# Trifexis kills dogs?



## Leila'sMommy (Oct 20, 2012)

On Facebook the other day, someone asked what everyone uses for fleas. I said I give Leila Trifexis. A lady I don't know came back and said to get her off of it ASAP and that it killed her dog. She then sent me links about it killing others and told me to go to a fb page called Trifexis kills dogs. They are trying to get it taken off the market. Now I'm scared to give Leila that or any kind of flea/tick/heartworm pill. I've always felt uncomfortable giving a poison for those pests, wondering if it could also do harm to dogs and cats. Now I'm extra worried. But I also am worried about them getting other diseases from bugs. What's your opinion?


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## nwyant1946 (Jan 2, 2013)

*I've had Mia on it for 6 months with no problem whatsoever, except her being mad at me for giving her the pill for about an hour afterward...LOL But, honestly, that's it. And I don't worry about fleas, heartworm, whipworm or roundworm. *

*I know there are quite a few people on here who use it with great success, but its a personal choice. Florida just has too much stuff for them to get, so I chose Trifexis after reading about it. *


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## aprilb (Jul 9, 2010)

Trifexis can be a dangerous medication for toy breeds and I am personally aware of deaths that have occured from the use of this product and this is not one I would recommend for Maltese..I personally do not recommend "all in one" products for Maltese at all, preferring to separate the heartworm and flea meds by two weeks.. unfortunately, most makers of these products are no longer making only heart worm or only flea products. Two products some SM members use successfully are Revolution(selemectin) and Sentinel(Interceptor+ flea) . Both of these products have doses for dogs under 10 pounds.


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## mdbflorida (Feb 28, 2013)

Yes, my vet just took mine off of Trifexis and switched to Sentinel.


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## dmsl (Jan 26, 2013)

When I heard (originally for my golden) from our vet that he may "throw it up" ....I said "nah" not giving something that may immediately make my dog sick! We used heartguard for 12 years with our lab, now our golden is on it...but we choose sentinel for our Booboo (maltese) due to heartguard not having a pill for under 22 lbs. Sentinel is for under 10 as stated above, so I felt more comfortable giving a lower dose of meds for such tiny dogs. We are outside houston, and travel every summer to FL for family...and even though Booboo doesn't go outside - we have mosquitoes that get in the house on occasion.


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## ann4280 (Jan 28, 2013)

This is the second summer that Daisy and Sadie have taken Trifexis. They take the one for 5-10 pound dogs from April through the first hard freeze generally October. Then we change to just heart worm medicine till April again. We used Inceptor until is was taken off the market and last winter we used Heartguard. I do not like the Heartguard and will most likely change to something else this winter.

They have not had a problem with Trifexis.


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

I still am having great success w/the essential oil spray I make up---not one flea or tick since I started using in late April! I live in an extremely high flea/tick area! Since we don't have heart-worm here I give it a month before going to the US & a month or 2 after coming back (Revolution). For parasites I give millbemax (not available in the US), about every 6 wks.


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## michellerobison (Dec 17, 2009)

I was nervous about it , my vet gave it to Daisy.I asked him about the deaths and he said he felt confident in it. He's one that will pull things off his shelves when he hears about a lot of bad reactions...
So trying it, but watching carefully...


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## littlefluffbabies (Apr 17, 2013)

Penny has also been on Trifexis with no problems, though reading this has me worried  
The thought of switching to another medication for her also scares me, as one dog will react to one medication where others do not and vice-verse. I too, HATE putting poison into my little ones. 

Unfortunately, I really don't have much faith in my Vets opinion either and I am in the process of finding another that specializes in small breeds. So, i look to the opinions of you ladies (and men  ) For darn near everything that i may be worried about, and then i take it to my vet, and with confidence! 
I am so, so thankful for every one of you!! It's because of you all that i know to ask about very important things, like titer testing. 

I've had dogs all my life but It's a whole new world with these little ones. There is always so much to worry about. 

