# Trifexis Skin Issues?



## Rand0mH3RO

I was wondering if anyone else out there has had any issues with Trifexis. My 7 and a half month old German Shepherd was on Confortis and then was switched to Trifexis. Since he was around 4 months old he has been itchy. It has gotten progressively worse as time has gone on. He has gotten so itchy he has scratched himself raw and has had a rash of sorts. We thought it was a food allergy and have switched food many times. He is currently on Acana Pacific, all fish. It has no helped at all. Last month he was on antibiotics, topical steroids and antihistamines because he had scratched so much it was infected. During this time he was better most likely due to the antihistamines. BUT I have just had the revelation that he may be allergic to the Trifexis. I searched around on the forums but couldn't find any recent posts or discussions on the topic. 

I'm currently in the middle of finding a new vet since I have lost complete faith in his original vet. The only solution she gave was trying to get him to be put on Hill's Science diet which I refused to do. If anyone in the Raleigh, NC area has any suggestions for a good vet I would greatly appreciate it.


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## nicodemus

first off , science diet sucks lol... glad we can all agree. but anywho, nicco has been on both comfortis , ( when we first got him for a month) and is now on trifexus ( past 4-5 months ) we have not had any problems with it.... i did notice he was a little itchy when we first got him, but after i switched to a higher quality dog kibble, it stopped right away, and he has had no problems since then. hes on taste of the wild prarrie now, and he loves it btw. i would def get to a new vet you feel comfortable with, since i guess there is really no way for anyone here too know if your pups allergic to that particular med. , as i said, niccos been on it for months now with no ill effects.......


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## nicodemus

and also, i know trifexus will kill all fleas that bite, and keep him from gettin infested and such, but maybe he is allergic to the actuall bites? we had a cat once that was SEVERELY allergic to flea bites, im talking within a month of being bitten, he would pull all his **** hair out and look like someone had shaved him from neck too tail tip..... maybe your dog is gettin bit a few times and having a reaction to that, not any medication or food? just pinging ideas.....


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## middleofnowhere

The special formulated vet science diet foods have their place. They ARE designed to deal with special problems in dog health. 
It's just too easy to write off something because many of us associate SD with bad food. 
My thoughts -- try it. You could at the same time get rid of the med that you are suspicious of. If the dog improves drastically, then introduce one or the other (either regular food you were feeding or Trifexis) and see what happens.


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## HopeSpringsEternal

*problems with trifexus*

I have had my 9 year old female GSD on trifectis for a year now. She is also having skin problems...and not ever had them before. We have so many fleas from the wild rabbits that it is possible that there is an alergy to the bite itself and not the trifectis but the skin problems seem to have gotten worse since she has been on the medication. I also have tried a lot of different foods to address this, but have not had any luck. I have a vet appt in a few weeks for her yearly exam and to renew the Trifexus perscription. I will bring this up with the vet and get back to everyone.


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## Heidigsd

I just gave Nikki Trifexis on the 1st of this month because we ran out of Sentinel. 

She vomited 2.5 hours after taking it and is still not back to normal today. She threw up again two days ago and didn't want to eat. Needless to say she is not getting it again. Our vet said he is seeing more and more dogs having problems with it. 

She just had her annual check-up on the 5th and blood work/urinalysis came back normal.

If you search the net you will find lots of stories about dogs getting sick from it.

Michaela


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## DHau

I gave my dog this product for the first time this month. The vet recommended giving her 1/2 the dosage with food and wait 30 minutes to administer the 2nd half. This was done to ensure no vomiting. The vet also said that most dogs have a reaction to it the first time but not the second. 

I have not found any fleas on her since given the medication, but I am seeing dandruff. I am not sure if this is because of the medication or the change in forumula of her dog food. I will be monitoring this closely because she has environmental allergies and don't wish to aggravate her skin any more than necessary.


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## Heidigsd

> The vet also said that most dogs have a reaction to it the first time but not the second.


I just want to add that our vet is very reluctant to make any changes in Nikki's routine because of her health issues. She is still not back to 100% but is doing better, so for us it's just not worth it.


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## pyratemom

I switched to Trifexis 3 months ago because Raina was having upset stomach from the Heartguard and Frontline, even when used on different days a week apart. She is allergic to all kinds of things including flea bites but since I switched I haven't had any problems with stomach upset or fleas. I do bathe her every other weekend due to the other airborne stuff she is allergic to and I blow dry her so I can get a good look at her skin. I think it is an individual thing with each dog.


