# Bravecto/Nexgard Users



## Springer (Feb 19, 2014)

I wanted to see if anyone has been using either of these & how their dogs have been doing on them. I am particularly interested in Bravecto, as it has a better weight breakdown 22-44lbs. versus 22-60 lbs. for my 32 lb. dog. I have been trying to use natural sprays & close observation to keep ticks off my dog instead of chemicals & we have lost! After having 2 dogs one with cancer & a benign brain tumor & the other with an eye removed for cancer, I wanted to take as much out of my present dog's environment as possible. She had a routine Snap test for HW on Friday & tested positive for Lyme. She has no symptoms, but considering she was crawling with ticks at Christmas time when it warmed up, we are treating her as a new infection & not an old infection. I never found an attached tick at that time, but who knows! I have used Frontline & Advantix in the past, but gave up since I was putting on poison & having engorged live ticks within 2-3 weeks after 10+ years of usage. I have no problems with fleas at this time. So how is Bravecto & or Nexgard working for those of you who have tried them? I know many like the Seresto Collar, but I am not a fan of a collar that has to be worn 24/7. I also know many are leery of the pills, as they can't be "washed" off if there is a problem. Frontline etc., has to be in the dogs system by going through the skin within a short period of time & I don't believe you can just wash it off either, some would still be there. Thanks.


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## GrinningDog (Mar 26, 2010)

Gypsy has been on the Nexgard chew since this summer. We're in FL, where fleas and ticks are year-round. No adverse reactions. I haven't seen a flea or tick on her, and I take her to public places, on hikes, around other dogs.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

I used Nexgard last year and liked it a lot. One of my dogs gets a little loose stool the day after she gets it, but no major problems.


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## ForTheLoveOfDogs (Jun 3, 2007)

I've only heard positive things about Nexgard so far as well. I've heard it can make your dog a little bit icky feeling for a day or give them diarrhea type thing, but the product itself works pretty well. I've never heard of the other one.


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## Springer (Feb 19, 2014)

Thanks for the info. Glad to see some dogs are doing well on Nexgard. I will keep researching, but I know I will need something as soon as March around here if not before. Right now we can't take our regular field/woods walks anyway, as the 8+ inches of snow are too much for me! Cady walks on top of the snow & can't figure out why I am so slow!


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## Bridget_in_MD (Jan 3, 2015)

I, too, am interested in this. We have a PWD and live in MD where we have lots of deer ticks. Would love to hear more people's experiences! Thanks!


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## Silly Dog (Mar 3, 2015)

Too early to tell so far.

We use Bravecto, and hike ~5 days a week through woods, farm fields, parks. Including off trail through brush. This is in Chester county, PA, the tick capital of the universe. The trouble is we were using Parastar (fipronil) up until September last year so we've only seen Bravecto in action since October. I did not pull any ticks off her in October and November though, and we usually pick some up then. None over the winter either but it was below freezing most of the time. Just to make this less informative, 2014 was a fairly light tick year locally.

Administration was easy, she chewed it up without any trouble and not having the damp fipro spot was nice. I did not see any malaise or gastro problems any of the three times I've given it.

By mid-May I should know for sure how it compares practically to Parastar and Frontline, at least with dog ticks. The research looks good: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186%2F1756-3305-7-83


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

Shep is on Bravecto and it seems to work fine. But, one of the things that I don't like about these types of meds is that they don't repel fleas and ticks, they die after biting the dog. When the fleas get bad, I also use Advantix II as a repellant.


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## Springer (Feb 19, 2014)

I bought Bravecto at my vet visit a few weeks ago. Snow is finally almost gone here in Berks County & I plan to give it to Cady this week so we can start going in the woods & field. I am still very nervous, since I hate chemicals, but I expect it will go OK. I think I will still spray her a bit with the Alzoo spray to repel then & will surely check her carefully when we come in. Ticks were terrible here in 2014, with the worst being at Christmas when it warmed up! Summer was the only time during warm weather that I didn't see any. Sure hope it works & I'm glad some other dogs are doing well on it.


