# [Help] Afraid of giving Chewables (Nexguard, Bravceto) To my dog?



## Starky (Nov 17, 2018)

Hello Everyone, I have a 11 Month Old Mix Shepherd named Stark (30kg/66lbs). As the title mentions My dog has a lot of ticks, I Live in Sri Lanka, A very Hot country and I have a garden/backyard But my Dog lives inside, He still has like 20-30 ticks with him daily (which I manually remove Everyday)

I tried Frontline spot-on on him (which is the only tropical Available in my country), It worked for the first month but after that the ticks got a hang for it doesn't work at all. My Vet has suggested me to use Nexguard But im scared of giving him after reading the side effects but i feel like im at a loss here where my dog might suffer either way.

Is it safe for me to try it out?


----------



## Dunkirk (May 7, 2015)

I'm in a subtropical climate, and I've used Nexgard (and Sentinel) on my dog for over 5 years without problems. I don't like that I'm regularly poisoning my dog with these drugs, but if I don't the alternative is worse.


----------



## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I tried Bravecto and my dog was extremely allergic to it and got skin blisters. We switched to Nexgard with no side effects at all, but he is now being tested for skin allergies so I had to stop. The vet sold me something called Vectra which is a topical and not easy to apply to a dog with a dense coat, but so far it’s working very well. You can’t order topicals online?


----------



## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

I used Bravecto on my dogs and had no problems. I was very nervous about trying it out too but the results were phenomenal.


----------



## sebrench (Dec 2, 2014)

Frontline doesn't work for us either. I use NexGard, haven't had a problem, and fleas and ticks are controlled.


----------



## GSDchoice (Jul 26, 2016)

Another NexGard user here...no issues with it. The ticks/fleas are very active here (North Carolina has a humid warm climate) so there's no way to do without some kind of protection.

Another option I've looked at (if you really don't like the idea of your dog eating a pill) is the Seresto collar, which the vet tech said she uses on her own dogs and likes very much.


----------



## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

I've given Nexguard to many, many dogs in our dog rescue -- we have not had a single dog have a bad reaction to it. These are dogs that tend to come to us starved, sick, and with depressed immune systems -- a population likely to have a reaction if one were going to occur, but it's been very well tolerated by all of them. It's a good product!


I'm also seeing good results with Simparica (another oral medicine that works against ticks).


----------



## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

Interesting...am also afraid of the chewables. But I can't keep a seresto on my boys. Taking them off each other is an olympic sport. 

Up here ticks are only really bad in spring and fall. I could maybe just give it then and not year round


----------



## wolfmonte (Aug 28, 2019)

I used Nexguard without issue. My puppy had hard time eating it though so I added to his treats.


----------



## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

I've used Nexguard for years no problems I can see.

I don't like giving them to them, but I know too many dogs at this point that were on topicals or natural preventatives and still got ticks and contracted various tickborne diseases, not just lyme.

What tick diseases are an issue in your area?

You can also treat your yard with diatomaceous earth if available. It will control flea and tick populations and is not harmful to pets.


----------



## Saco (Oct 23, 2018)

Worth it. I've used Bravecto, Nexguard and most recently Simpartica without any issues. I found Simpartica worked best and quickest to kill ticks, and was best value. I had dogs almost die from tick illness, not just Lyme but rocky mountain spotted fever and ehrlichia as well when I tried to go natural - it was terrible. For sure an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I am religious about the tick meds now- I wish natural worked, but it doesn't and tick illness is on the rise.


----------



## Soldes (May 15, 2018)

Was weary of using Bravecto due to the adverse reaction reports, but for over a year now, this med along with sentinel; do the job, without any side effects on Red.


----------



## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

There was a well known dog that was reported to have died from Babesia not too long ago. I feel like there is no choice but to pick your poison these days.


----------



## tc68 (May 31, 2006)

Does anyone know if doing 2 things (1 oral and 1 topical) at the same time is overkill or will hurt the dog in some way? Like giving Bravecto/Nexxgard along with a topical like Frontline Plus?


----------



## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

@tc68, my vet says to space them 2 weeks apart. We use Advantage Multi for HW prevention because it's the only one with no documented resistance to the new strain of HWs emerging in the Gulf region...but it doesn't prevent ticks. So we give the oral tick med two weeks later in the middle of the month.


That said, if you're using one of the oral flea/tick meds, there's nothing to be gained from Frontline IMHO. They do the same thing, only FL seems to be less good at it.


----------



## tc68 (May 31, 2006)

Magwart said:


> @tc68, my vet says to space them 2 weeks apart. We use Advantage Multi for HW prevention because it's the only one with no documented resistance to the new strain of HWs emerging in the Gulf region...but it doesn't prevent ticks. So we give the oral tick med two weeks later in the middle of the month.
> 
> 
> That said, if you're using one of the oral flea/tick meds, there's nothing to be gained from Frontline IMHO. They do the same thing, only FL seems to be less good at it.


Thanks Magwart. Mine's on Frontline Plus. The first 2 months I tried Nexxgard, and I gave Heartgard along with it and he threw up both times, so I figured doing both at the same time was just too much for his puppy system. My previous dog was on Frontline Plus and it worked fine. So I switched my current one back to Frontline Plus. But I'm wondering if I should try Nexxgard or Bravecto, now that he's almost fully grown and space it out like you mentioned. Not to mention my vet keeps pushing the oral medications and many of you are saying Nexxgard and Bravecto are better than Frontline Plus.


----------