I am very unsure now as to whether i should switch Penny over to Sentinel or continue with what has thus far not caused any issues?


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## educ8m (May 19, 2010)

ann4280 said:


> This is the second summer that Daisy and Sadie have taken Trifexis. They take the one for 5-10 pound dogs from April through the first hard freeze generally October. Then we change to just heart worm medicine till April again. We used Inceptor until is was taken off the market and last winter we used Heartguard. I do not like the Heartguard and will most likely change to something else this winter.
> 
> They have not had a problem with Trifexis.


Ann, in some parts of the country it is not necessary to give heartworm meds year round. Read this:

In a study entitled “Seasonal Timing of Heartworm Chemoprophylaxis (Heartworm Meds) in the United States”, Dr. David Knight and James Lok of the American Heartworm Society have taken the guesswork out of when to start and stop heartworm prevention. It was found that specific conditions must exist in order for the larvae in the mosquito to move on to stage L3, allowing the mosquito to pass on heartworm through its mouthparts. The larvae require approximately 30 consecutive days of 60-degree weather where the temperature does not dip below 57F (14C) in order to reach this condition.

Simply put, it must stay above 60 degrees for 30 consecutive days AND nights for the larvae to progress to stage L3 and be passed through the mouthparts of a mosquito to a host animal. If the temperature dips below 57F the maturation is retarded and cannot continue. This process would become accelerated if there were two weeks of temperature at or above 80F (27C), days AND nights. As a result, heartworm disease is not only geographically limited, but also seasonally limited. For many of us this means that year round heartworm prevention is totally unnecessary. In fact, in my area of the country, I would not even need to begin giving heartworm meds until the first of June and would give their last dose of the year on the first of November. I feel very strongly that the dogs should only have to take heartworm meds for the months that they are truly at risk. Below I have provided the maps from the study that give you a guideline of when to begin and stop heartworm medication. Click on the graphics for a larger view.

Here is the link to the map and the whole article: Citadel Tibetan Mastiffs Heartworm Timing



edelweiss said:


> I still am having great success w/the essential oil spray I make up---not one flea or tick since I started using in late April! I live in an extremely high flea/tick area! Since we don't have heart-worm here I give it a month before going to the US & a month or 2 after coming back (Revolution). For parasites I give millbemax (not available in the US), about every 6 wks.


Sandi, I also use the essential oil mixture you posted. I had trouble finding rose geranium oil, so I had to order it on the Internet. Before I got the rose geranium oil, I started using Evolv by Wondercide. Natural Flea Control | Natural Tick Treatment It worked amazingly well, too. I just prefer the smell of the rose geranium essential oil mixture. I also got Wondercide's yard spray. For those who don't want to do your own mixture, Wondercide products are also made from essential oils and are nontoxic to pets. Evolv kills fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes on contact as well as repelling them. I walk my dogs every morning along a walking trail in a small park and let them run around and sniff. There are deer and other wildlife around and lots of fleas and ticks. Since I've been using these sprays, we are tick and flea free! I am obsessed with keeping them tick free. I don't want the tick to die AFTER it bites me or one of the dogs, I want it repelled from us. Tick borne diseases can be debilitating or deadly, and it is not true that a tick must be attached for several hours to transmit disease. My latest Lyme newsletter states: "It does not take at least 24 hours for a tick to transmit Lyme disease. Although most ticks take about that long or longer, many people are becoming infected in less time than that. Dr. Willy Burgdorfer said at a Lyme disease conference at Bard College that 5-10% of ticks that are carrying Lyme disease have a systemic infection and have the disease in their saliva and can transmit it as soon as they bite. There is no safety window." I have been battling Lyme disease for the past 10 months. I certainly don't want my fluffs to get this or any other tick borne disease. I also don't want to keep them holed up inside, so I am relieved that this spray is working, but is not toxic to my fluffs.