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## JackB (Sep 9, 2010)

I am also looking to switch from Frontline due to the negative reaction my Collie has for about 2 days. Bravecto is new from Merck and my Vet says he is trying it on his dog as a test and not selling it yet. His one concern was that it did not necessarily kill all the types of ticks present in Md. I think just the American dog tick. Would be interested to hear any comments on that issue. Nexguard is my other choice if I am to avoid topicals. I haven't done a price comparison yet but Bravecto only needs to be applied once very two months which should make them both close in price.


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## Springer (Feb 19, 2014)

JackB said:


> I am also looking to switch from Frontline due to the negative reaction my Collie has for about 2 days. Bravecto is new from Merck and my Vet says he is trying it on his dog as a test and not selling it yet. His one concern was that it did not necessarily kill all the types of ticks present in Md. I think just the American dog tick. Would be interested to hear any comments on that issue. Nexguard is my other choice if I am to avoid topicals. I haven't done a price comparison yet but Bravecto only needs to be applied once very two months which should make them both close in price.


Bravecto kills the American Dog Tick, The Brown Dog Tick & the Black Legged Tick (Formerly the deer tick) for 12 weeks. It only works on the Lone Star Tick for 8 weeks. The American Dog tick & the deer tick are the major ones here in SE PA. What ticks does MD have besides these? I do know there are a few others. I originally thought it didn't kill deer ticks, but upon further research I found out the deer tick is the black legged tick. That is my nemesis here! I see the lone star tick is in PA also, but I have never seen one, so will dose at 12 week intervals. Hope this helps.


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## JackB (Sep 9, 2010)

I believe the only tick my vet was worried about in our area was the Lone Star tick. Not that it would not kill it but that the term of usage would need to be decreased from 3 months to two. Nexguard kills all listed ticks as a monthly pill. An interesting aside is that Nexguard is made by Frontline who may have realized that Frontline was not as innocuous as implied.


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## Springer (Feb 19, 2014)

I see Nexgard is now labeled for 3 kinds of ticks, the same as Bravecto except the brown dog tick is not listed. I chose Bravecto for the 3 month duration & also because my dog is 32 lbs. & the dosing more closely matches her size. Bravecto is 22-44 lbs. I think Nexgard is like 26-60 for her size. The lone star tick supposedly has a different mouth part thingy & feeds slightly differently. Don't know why that affects the duration of Bravecto. Do you see a lot of lone star ticks where you are? I don't think I've ever seen one on my dog, although they are listed for here. As far as Frontline, that stuff didn't work here for more than 2-3 weeks in the last couple of years. I wish there was different pricing for different doses, as a two of the next two lower dose pills would give my dog just the dose that is called for & not more like the present pill. It would double the price if I went that way. Frontline & Advantix are priced by the dose size. Good luck with your decision.


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## JackB (Sep 9, 2010)

I was not even aware of the Lone Star tick until my vet mentioned his concern. As an aside for anyone using Frontline, Walmarts Pet Armor is the same thing but less expensive.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Anyone have any updates on these? Flea season is just starting here and I'd like an alternative to Revolution (works great, but is expensive and I dislike spot-ons), Advantage (Crystal doesn't react well to it), and Sentinel (only sterilizes fleas; I need them dead). The Bravecto sounds great but I'm a bit concerned about a 12-week-strength dosage all at once, especially if Crystal reacts badly.


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## Springer (Feb 19, 2014)

I gave Cady (17 month old Springer) her first dose on April 1st. She had no reaction at all the I could see. My problem here is ticks & I can say it is working. I have found a few ticks crawling on her that I must have missed after our walks & they are acting weird like they are about to die. I found one attached, but it was dead & still not engorged at all. We are over run with deer ticks especially & I am happy so far. Don't know about fleas.


