# Sentinel flea med or heartworm med?



## thegoodstuff (May 12, 2010)

I finally finished my stash of Interceptor. Vet recommended Sentinel over Heartgard because of the flea and Xworm coverage. I started it yesterday. I was reading the Sentinel insert from the box when I realized the word "flea" was mentioned many more times than "heartworm". I downloaded the insert and searched it - "flea" 67 times, "heartworm" - 9 times, like heartworm was an after thought. Heartworm med that covers fleas too, or flea med that covers heartworm too? I just gave the latest Frontline Plus last week. Between them, any dog that even comes _near_ mine will get flea coverage.

Just seems odd, I went to the vet to get heartworm meds and seems like I came home with flea meds.

Too much poison, too much money or just too much thinking?


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

thegoodstuff said:


> I finally finished my stash of Interceptor. Vet recommended Sentinel over Heartgard because of the flea and Xworm coverage. I started it yesterday. I was reading the Sentinel insert from the box when I realized the word "flea" was mentioned many more times than "heartworm". I downloaded the insert and searched it - "flea" 67 times, "heartworm" - 9 times, like heartworm was an after thought. Heartworm med that covers fleas too, or flea med that covers heartworm too? I just gave the latest Frontline Plus last week. Between them, any dog that even comes near mine should have flea coverage.
> 
> Just seems odd, I went to the vet to get heartworm meds and seems like I came home with flea meds.
> 
> Too much poison, too much money or just too much thinking?


I personally prefer to break my coverage into two items instead of trying to combine it into an "all in one". 

For fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes I use a topical: K9 Advantix II.

I use Iverhart Plus (chewable tablet) - for heartworms, hookworms & roundworms.

Here in FL we have to use these products every month, or at least every 45 days. Your location may allow you to use them less often.

FWIW,


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## Rvent (Apr 15, 2012)

I only use heart guard May through Oct... I test in April and then again in Oct. No need here for year round treatment
I have not use a flea treatment at all this year, we have no fleas..... as for ticks I spray a herbal mix on, they are only a big problem in spring and fall, or if we go in the woods

here is a link for heart worm info for here Heartworm in CT: Hazard or Hype? | Animal Wellness Veterinary Center


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## Martha9 (Aug 26, 2013)

*Quiting it!*

I think it takes care of both ,but I am going to stop using the sentinel because it can't be good for our dogs having it in their bloodstreams. I let my vet tech talk me into it, but no longer!


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## thegoodstuff (May 12, 2010)

Rvent said:


> I only use heart guard May through Oct... I test in April and then again in Oct. No need here for year round treatment
> I have not use a flea treatment at all this year, we have no fleas..... as for ticks I spray a herbal mix on, they are only a big problem in spring and fall, or if we go in the woods
> 
> here is a link for heart worm info for here Heartworm in CT: Hazard or Hype? | Animal Wellness Veterinary Center


Thats an excellent article about HW infection in *CT*. I'll go with the biology being irrefutable. The temperature/duration thing comes under the heading of biological fact. The findings of the study by Dr. David Knight of the American Heartworm Society is a little more conservative, using 60° instead of 64° as the threshold temp (fine by me). Even if you used 55° as the threshold, in CT, it wouldnt have been until July 22 when the 30 day period was complete. 

"The practice of some veterinarians to continuously prescribe monthly chemoprophylaxis exaggerates the actual risk of heartworm transmission in most parts of the country and unnecessarily increases the cost of protection to their clients". Nah, they wouldnt do that, would they?












Novartis Corporate: "We're screwed. This quality control thing is gonna kill our profits."
Novartis R&D: "I know, lets throw in a buttload of flea poison and call it something else."
Novartis Corporate: "Excellent idea! We'll make even _more_ money."

This clears up some of the questions about Sentinel.



Martha9 said:


> I think it takes care of both ,but I am going to stop using the sentinel because it can't be good for our dogs having it in their bloodstreams. I let my vet tech talk me into it, but no longer!


Vets push products from the drug companies that give them the best load in deals and terms. Are you going to replace it with anything?


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## happygirlx3 (Feb 22, 2010)

I've just started using Sentinel and I like it. I live in the Mississippi River Valley where heartworms are so bad they're becoming resistant to preventatives. I work at a vet clinic and if a dog comes in that hasn't been on a preventative, it's about 99% guaranteed it has heartworms. And with treatment being close to $1,000 I just can't take the risk. Sentinel doesn't actually prevent fleas, just sterilizes them so they can't lay eggs. I would still use a backup if fleas are common where you are. I use the Seresto collar because we have ticks here. 

I feed raw, do limited vaccinations, and hate over-medicating, but heartworms are something I don't take a chance on!


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## britt0325 (Jul 11, 2013)

Yeah, I like Sentinel as well. I can use the "safeheart" dosage with it which is something I wouldn't have been able to do with something like Heartguard. 