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## NadiaK

*It has poison*

Triflexis has spinosad as a main ingredient. 
We found out the hard way after our Sasha (6months) started itching and biting her fur off for the past 2months. We figured it out with our trainer while the vet looked puzzled and did the usual run of tests. Spinosad is a poison, it defiantly kills fleas and ticks and then some. 
Didn't work out well for us. Down to the basic heart worm guard. As for fleas and ticks, brewers yeast with garlic and apple vinegar cider seems to be working great.


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## GatorBytes

Review of Enhanced Reporting of 2008 Pet Spot-On Incidents

You have to click on the PDF icon...this is from the "*Enviromental Protection Agency*"

Regulations.gov

Cannot copy any blurbs but pg. 4/5 concurs w/your suspicions

and pg 18, say's - _most incidents_ classified as minor but ALL products had DEATH or MAJOR incidents

Pg. 20 classifies what is major, moderate, minor

Another product was pulled from the market a couple yrs ago

The study concluded that ProMeris “has the potential of triggering a variant of PF” (*pemphigus foliaceus, an autoimmune disorder of the skin* that is discussed in *Noses and Toes Gone Wrong*). Lesions begin at the site of application, sometimes months after the initial application, and may later spread to other areas of the body. Immunosuppressive drugs are sometimes required for treatment. While most dogs achieve complete remission, lesions may recur in a few cases even without the further application of ProMeris. Labrador Retrievers and other large-breed dogs appear to have an increased risk for this adverse reaction. It’s important for vets to be aware of these findings, to avoid misdiagnosis.
*Amitraz, one of the active ingredients in ProMeris*, is a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI ). Other products that contain amitraz include Preventic collars and Mitaban. Products containing amitraz should never be used together.


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## pyratemom

Thanks for posting all that information Gatorbytes. It was interesting to read all that. I no longer use the spot treatments but it is good information to have.


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## Neko

We are starting Trifexis next weekend at 10 and a half weeks (Vet wanted to wait). Do you buy it at the vet or is it cheaper elsewhere? 
we just paid $33 for a med that's only $10 online, sign wish I knew...


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## GatorBytes

Neko said:


> We are starting Trifexis next weekend at 10 and a half weeks (Vet wanted to wait). Do you buy it at the vet or is it cheaper elsewhere?
> we just paid $33 for a med that's only $10 online, sign wish I knew...


If the vet wanted to wait then why are you doing? The EPA study mentions that most adverse events seem related to using these products under *3 yrs* of age


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## Neko

GatorBytes said:


> If the vet wanted to wait then why are you doing? The EPA study mentions that most adverse events seem related to using these products under *3 yrs* of age


He wanted us to wait 2 weeks because Zeus was on 4 other meds to clear up geiordia and our Vet did not want to add one more thing to the mix. He wants him to start heartworm prevention next Saturday when we go for second shots. He already told us he recomeds Sentinel which is going to be off the market for 4-6 month and Trifexis is sentinel combined with Comfortis.

We are in Florida and if we don't put him on anything, he will have heartworm in few weeks, we already have a million mosquitoes around the house and spring is not even here. =( 
As far as I know, we are in a risky state and have to take our chances with meds. (per the vet) 

So my question was simply where do people get it from the vet or online with prescription?


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## GatorBytes

Neko said:


> He wanted us to wait 2 weeks because Zeus was on 4 other meds to clear up geiordia and our Vet did not want to add one more thing to the mix. He wants him to start heartworm prevention next Saturday when we go for second shots. He already told us he recomeds Sentinel which is going to be off the market for 4-6 month and Trifexis is sentinel combined with Comfortis.
> 
> We are in Florida and if we don't put him on anything, he will have heartworm in few weeks, we already have a million mosquitoes around the house and spring is not even here. =(
> As far as I know, we are in a risky state and have to take our chances with meds. (per the vet)
> 
> So my question was simply where do people get it from the vet or online with prescription?


Just something for you to consider for the health of your dog, b/c HW pesticides should never be given at the time of vaccines, vax. suppress the immune system for 10 days...you WILL need a very healthy puppy to manage the assault these pesticides have on their tiny little bodys...especially going through the puppy series of shots, then you will have rabies (which should NOT be done at time of other vax. and NOT with HW meds.) AND NO vax. should be given at time of illness (giardia) and while on FOUR meds. This is serious. Please take the time to read this active thread and links in it (permalink #16)...here is a blurb about the lifecycle of HW...you treat post infection BTW, which is after infection, but before moving to the heart (approx. 3-4 months)

Heartworm life cycle
Before you sucumb to the marketing pressure and fear to administer heartworm medicine monthly, I urge you to learn more about the heartworm life cycle. The heartworm development goes through several stages before reaching maturity and *it takes 2.5 to 4 months before the tiny stage of microfilaria leaves the muscles and starts settling in the pulmonary artery*. When heartworm reaches its final destination of pulmonary artery near the heart, it takes about 3 – 4 months to reach maturity.
One doesn’t need to have a degree in math to figure that it takes somewhere between 5.5 to 8 months for microfilaria to mature into an adult worm and that *your dog should be safe if you administer heartworm meds only once every every 3 to 4 months* if your live in the area where heartworm occurs. 

