel is also cheaper so all should be well.

This is my problem, Rin and Tyson took thier first dose of Sentinel mid January. Tyson started scratching like crazy the following day...and then I noticed Rin is loosing huge clumps of hair...the stuff is laying around everywhere. I thought, what in the world is going on here???? AT any rate, these symptoms subsided after about 10 days and I wondered "Did the Sentinel cause this?"

Second dose mid February....same thing....itching and hair loss for approximately 10 days.

Now it's time for another dose next week, I called the vet and explained everything to her. She thinks I'm the nutty dog lady now and feels positive the Sentinel is not the reason and to bring Rin and Tyson to the vet....

I'm so frustrated :confused: I have done some research and found these symptoms are possible with Sentinel but "rare."

1) Has anyone else experienced these symptoms with Sentinel?

2) Any suggestions for oral flea prevention. I absolutely don't mind going back to heartgard for heartworm prevention (we take it year round here in Florida) but I definitely need oral meds, the topicals DO NOT work for fleas.

I have never used Sentinel. I am using Heartgard Plus but when my currently supply runs out i going to switch to Sentinel because it covers Tapeworms and Armani has had tapeworms

Trifexis is dangerous. Have you thought of using nexguard for fleas and ticks?

Is nexguard better than K9 Advantage II?

Taylor,

Thx for the suggestion, I will do some research and ask the vet about Nexguard.

AS to the Triphexis....it must be a kick back (money) thing. Why would so many vets recommend something if it's dangerous? Our new vet said "absolutely not" to Triphexis but the old vet recommended it as soon as it came on the market....

It's not a topical. Topicals make my dog act like she dosen't feel good so when it came out I asked the vet about it and she had nothing but good things to say about it. When everyone in the office saw me with the box they to had nothing but good things to say. We have had no issues with it.

I really don't know but I have heard some really scary and bad stories. We had at least one member here lose there dog because of it.

Unfortunately, sometimes money does sway us the wrong way

I use Sentinel Spectrum with both dogs since that is what my vet sells. We have had no problems with it.

Sentinel is what I with with ZoE. We've been using it monthly for four years without incident.

Reactions are always possible with any medication.

My vet wont prescribe it at all for small dogs...I dont know about large dogs....she is completely against it and has said it is not safe for Yorkies.

get some flea buster powder for your house, fleas will be a thing of the past

I've been using Comfortis and Heartgard on Louie for 2 months with no issues. A good friend of mine has had her Sheltie on Trifexis for 3 years without issues. Another friend has used Trifexis on his dogs for even longer than that with no issues. My aunt has been using Comfortis and Heartgard for both of her Shih Tzus for 5+ years with no issues.

I've heard nothing but good things about it in person. I only hear the horror stories online. What's the deal?

Also, if your vet thought you were crazy because you think there must be some connection between your dogs' symptoms and Sentinel, maybe you need a new vet. If your dogs were experiencing those symptoms RIGHT AFTER they took Sentinel, TWICE, there is a very good chance that Sentinel is the reason for their symptoms. They may be allergic to an ingredient in it, the chemical composition of the medication may not agree with them, etc. My diet, exercise, and general schedule is rather stable ... If I were to take some new medication, all of a sudden develop terrible rashes when taking the medication, but my doctor told me "There's no way it's the medication!" I'd be gone.

Oh, another thing. You really should look up the ingredients used in the flea medications. For example, the active ingredient in Comfortis is spinosad. It's used to treat fleas in pets, treat fleas in farm animals, kill bugs on VEGETABLES (that we end up eating!) without harming the plant, and it's also used as a lice treatment in humans.

The combination milbemycin oxime/lufenuron is used in Sentinel. The combination milbemycin oxime/spinosad is used in Trifexis. Milbemycin oxime and lufenuron, both alone and in combination, are NOT used in plant or human products and they are NOT reccommended for such! Go figure! Your dogs could be having a reaction to either milbemycin oxide or lufernuron! If it's milbemycin oxime, that means you can't use Trifexis, either. Something else to think about: milbemycin oxime is shown to be less effective in heartworm treatment than ivermectin, the main active ingredient in Heartgard and Iverhart. Both ivermectin and pyrantel (the second active ingredient in Heartgard and Iverhart) are used in human medicine.

There have been many people who's dogs did great on the Trifeixs and then dropped dead no joke! There have been several deathly sick dogs on here who the only thing that could be found to be the cause was Trifexis. It is not safe and it is not worth the risk to have your dog on Trifexis and I would beg your friends to stop using it. All you have to do is google it to see all the terrible warnings and stories.