# Trifexis



## CITIgolden (Mar 9, 2013)

DuggerA said:


> Our pup has been on trifexis since his second round of puppy shots. He does fine on it. The vet sold us a pack of pills for dogs from 20 pounds to 40 pounds. We have 4 left. He now weighs 42 pounds and will need another dose this weekend. The vet on base said it is not a good idea to give an extra pill or to break a pill in half for this med. So I called the vet that I bought the medicine from and asked them if I could change it out for the next size up or what to do. They said to give him 2 of the 20-40 pound dose pills. But to do it on a full stomach. They said they would not give me a refund. Should I give him 2 pills or got to the on base vet and buy the appropriate strength tabs. If i do that would it be safe to switch him to a different heartworm preventative? What heart worm preventative is the best for goldens?


Given the range of the pill, you should be pretty safe to give your dog the 20-40 if he weighs 42lbs...

If you look at the dosing of trifexis you will see that the dose for Mibemycin for 20-40lbs dogs is 9.3mg, and then for 40.1-60lbs dogs 13.5mg. For now you would be perfectly fine to give the 20-40 dose, for the next one you may opt to get a pill splitter and give him 1.5 tablet, which will provide 14mg of mybemcyn - more than plenty to be efficient against HW. 

Spinosad kills fleas...so doesn't matter much. 

If you give your dog 2 of the existing pills you will be giving him 18.6mg of Mibemycin, which is closer to the dose for adult dogs. 

Unless fleas are impossible where you live, I'd recommend one of the HW preventatives that does not have the oral flea pesticide. Interceptor works well and seems to be the one Dr. Jean Dodds likes, but is currently off the market. Many people use Iverheart or Hartguard - same ingredient one is cheaper. 

Also, when changing the HW meds, it's recommended to test the dog first for the HW antigen before starting a new one. If you decide to do that, perhaps instead of buying the meds from your vet, ask them for a prescription of the one you decide to go with and get it online - it's usually 10x cheaper.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

We have the 40.01-60 lb pills and Bear is almost into the 60.01+ lb range. Our vet also does not allow exchanges or refunds so they told us to give him both pills provided he is in the next weight range. I wish vets sold these things as singles for the first year. Lol. 


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## CITIgolden (Mar 9, 2013)

You can request singles or get them online, just ask for a prescription.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

CITI, the latest news is Interceptor is not coming back according to Novartis. There was some talk of introducing a formulation they market in Australia with tapeworm protection, but I guess they decided to ditch it entirely. 

OP, I can't speak for Trifexis because we avoid that oral flea medications at all costs due to a severe reaction our older Golden had to Comfortis, but I had this conversation with our vet regarding the Heartgard Plus we are giving our puppy. On May 1 he will be very close to the increased dose of 44 lbs up and we have the size down. Our vet said it was perfectly fine to give him the two chews we have in the smaller size as long as he's close to the weight cut off. Of course Heartguard doesn't have the flea component.


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## texasx96 (Mar 13, 2013)

Rowdy is growing so fast right now that my vet just gives me singles.


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## CITIgolden (Mar 9, 2013)

Thanks Dallas, I've been hearing both on interceptor lately, in early march Novartis had some statements out indicating it might and stated they'd follow up, but they never did...guess it's gone. Too bad. 




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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

I'm able to buy single Tablets of Trifexis through my Vet Clinic. 

I normally buy Trifexis through Drs. F & S Pharmacy, they contact my clinic for the RX.


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## DuggerA (Jan 17, 2013)

We haven't had a problem with fleas, but we take him to places where he could easily pick them up. We live in a tropical climate, so I am worried both about heart worms from mosquitoes, fleas from interaction from other dogs, and intestinal parasites. Plus during our move ( in July) we will be visiting with lots of family( IL, KY, GA, FL, SC, and then on to our new duty station in VA.) and I am not sure on if their pets have fleas or not. I am happy with Trifexis, but not opposed to other options.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

CITIgolden said:


> Thanks Dallas, I've been hearing both on interceptor lately, in early march Novartis had some statements out indicating it might and stated they'd follow up, but they never did...guess it's gone. Too bad.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The Novartis rep told my vet and I read it here on the forum that others were told the same thing. I had their website bookmarked to check on it's status and now I'm getting a 404 error on the Interceptor link. I know of one pet assisted therapy group here is lobbying for them to reconsider this as explained in this excerpt from an email sent out and forwarded:



> I strongly feel that Interceptor (milbemycin oxime) is by far the best choice for therapy dogs in this area. Milbemycin oxime does a far superior job of/and prevents more types of internal parasite than pyrantel, aka Strongid, which is the "plus" part of Heartgard and Iverheart.
> 
> Sentinel doesn't prevent dogs from getting fleas, it just keeps the fleas from reproducing. I consider this useless in Texas where fleas can be very dense. Trifexis is literally just Interceptor plus Comfortis combined into one pill. This is a fine option, but for those of us who also need tick protection, it is over-medicating our dogs to use it with a tick-preventing topical (such as Advantix).
> 
> So, for those handlers who are as outraged about this as I, please feel free to call and lodge a complaint.