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## Yogi's Mom (Jan 6, 2013)

*I Also Have this Fear.*


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## michellerobison (Dec 17, 2009)

I know with all the years we've taken in strays at the animal shelter , nearly 20 years fo rme, we've had one heartworm positive dog... We've only had a coupel that had parvo.. With all the dogs running loose you'd think heartworm would be more prevalent, especially with many people here who think intestinal wormer at the grocery store kills heart worms or even worse, no heart worm preventative at all used...
It's much harder for dogs to get heartworm than people think. fleas and ticks are more dangerous since they're so prevalent in many areas...
Not saying heart worm preventative isn't a good thing, mine are on it,but I do get scared by all the chemicals in these pills..I try more natural things and generally they work... I tried the Trifexis this time since Daisy is so little, close to the ground.


with our climate, being we only have 3 months that reach temperatures ,high and low with in those stated perameters. Plus it also has to do with a mosquito having to carry the disease and injecting the dog in a bite and another carrier mosquito injecting to fertilize those heartworm eggs. Tehre's moe to it than just a randon mosquito bite,it actually involves two separate mosquitos...


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## ann4280 (Jan 28, 2013)

Deb,

Thanks for the information and link to the article. What do you use? Do you use the product year round? Since you are in Kansas our weather would be similar depending upon where in Kanas you live. I am in Omaha.

Thanks so much!

Ann


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## Leila'sMommy (Oct 20, 2012)

Thanks, everyone, for your replies! So far, Leila has not had a problem with the Trifexis. But I worry about what it could be doing to her liver that doesn't show up yet. The lady sent me a link to an organic spray she uses that she said works well and I am planning to order some. I will share the link with you when I can get to the computer because it's on Facebook and my phone won't let me copy/paste a link. I did have Leila off of the Trifexis during the winter and she is rarely outside since she's potty pad trained. But we have a Lab who goes out frequently so I will use the spray on her too. It's just that it's so much easier to give a pill and be done with it vs having to remember to spray them every time we open the door. Also, Leila hates any kind of spray. But their protection and good health is worth it. 


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## educ8m (May 19, 2010)

ann4280 said:


> Deb,
> 
> Thanks for the information and link to the article. What do you use? Do you use the product year round? Since you are in Kansas our weather would be similar depending upon where in Kanas you live. I am in Omaha.
> 
> ...


Ann, I live in a suburb of Kansas City, so our weather would be pretty similar. I still have some Interceptor left. When that is gone, I will use Sentinal because it contains the same heartworm med as Interceptor. It just adds the flea stuff. Because we had such unusually cool weather this spring and kept getting cold snaps, I didn't have to give the first dose of Interceptor until June 1st this year! I religiously kept track of how many consecutive days had been above 57 degrees. My vet is fine with how I do this this. She said that it is recommended to give it once every month because the average person won't remember to give it unless it is on the same date every month.


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## ToniLWilson (Sep 11, 2012)

I have Bella on Trifexis too, hmm... might need to switch out


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## ToniLWilson (Sep 11, 2012)

I ordered the Evolv, is it safe to start using this and get the Sentinal? I live in Central North Carolina.


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## zooeysmom (Aug 1, 2011)

My new vet's office has been pushing Trifexis on me for the past few visits, which is making me want to switch vets :angry: Also, they don't separate parvo/distemper vaccines. That is not negotiable for me.


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## SammieMom (Nov 13, 2010)

zooeysmom said:


> My new vet's office has been pushing Trifexis on me for the past few visits, which is making me want to switch vets :angry: Also, they don't separate parvo/distemper vaccines. That is not negotiable for me.


Yep, it's all about whatever they stocked up on. They have expiration dates, so got to move them out before next order. just my two cents...


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## Paisley_The_Maltese (Jun 8, 2013)

I'm sure it will be ok. I give Paisley sentinel and vectra which I get from my vet. I would ask your vet for a recommendation and see what they say about the trifexis.


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