The thread
http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...hose-who-do-minimal-vaccines.html#post3171762

Then I would urge you check out the health issues forum and read up on how many dogs are suffering from itchyskinitis as well a whole host of other problems and the refer back to this thread and the Enviro. Protection agency's study (pill form, spot on, they are all pesticides) in the link I provided and compare pg. 20 to issues that are posted.

Respectfully, with your pups health in mind, I am just trying to help


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## Neko

Thank you for all of your time Gator =) 

In our house arguing about vaccinations does not go well. My husband is a pharmacist with access to medical journals, studies, publishings etc. He was so mad at me for not getting my flu shot lol. But, anyways, we have been doing allot of research as well and because my husband can talk to the vet on professional/medical level, he really trusts him with our dog. When those two talked on our first visit, it was like they were talking in "alien language". The vet does not push anything on us, he actually asked Jeff what he has researched and the vet told us what he has seen with the meds we came up with. So it seams like he wants to work with us and provide his best advice. 

I think just like with human medicine, there is risk vs benefit and not everything works for everyone, its trial and error. If there is a better way to do this stuff than I for sure we will look at the posts to see what other people use and search online. 

This post is helpful and i will ask our vet if we should expect skin irritations and what his thoughts on it. 

as for topical meds and fleas, well I am sure Zeus will have fleas in few more days... We can see the fleas jumping around because the soil here is mostly sand and they are everywhere. You can just see them while sitting in the grass.


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## pyratemom

Neko said:


> He wanted us to wait 2 weeks because Zeus was on 4 other meds to clear up geiordia and our Vet did not want to add one more thing to the mix. He wants him to start heartworm prevention next Saturday when we go for second shots. He already told us he recomeds Sentinel which is going to be off the market for 4-6 month and Trifexis is sentinel combined with Comfortis.
> 
> We are in Florida and if we don't put him on anything, he will have heartworm in few weeks, we already have a million mosquitoes around the house and spring is not even here. =(
> As far as I know, we are in a risky state and have to take our chances with meds. (per the vet)
> 
> So my question was simply where do people get it from the vet or online with prescription?


I buy my Trifexis at my vet. Not sure but you may need to because of the heartworm preventative in it which requires prescription by a vet. Or, you can get the prescription and then order on line.


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## Neko

pyratemom said:


> I buy my Trifexis at my vet. Not sure but you may need to because of the heartworm preventative in it which requires prescription by a vet. Or, you can get the prescription and then order on line.


Someone told me that if you get it at the vet and your dog gets hw than treatment is covered, but if you order online like 1800petmeds etc, it will not be covered. Not sure if that's true or just a sales thing. I did not hear this from our vet but from another place were were considering. 

Please keep me updated on how your dog is doing on Trifexis, I heard its the same as sentinel and sentinel is what our breeder uses (or used before they got in trouble) =(


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## pyratemom

Neko said:


> Someone told me that if you get it at the vet and your dog gets hw than treatment is covered, but if you order online like 1800petmeds etc, it will not be covered. Not sure if that's true or just a sales thing. I did not hear this from our vet but from another place were were considering.
> 
> Please keep me updated on how your dog is doing on Trifexis, I heard its the same as sentinel and sentinel is what our breeder uses (or used before they got in trouble) =(


Not sure about the treatment being covered if the dog does contract HW - it may be different in each state or with different vets. My girl has done well on it. She hasn't had any fleas (it doesn't protect for ticks) and still tests negative for HW. Being in Florida I do use the Preventic collar when I am expecting to be in the woods or go up to the mainland for any period of time in the summer. Before I used Frontline and Heartguard (not given on the same day) but the Frontline seemed to lose effectiveness after using it for a long time and I also noticed it gave my older GSD stomach problems for a day or so after applying it. I switched to Trifexis when he was still alive and he never had any ill effects when treated with the Trifexis like he did with the Frontline. Keeping my fingers crossed that it keeps working as well as it has so far.


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## Neko

pyratemom said:


> Not sure about the treatment being covered if the dog does contract HW - it may be different in each state or with different vets. My girl has done well on it. She hasn't had any fleas (it doesn't protect for ticks) and still tests negative for HW. Being in Florida I do use the Preventic collar when I am expecting to be in the woods or go up to the mainland for any period of time in the summer. Before I used Frontline and Heartguard (not given on the same day) but the Frontline seemed to lose effectiveness after using it for a long time and I also noticed it gave my older GSD stomach problems for a day or so after applying it. I switched to Trifexis when he was still alive and he never had any ill effects when treated with the Trifexis like he did with the Frontline. Keeping my fingers crossed that it keeps working as well as it has so far.