I'll be giving Toby his last dose of Interceptor on May 1.


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## DuggerA (Jan 17, 2013)

Does Revolution work well?


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## Onsa&PorterATX (Apr 23, 2013)

My dogs are on trifexis and both have been since Porter was a puppy. I'm not sure why your vet told you can't give two pills at once...when Porter outweighed the 20-40 lb box my vets told me just to double dose him until the box ran out (I had the 60+ box too for Onsa, but I didn't want to waste the other if I didn't have too). I gave him two of the 20-40 lb pills per their instructions when he weighed 50 pounds and he did just fine.

Having said that, if your pup is only 42 lbs just giving him the normal amount should be sufficient. Next month you should be able to double dose him if you still have at least two of the pills left.


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## Ksdenton (Mar 17, 2013)

That's sucks your vet wouldn't sell you single doses. Ours told us to not buy the pack because he will be growing out of it too soon so we buy single doses. I know my vet office was very serious about the administering of the tri saying it was very strong so maybe that's why you were told not to double up. We use Iverheart Max for the other dogs and its cheap and works great. 


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## DuggerA (Jan 17, 2013)

I was thinking about switching to a more affordable preventative. I like that Trifexis covers fleas, but I don't like that it doesn't cover ticks. So if I want to give him a topical for fleas and ticks it would be over medicating.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

DuggerA said:


> I was thinking about switching to a more affordable preventative. I like that Trifexis covers fleas, but I don't like that it doesn't cover ticks. So if I want to give him a topical for fleas and ticks it would be over medicating.


I've heart heartguard+ covers intestinal parasites (i think its missing one that Trifexis covers) but it is cheaper and doesn't cover fleas. I am going to get a tick collar for Bear that only covers ticks, so we won't be overmedicating. 


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## CITIgolden (Mar 9, 2013)

Dallas Gold said:


> The Novartis rep told my vet and I read it here on the forum that others were told the same thing. I had their website bookmarked to check on it's status and now I'm getting a 404 error on the Interceptor link. I know of one pet assisted therapy group here is lobbying for them to reconsider this as explained in this excerpt from an email sent out and forwarded:
> 
> 
> 
> I'll be giving Toby his last dose of Interceptor on May 1.


Thank you for the info, I'll call our Novartis rep tomorrow to ask as well - will share if I hear anything different. Funny now that you mention the page error, I've been redirected to their international website....

Thats a Bummer! I have a few left. I'm also worried about spinosads in Trifexis, KC has had bad reactions to meds before and don't want to take any chances.




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## CITIgolden (Mar 9, 2013)

DuggerA said:


> We haven't had a problem with fleas, but we take him to places where he could easily pick them up. We live in a tropical climate, so I am worried both about heart worms from mosquitoes, fleas from interaction from other dogs, and intestinal parasites. Plus during our move ( in July) we will be visiting with lots of family( IL, KY, GA, FL, SC, and then on to our new duty station in VA.) and I am not sure on if their pets have fleas or not. I am happy with Trifexis, but not opposed to other options.


Well, if you haven't had issues with Trifexis I wouldn't change it. The only reason to stay away from it are spinosads which can cause seizures or epilepsy in dogs prone to these conditions. If you haven't had problems, then don't worry about it. Milbemycin oxime is probably one of the safest product that kills heartworm out there...and very effective. 


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## CITIgolden (Mar 9, 2013)

Dallas Gold said:


> The Novartis rep told my vet and I read it here on the forum that others were told the same thing. I had their website bookmarked to check on it's status and now I'm getting a 404 error on the Interceptor link. I know of one pet assisted therapy group here is lobbying for them to reconsider this as explained in this excerpt from an email sent out and forwarded:
> 
> 
> 
> I'll be giving Toby his last dose of Interceptor on May 1.


Just called our Novartis rep (human health but they have access to the info), it's confirmed - they're focusing on Sentinel instead, interceptor is gone for good. 