I live in NJ so I pretty much do the same thing as Rvent and don't give it year round.


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## Martha9 (Aug 26, 2013)

I am deffinately going to be giving her heart worm prevention monthly, just not sentinel. Probably Heart gard or maybe one of the others ,I can't remember the name Inverheart or something? Just not one with flea poison in it. My vet tech told me that sentinel is completely safe because it keeps the "kiten"(spelling?) from being broken, which is the outer shell of the flea egg, so they can't hatch, and the reason it won't hurt my dog is because dogs don't have any "kiten" . What ? Are you kidding me with that explanation as to why this product is safe?


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## Roger Biduk (Feb 2, 2013)

*Toxic, poisonous chemicals that are carcinogrns are not the way to go*



thegoodstuff said:


> I finally finished my stash of Interceptor. Vet recommended Sentinel over Heartgard because of the flea and Xworm coverage. I started it yesterday. I was reading the Sentinel insert from the box when I realized the word "flea" was mentioned many more times than "heartworm". I downloaded the insert and searched it - "flea" 67 times, "heartworm" - 9 times, like heartworm was an after thought. Heartworm med that covers fleas too, or flea med that covers heartworm too? I just gave the latest Frontline Plus last week. Between them, any dog that even comes _near_ mine will get flea coverage.
> 
> Just seems odd, I went to the vet to get heartworm meds and seems like I came home with flea meds.
> 
> Too much poison, too much money or just too much thinking?


Giving toxic, poisonous chemical pesticides as a first and not last resort isn't the right thing to do... a major reason cancer is now the #1 killer of dogs... Sentinel, Frontline and Heartgard are three of the absolute worst.

You should definitely visit a good vet that practices both allopathic and holistic veterinary in your area for the best advice instead of one who is simply a salesperson for Big Pharma like most are.

Where are you located?... I should be able to give you a few names.
Roger Biduk


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## Roger Biduk (Feb 2, 2013)

*Toxic, poisonous chemicals that are carcinogens are not the way to go*



thegoodstuff said:


> I finally finished my stash of Interceptor. Vet recommended Sentinel over Heartgard because of the flea and Xworm coverage. I started it yesterday. I was reading the Sentinel insert from the box when I realized the word "flea" was mentioned many more times than "heartworm". I downloaded the insert and searched it - "flea" 67 times, "heartworm" - 9 times, like heartworm was an after thought. Heartworm med that covers fleas too, or flea med that covers heartworm too? I just gave the latest Frontline Plus last week. Between them, any dog that even comes _near_ mine will get flea coverage.
> 
> Just seems odd, I went to the vet to get heartworm meds and seems like I came home with flea meds.
> 
> Too much poison, too much money or just too much thinking?


Giving toxic, poisonous chemical pesticides as a first and not last resort isn't the right thing to do... a major reason cancer is now the #1 killer of dogs... Sentinel, Frontline and Heartgard are three of the absolute worst.

You should definitely visit a good vet that practices both allopathic and holistic veterinary in your area for the best advice instead of one who is simply a salesperson for Big Pharma like most are.

Where are you located?... I should be able to give you a few names.
Roger Biduk


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## happygirlx3 (Feb 22, 2010)

Roger Biduk said:


> Giving toxic, poisonous chemical pesticides as a first and not last resort isn't the right thing to do... a major reason cancer is now the #1 killer of dogs... Sentinel, Frontline and Heartgard are three of the absolute worst.
> 
> You should definitely visit a good vet that practices both allopathic and holistic veterinary in your area for the best advice instead of one who is simply a salesperson for Big Pharma like most are.
> 
> ...



Given that heartworm disease is extremely prevalent in many parts of the country, especially the south, I think it's safer to give heartworm preventatives than risk heartworm disease. I have seen dogs go through the treatment and it's not pleasant. Almost 100% of dogs exposed to infective heartworm larvae become infected. If a bad mosquito bites, there's nothing you can do. In fact, if EVERYONE used preventative, heartworm disease could become eradicted. However, I am a believer of less is better. If I lived in an area where heartworm disease was uncommon and my dogs don't go outside much, I might take my chances or give it only seasonally.

I just hate when people preach to NEVER give heartworm preventatives because, here in south, dogs WILL get heartworm disease!! I think everyone should be cautious and know both the risks and benefits of heartworm preventatives. Which is worse? Possibly dying of cancer after a full life or getting heartworm disease over and over at a young age?


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## Martha9 (Aug 26, 2013)

Why is HeartGard a Bad one to use? Please let me know as I am giving that to one of my dogs instead of the Sentinel, Thanks.