Thank you so much for all this. =)

The fleas in Florida are crazy... This is our first dog in the south we are from NY and i don't think a topical will do anything here. I saw a dog last year that was so coated in fleas that you could see them crawling all over his face and as soon as he would get washed and go outside, 30 min and he is covered again. so sad and i really don't want my poor pup to ever deal with that. In NY we would of stayed off the extra preventative, but here, its a different world.


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## pyratemom

Neko said:


> Thank you so much for all this. =)
> 
> The fleas in Florida are crazy... This is our first dog in the south we are from NY and i don't think a topical will do anything here. I saw a dog last year that was so coated in fleas that you could see them crawling all over his face and as soon as he would get washed and go outside, 30 min and he is covered again. so sad and i really don't want my poor pup to ever deal with that. In NY we would of stayed off the extra preventative, but here, its a different world.


Yes, in Florida you have to treat your yard too if the infestation gets that bad or you will never win the argument with the fleas. I did have a tick problem one time but my chickens seemed to love to eat them and after awhile the tick problem was gone, not so with fleas though. I've heard of people using diatomaceous earth as a flea control but have never used it. Maybe someone on here has some advice on that use. I do bathe my dog every other weekend due to her other airborne allergies so I get a good look at her skin every time she is blow dried. So far no problems.


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## yorkiegirl

Rand0mH3RO said:


> I was wondering if anyone else out there has had any issues with Trifexis. My 7 and a half month old German Shepherd was on Confortis and then was switched to Trifexis. Since he was around 4 months old he has been itchy. It has gotten progressively worse as time has gone on. He has gotten so itchy he has scratched himself raw and has had a rash of sorts. We thought it was a food allergy and have switched food many times. He is currently on Acana Pacific, all fish. It has no helped at all. Last month he was on antibiotics, topical steroids and antihistamines because he had scratched so much it was infected. During this time he was better most likely due to the antihistamines. BUT I have just had the revelation that he may be allergic to the Trifexis. I searched around on the forums but couldn't find any recent posts or discussions on the topic.
> 
> I'm currently in the middle of finding a new vet since I have lost complete faith in his original vet. The only solution she gave was trying to get him to be put on Hill's Science diet which I refused to do. If anyone in the Raleigh, NC area has any suggestions for a good vet I would greatly appreciate it.


After giving my yorkie Trifexis she got very sick and had itchy red skin, her ears became red and swollen and started losing her hair.


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## gsdPerseus

I put my dog on Trifexis because Frontline wasn't working, this was in NC but the on west side. 
When you mentioned antibiotics it made me think maybe you might have a yeast problem? 
My dog has a problem with yeast buildup, the fur between his toes get red stains and the skin irritated. I started giving my guy a spoonful of yogurt and it stopped his itching. 
Have you considered trying a different prevention? A friend of mine uses Revolution and it works well. I've also read good things about the Bug Off Garlic stuff too.


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## Baillif

Every time i have to give trifexis to a dog being boarded i wince a little. Ive seen more dogs here have averse effects to it than not. Best to stay away from this one.


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## MadLab

Anybody worried about using chems on dogs for fleas should look into neem.

Parasites can't reproduce or eat or hatch when exposed to neem so they want to get away from it fast. Great for dogs coats and skin and they can eat it no problem. Many Omega oils and other beneficial chemicals.

I'm sure it guards against mosquito's and definitely against fleas. 

If you want to spray your garden or yard you can mix it with warm water and a few drops of washing liquid until dissolved and then spray away. 

To put on coat mix with olive oil and douse and massage in. Heals hotspots and mange and scabs on edges of ears, callouses on elbows. Anti bact/fungal/viral so prob does loads more.


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## DHau

I wanted to give an update on this topic since my last reply. We have not used Trifexis this year and Tosca's is NOT scratching as much as she was last spring. I am thinking now that she DID have a reaction to this product after all. I attributed the majority of her skin problems to environmental allergies last spring to mold growth due to the record setting rain we had. I still see signs of allergies though. This will be an interesting year.


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## ocean19

*Allergic to Trifexis*

I have the same question. My puppy has been on Trifexis. He was itchy and would get small bumps on him and now after two doses he has scape all over his body and has scratched them raw. I will never put him on trifexis again but nothing is seeming to work to stop the itching or heal his skin. Any ideas on what to do to heal his skin?


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