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## CITIgolden (Mar 9, 2013)

Don't mean to hijack the post, but a question to Dallas - would you consider Sentinel? I've been just reading on the other ingredient and it seems to be less toxic than spinosads. I don't have issues with ticks here so generally don't worry much


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

CITIgolden said:


> Don't mean to hijack the post, but a question to Dallas - would you consider Sentinel? I've been just reading on the other ingredient and it seems to be less toxic than spinosads. I don't have issues with ticks here so generally don't worry much
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I decided to go back to a topical flea and tick (Parastar Pus) and Heartgard Plus. I may visit with my vet about switching to Iverhart Plus but they've never stocked it for some reason. I believe it covers more parasites than HG+.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Dallas Gold said:


> I decided to go back to a topical flea and tick (Parastar Pus) and Heartgard Plus. I may visit with my vet about switching to Iverhart Plus but they've never stocked it for some reason. I believe it covers more parasites than HG+.


fyi - There are several lots of Iverhart Plus that have been recalled recently.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

mylissyk said:


> fyi - There are several lots of Iverhart Plus that have been recalled recently.


Yeah, knew that and I was actually thinking of Iverhart Max!


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## Luccagr (Feb 25, 2011)

Was worried about over medicating Lucca cos' we give him trifexis and frontline. I don't think it helps very much to prevent the over-medicating but I time such that the application of trifexis and frontline will be 2 weeks apart. 

I may switch to heartguard plus soon after the batch of trifexis I have is finished.


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## CITIgolden (Mar 9, 2013)

DuggerA said:


> I was thinking about switching to a more affordable preventative. I like that Trifexis covers fleas, but I don't like that it doesn't cover ticks. So if I want to give him a topical for fleas and ticks it would be over medicating.


You can try a tick collar in addition to Trifexis. Not sure if anyone on here has had experience with tick collars, some of my friends put them only when they go outside the city in the areas with Lyme.

It could still work out price-wise. Topical flea and tick preventatives aren't as effective as orally ingested ones but there are trade-offs to everything.

Also, check out Trifexis prices online and see compared to what your vet is charging...they usually mark it up a lot, I've convinced my vet to sell at a comparable retail price not vets price.


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## CITIgolden (Mar 9, 2013)

I spoke too fast, just looked up tick collars and they contain amitraz, see the warning below - I'd be strongly against it now that I know - MAOIs are contraindicated with almost everything....this is about as poisonous as it can get.. Apologies!

The Preventic Tick Collar contains Amitraz, a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), and should not be used on pets being given any other MAOI such as Anipryl or selegiline. Humans taking MAOI medications or who are diabetic should use this product with caution and should wash hands thoroughly after applying the collar. Use rubber gloves when putting the Preventic Tick Collar on your pet.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Dallas Gold said:


> Yeah, knew that and I was actually thinking of Iverhart Max!


Actually, the recalls are the Max, Iverhart Max (there isn't a Plus).


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

mylissyk said:


> Actually, the recalls are the Max, Iverhart Max (there isn't a Plus).


???? There is an Iverhart Plus: Iverhart Plus for Dogs | Chewable Heartworm Preventative - 1800PetMeds


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## DuggerA (Jan 17, 2013)

What about this medicine?Sentinel for Dogs - Heartworm & Flea Prevention - 1800PetMeds


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## CITIgolden (Mar 9, 2013)

DuggerA said:


> What about this medicine?Sentinel for Dogs - Heartworm & Flea Prevention - 1800PetMeds


You can check this thread on Sentinel - I've recently asked the same question, considering Sentinel now that I know Interceptor is gone  

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...g-sentinel-what-has-been-your-experience.html


The difference is in the other active ingredient. Instead of killing fleas like spinosad in Trifexis, luneferon renders them sterile and unable to reproduce, it also breaks the reproduction cycle in fleas. The argument is that it's much easier to get rid off adult fleas but much more difficult of all the eggs they lay on your dog. 

Trifexis on the other hand kills adult fleas, but does not interrupt the cycle necessarily, however, once fleas mature they would die...

If you look at the EPA sheets of both pesticides, there are slightly fewer side-effects with luneferon, whereas spinosads have been well known to cause seizures etc.in dogs with lower seizure thresholds and epilepsy. 

My personal preference would have been Interceptor, but because it's gone  and I don't live in an area with major flea and tick problems I've decided to go with Sentinel and I won't be applying any topical flea or tick preventative to avoid overmedicating. I also only use HW preventatives every 45 days from May-Oct/Nov only based on the average regional temperature. This regiment however isn't recommended for the entire country...

From the overmedication stance, I'm not sure if either is better or worse if you have to apply topical flea and tick preventatives in addition.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Dallas Gold said:


> ???? There is an Iverhart Plus: Iverhart Plus for Dogs | Chewable Heartworm Preventative - 1800PetMeds


Sorry, got them mixed up.


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