NexGard (Afoxolaner) Toxicity, Veterinarians and $$$$ - Page 3

I like the idea of natural products for flea prevention and have tried a few. They do not work here in FL, my dog had as many fleas 3 days after I applied the topical as before. Here we must use pesticides or we will be over run with fleas in a matter of a few weeks. Even with pesticides it's ongoing.

Jmoore771 - If you are considering switching from missing link you may want to look into Platinum Performance. This is an excellent Pro-Biotic mixture with a lot of good extras. I generally feed Champion Foods (Orijen & Acana) alternating based on our training interval and activity level. During these summer months i generally use the Acana because our training sessions are much shorter and our intervals are more spaced out and my dogs get a little heavy on Orijen if they are not real active. I started using Platinum last October and noticed positive results after a few weeks. My dogs stools got much smaller on the same feeding amount, their energy levels increased and their recovery times decreased drastically. I could also see a rise in the level and sustained duration of intensity during training. I few different club members started to use the product switching from nupro and Missing link and have all commented on the improvement in their dogs overall appearance and energy levels.

  But back to the OPs original, this is something that i struggle with all the time, to vaccinate or not. What is really safe? How much is required vs how much is too much. I had never done heart worm medicine before as i justified it by saying "I live in the desert, there are no mosquitos here" then last summer my neighbors dog died of Heartworm infestation. so now my current dogs are on treatment but i still question weather or not it is needed

A friend's dog just had a neurological reaction to the new Frontline Tritak.  :(   He appears like he will recover, but she learned the hard way that flea prevention is simply not worth it and won't make that mistake again. 

I went to OKC today and fully intended on getting a bag of either Acana, Orijen, or Natural Logics....Ran out of time plus I forgot.  I will just order some,online.     I will look into Pro Biotic also.  Thanks everyone 

Flea prevention and control is necessary in most areas of the country. Otherwise your dog/s will be tormented with scratching 24/7 and most will develop flea bite allergies over time that will lead to secondary bacterial infections. Tapeworms are another concern. Your house will become over run with fleas and they will bite humans. Go away for a few days and when you come home the fleas will be all over your legs and ankles.Fleas can also  transmit  viral and bacterial diseases to humans and other animals.

 Fleas can survive for weeks without taking a blood meal; once they are established in your home you have no choice but to call in the big guns, the exterminator, who will use strong pesticides to kill the adults. Then they will return to kill the hatching fleas they didn't get the first time. You have to vaccum daily all your carpets, furniture, and hard floors around the baseboards and destroy the contents of the vacuum bag. You will also need to treat every animal on site the day the exterminators treat your environment. You must intrerrupt the life cycle in order to exterminate fleas.

If a dog is senstive to the topical it can be washed weekly with Dawn dish detergent and rinsed with diluted Skin So Soft rather than not doing anything. Some natural products work, most don't, but even the less effective ones help at the time they are used.

Unless your dogs are kenneled 24/7 or you live in Alaska or Antarctica  you'd better not let fleas go untreated.

I've apparently been very lucky. My only dog who ever got fleas was my old rescue mutt who was not super healthy. We would travel and stay at a friend's who had a serious flea problem (barn cats) and Slim would be the only one to get any fleas though the rest of mine were all right there. I've always been able to get rid of them with Capstar and baths.We get hard freezes in winter, of course, which helps. 

I found this article on a few ideas for more natural flea ideas: http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/5_3/features/5436-1.html

I'm going to order Orijen Regional Red dry food and give it a try.  Ordering a 15lb to start with.  All the BB kibble in my town has chicken meal in it.  I'll give Orijen a try and hopefully it helps.  

Jmoore771 - Let me know how your dog does on the Regional Red. That is the only 'formula' my dog seems to have 'issues' with. Nothing major, just huge waste piles from a very small amout of food

I started my rescued Cockapoo , age unknown but we estimate about 8 , on Nexgard as my vet recommended . I questioned how safe it was and he said there were very few side effects to it. After adminstering him one he started to vomit in four hours. I called my vet and was assured it would subside. I have had this dog for over a year at this point and he has never been sick a day. Not so much as a sniffle. He continued with his vomitting for four day . He also had a lot of very soft stools . Again I called and asked and was told it would pass. Two weeks later he did start to perk up. The second dose was due thirty days later ,which I followed my vet whom I trusted to know what is right for him. So, he had the second dose. Why didn't I listen to my gut instead of my vet, but then who am I . No schooling on pharmacuticals. I figured he knew best. Two hours after the pill was injested he had violent vomitting. I called my vet back once again only to get the same response from him. It will subside. Oh NO it did not. He was in horrible condition with both ends at the same time in action. He refused to eat for days. He was then brought back to my vet who treated him for vomitting and an appitite stimulant. He started at 19 pounds. He had lost 2 at this time

The vomiting never went away and his stools were horrific. Blood tests to rule out a battery of things were done three times. They found he had very low protein in his blood. Then an ultrasound . More blood work, Finally he was bloating from the spillage of protein in his abdomin. An emergency trip to a specialty hospital and hour away saved his life. More blood work. transfusion of Plasma .,endoscopy and a feeding tube inserted while under. Beside being drained of fluids in abdomin and chest, he is trying to stay with us. Diagnosed as having Protein losing enteropathy. Of course they are saying they don't know if Nexgard is the cause of his problems . After all they are vets.........He is down to 12 pounds

I am totaly sure it is the cause of his problems. I called Merial to lodge a complaint and they were so nice. They are going to refund the price I paid for Nexgard. WOW   really.? Is there a problem giving your poison to my beloved dog? How many other dogs are sick because of it? Is there a place to find this out? Does anyone here know???

You can trust veterinarians just as much as car salesmen, bankers, lawyers, and real estate agents .. they all make a living out of selling you something and/or seperating you from your money.  The Pharma rep knows your veterinarians birthday and always brings your vet something when he visits .. maybe takes him and the wife on a trip once a year so when the Pharma rep tells him that NexGard is great and he will make a bundle selling it who does the veterinarian want to believe??  The bigger and more profitable the lie the more they want to believe.  When you look around the veterinarians office the only person there that loves your dog is you.