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## 4doxies (Sep 6, 2013)

I use advantage 2 and Heartguard. I live in FL and it's a necessity to give heart worm medicine. I don't like using either one but have you seen what the treatment for heartworm is and how long it takes a dog to recover from treatment? If they do recover? Some dogs have been reported to have over 80 worms and some are huge. 
I break up the treatment giving flea meds and then Heartguard two weeks later. Works well for me and my previous dog lived to be over 16 on this regimen. 
I understand concern about chemicals and over medicating.


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

Martha9 said:


> Why is HeartGard a Bad one to use? Please let me know as I am giving that to one of my dogs instead of the Sentinel, Thanks.


Because someone "read it on the Internet".hwell:

If you look up the active ingredients in Heartguard, chances are you will be able to get a less expensive generic version from another company like Vibec (Iverheart) or Merck (Tri-Heart). That is the main reason we switched from Heartguard. We are now currently exploring getting even more generic by buying the ivermectin & pyrantel ourselves through a place like Tractor Supply.

Again, I would like to remind people that just because something is "natural" does not automatically make it the safest or best option. Talk to a vet and do your own research to come up with a reasonable health plan for your dog.

Pax,


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## britt0325 (Jul 11, 2013)

I've read, and some vet techs on another forum have backed this up, that some mosquitoes have a strain of heartworm that have stopped responding to heartguard and most likely any other product with ivermectin. 

It's mostly in the Mississippi valley region but some vet techs from NC and Florida said that there had been some dogs coming up positive that used heartguard at the clinics they work at. 

So I would def look into that if you live in the south.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

happygirlx3 said:


> Given that heartworm disease is extremely prevalent in many parts of the country, especially the south, I think it's safer to give heartworm preventatives than risk heartworm disease. I have seen dogs go through the treatment and it's not pleasant. Almost 100% of dogs exposed to infective heartworm larvae become infected. If a bad mosquito bites, there's nothing you can do. In fact, if EVERYONE used preventative, heartworm disease could become eradicted. However, I am a believer of less is better. If I lived in an area where heartworm disease was uncommon and my dogs don't go outside much, I might take my chances or give it only seasonally.
> 
> I just hate when people preach to NEVER give heartworm preventatives because, here in south, dogs WILL get heartworm disease!! I think everyone should be cautious and know both the risks and benefits of heartworm preventatives. Which is worse? Possibly dying of cancer after a full life or getting heartworm disease over and over at a young age?


You're speaking in absolutes... I live in the south, and my dog doesn't take a heartworm prevention... Yet you say they WILL get heartworms... I would very much disagree... You do understand that in the south here there are more and more reports of dogs on an oral hw prevention are coming up positive because of resistances being formed to these drugs? A shortly probably in the next 15-20 years they will have to find another way to eradicate these parasites. And saying that if EVERYBODY administered heartworm it would be gone is false as well... Wolves and other canids have been living with it for millions of years.

The most unnatural thought in all of this is... Why is a PARASITE killing its host? It's quite an obscurity if you think about it... They cannot survive without a host, it stands to reason that because of the unnatural feeding, and care of our animals today they cannot fight, or withstand the effects of these parasites in their own, thus... Medication is the only other alternative, and it is peddled with fear.


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## happygirlx3 (Feb 22, 2010)

Tobi said:


> You're speaking in absolutes... I live in the south, and my dog doesn't take a heartworm prevention... Yet you say they WILL get heartworms... I would very much disagree... You do understand that in the south here there are more and more reports of dogs on an oral hw prevention are coming up positive because of resistances being formed to these drugs? A shortly probably in the next 15-20 years they will have to find another way to eradicate these parasites. And saying that if EVERYBODY administered heartworm it would be gone is false as well... Wolves and other canids have been living with it for millions of years.
> 
> The most unnatural thought in all of this is... Why is a PARASITE killing its host? It's quite an obscurity if you think about it... They cannot survive without a host, it stands to reason that because of the unnatural feeding, and care of our animals today they cannot fight, or withstand the effects of these parasites in their own, thus... Medication is the only other alternative, and it is peddled with fear.



Yes I do know that resistance is very real here in the South, particularly the Mississippi River Valley. I see dogs coming into the clinic I work at every day testing positive for heartworm disease. I have seen dogs die because of heartworm disease. Almost every single dog that is not on prevention that comes in tests positive for heartworms.

There are several reasons for this resistance. Up until recently, the slow-kill method to treat heartworms was pretty common. Monthly heartworm preventatives killed the larvae, but not the adults which can live for several years in the body producing more larvae, resistant larvae. This problem is similar to the resistance we see in antibiotics. Ivermectin has proven not to be 100% effective as a preventative anymore. However, the drug moxidectin in Advantage Multi and Proheart 6 IS still 100% effective at this time.

While it may be true that if every dog were fed naturally and their immune systems could handle the worms we wouldn't have this problem, that's not going to happen. Not everyone is going to feed raw and I just can't take the chance of heartworm disease spreading to my dog. The treatment is too painful and expensive for me to take that risk.

