Hi Susan,
Thank you for the excellent information! Yes, I am concerned about all these aspects..my plan is to use sparingly. Just one dose from now through Sept. then switch back to Sentinal. My dog splits her time between FL and VT…Fleas are a non issue in VT but ticks are a huge issue.
We are in FL at the moment and fleas are horrible this year because we didn’t have a heavy frost this winter ( normally my part of FL..St Augustine..gets 1 or two hard freezes a winter).
I plan on keeping a close eye on Coco.
As to your observations about Bravecto remaining in the body for too long…I did read a medical study which stated that trace amounts were found in the blood at 111 days but that the effective dosage ended roughly at the 90 day mark…this is an overlap of 21 days and like you I am concerned about build up if given on a regular basis.
With that said …the flip side is that if you think about it – even using a monthly medicine has the effect of keeping the dog under load too. Every month you administer a monthly dose the dog always has the drug in its system…right?
I don’t really see a difference…giving 3 pills of Sentinal over 3 months is the exact same as giving one pill of Bravecto over 3 months.
Therefore my main concern is the overlap and build up relating to proper dosage schedules as discussed above vs. concern over having the drug in the dog’s body.
I guess the real question is …” is it safe or not” If the drug is really safe ok…if the drug causes cancer or other illness then I wouldn’t use it period.
I also agree with you that with any new drug one has to worry about long term side effects which don’t show up in the studies…ones that only start cropping up after 5 or 10 years.
We just don’t know yet with Brvecto…BUT in theory I do like the fact that it doesn’t load the liover or kidneys…that part is very good. In addition the studies to date indicate far fewer adverse reactions than other standard and older medicines…that part is good too.
Then we have the fact that boy…it is working great on Coco so far regarding fleas…has the potential to kill ticks within 2-4 hours after being bitten ( I think lyme disease requires the tick be attached for 24 or more hours)..so that is also a plus.
My pan…keep a wary eye…use a sparingly as possible…AND most importantly take Coco off the med for long breaks when neither fleas or ticks are an issue…maybe even just giving her one dose a year.
In a perfect world without fleas or ticks I wouldn’t giver her any medicine. I HATE ..ABSOLUTELY HATE that I have to medicate my gal…but since I do I am going to keep researching which medicine is the safest then give as little as possible.
Thaks again!
Cameron
P.S. I wish our pets had the ability to help make a choice…by saying hey you dope…don’t give me that junk…it makes me feel woozy…or bad. That is the single hardest part about having pets…we have to observe and use our knowledge to guess what is best and how our babies feel. To everyone reading…please – get to know your pets!!!