Saying they _will_ get heartworms may be too strong, but in my area it's pretty accurate considering what I see every day. I'm not saying I like giving heartworm preventatives, or any chemicals for that matter as I feed raw, do minimal vaccinating, and try to treat as holistically as possible, but after seeing literally hundreds of dogs going through heartworm treatment, I'm _worried_. :frown:


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

happygirlx3 said:


> Yes I do know that resistance is very real here in the South, particularly the Mississippi River Valley. I see dogs coming into the clinic I work at every day testing positive for heartworm disease. I have seen dogs die because of heartworm disease. Almost every single dog that is not on prevention that comes in tests positive for heartworms.
> 
> There are several reasons for this resistance. Up until recently, the slow-kill method to treat heartworms was pretty common. Monthly heartworm preventatives killed the larvae, but not the adults which can live for several years in the body producing more larvae, resistant larvae. This problem is similar to the resistance we see in antibiotics. Ivermectin has proven not to be 100% effective as a preventative anymore. However, the drug moxidectin in Advantage Multi and Proheart 6 IS still 100% effective at this time.
> 
> ...


I'm curious, you work at a clinic? Of the dogs that come in heartworm positive how many are indoor dogs? Meaning they live inside, they don't get tied out, they go for walks and hikes and things like that, but they for the most part are house puppies. I know here in nc, I don't know of anybody that keeps their dog indoors at night or dueling the day while they are at work that has had an encounter with heartworms, and many of the. Don't use hw prevention. I do know however that the cases of it in shelters, and rescues, and lawn ornament dogs are very high down here.


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## Roger Biduk (Feb 2, 2013)

*Cancer kills and so do toxic, poisonous heartworm "meds"*



Tobi said:


> You're speaking in absolutes... I live in the south, and my dog doesn't take a heartworm prevention... Yet you say they WILL get heartworms... I would very much disagree... You do understand that in the south here there are more and more reports of dogs on an oral hw prevention are coming up positive because of resistances being formed to these drugs? A shortly probably in the next 15-20 years they will have to find another way to eradicate these parasites. And saying that if EVERYBODY administered heartworm it would be gone is false as well... Wolves and other canids have been living with it for millions of years.
> 
> The most unnatural thought in all of this is... Why is a PARASITE killing its host? It's quite an obscurity if you think about it... They cannot survive without a host, it stands to reason that because of the unnatural feeding, and care of our animals today they cannot fight, or withstand the effects of these parasites in their own, thus... Medication is the only other alternative, and it is peddled with fear.


Excellent post, Tobi,

Heartworm "prevention" (as you know, none of the toxic, poisonous chemical heartworm pesticides on the market prevent heartworm) is a must if living in areas here heartworm exists.

However, there's a reason cancer that was rare 50 years ago is now the #1 killer of dogs and the fact that so many people are putting poisons that even the EPA says are dangerous and classifies them as insecticides and pesticides is one, if not THE main reason.

There's so much good information from vets that practice both allopathic and holistic veterinary that are experts in this field that show the condemning dire evidence of putting poisons in a dog's body... pet owners and vets who use them should have to take them, let me know how that goes!

One of the main reasons your dog doesn't get heartworm living in the south is that unlike those that give these poisons, your and my pets have incredibly strong immune systems that haven't been compromised.

So these people would rather have their dogs die a horrible premature death from cancer instead of taking the right precautions and giving antigen tests on a regular basis for heartworm (which they most likely will never get)... I feel so sorry for these dogs.

Even though clinics who only practice allopathic veterinary (pet owners should NEVER work with these vets in the first place) want to have everyone believe that heartworm is an epidemic, even in the swamps in the south and all dogs who don't get chemical "preventatives" will die it simply not true... not only will these type of vets immediately recommend toxic poisons for heartworm, they'll also probably recommend some junk "Prescription Diet" from Hill's, Purina or Royal Canin... yummmm

Instead of posting on these forums I suggest these pet owners who advocate using poisons as a first and not last resort to contact these vets who are experts in the field, I previously posted several links to their websites.

The great Dr. Will Falconer’s ebook “Vital Animals Don’t Get Heartworm” can be ordered here http://bit.ly/1329s8S.
"This is a real life, practical, step by step explanation of how to keep your dog both free from the dangerous drugs used to prevent heartworm, and free from the parasite itself. Dr Will Falconer walks you through the way heartworm spreads, the significant risk of the heartworm drugs causing immune breakdown, and how to successfully beat the parasite without drugs. Even when you live where it lives, like Texas. There are hundreds of Dr Falconer's patients from over 20+ years of practice that have shown, through their use of this program, that it truly works."

"Heartworm dogs don’t scare me. I’ve cured probably a dozen over the years, never needing the toxic drugs so commonly used by conventional vets." Dr. Will Falconer, DVM
Roger Biduk


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