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## JackB (Sep 9, 2010)

My vet said he has not completed his Bravecto test on his own dog as of yet. I did buy Nexguard and gave the first dose May 1 to my Collie. I was worried about the side affects of diarrhea but so far no problems. He did mouth it a bit when I gave it to him but finally ate it with no issue. So much better than reaction I was getting with Frontline topical.


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## jade5280 (Feb 20, 2013)

I asked my vet if they sold either Bravecto or Nexgard. They said no because it doesn't repel ticks. Are Advantix and Vectra the only treatments that repel?


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## ireth0 (Feb 11, 2013)

Nexguard is what our vet recommended if we were concerned about ticks. He didn't mention Bravecto, maybe not available here, I dunno. 

We did our first dose last week and no negative side effects so far that I have seen. We went for a hike in a wooded area on Sunday and nothing to be seen, even though it isn't really full on tick season yet.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Apparently my vet doesn't carry it anyway -- just Revolution, Advantage, and Sentinel. Are there other ways to order flea meds in Canada?


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## ireth0 (Feb 11, 2013)

Crantastic said:


> Apparently my vet doesn't carry it anyway -- just Revolution, Advantage, and Sentinel. Are there other ways to order flea meds in Canada?


I don't think so. If I remember correctly, your dog needs to be seen by a vet to get them.


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## JackB (Sep 9, 2010)

There is an important distinction to be made between a product "repelling" ticks and one like Nexguard that "kills" ticks. A tick only dies after biting a dog using Nexguard but well before a disease is transmitted. If that is a problem then a topical may be a better choice.


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## broll441 (Mar 8, 2014)

We're coming up on a month with Bravecto. No side effects aside from some extra gas for a few days after administering it. We've been for a few walks through the woods and no sign of ticks or anything so far.


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## Zilla (May 11, 2013)

Been following this thread.... Might be trying Bravecto next because the price is really good for 3 months. I see however that it doesn't repel. Does anyone here use anything like Absorbine Ultra Shield Green for dogs for a natural repellant?


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## jade5280 (Feb 20, 2013)

Zilla said:


> Been following this thread.... Might be trying Bravecto next because the price is really good for 3 months. I see however that it doesn't repel. Does anyone here use anything like Absorbine Ultra Shield Green for dogs for a natural repellant?


 I've never thought to use that. Does it repel ticks though? What do people use to repel ticks for horse and farm animals? 

We use this http://www.amazon.com/FLEA-TICK-Rep...1431093348&sr=8-7&keywords=dog+tick+repellent along with topical monthly treatment and it works to an extent, but we will still find a tick or 2 on them. The only issue is the dogs swim a lot and is washes off.


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## Zilla (May 11, 2013)

It says it repels fleas and ticks. Made out of a lot of those natural oils.... Seems to have pretty decent reviews. Might have to try that combo when I purchase Bravecto. One question though. Is there interaction with Bravecto and ivermectin for heartworm prevention?


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## JackB (Sep 9, 2010)

If you live in the Northeast or Southeast and even out into the Midwest you will need to apply Bravecto every 8 weeks due to the presence of the Lone Star tick prevalent in these areas. As for the natural product mentioned above I suspect it may be effective but looks like too much work for me. The reviews are mixed and it appears it is not a monthly application but more of a daily or every couple days of rubbing into fur.


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## Zilla (May 11, 2013)

Anyone have anymore feedback for the Bravecto? It's almost time to order my pup new flea and tick and I'm thinking about trying this! Still does anyone know if there's a interaction between Bravecto and ivermectin for heartworm?


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

My vet just got Nexgard in last month! I asked if they'd sold much of it yet and she said yes, a lot of people have switched over now that we're seeing ticks in our area. I just gave my dogs their first dose, so I don't know yet if it's going to have any side effects (vomiting and diarrhea seem somewhat common from what I've seen on small-dog forums), but they absolutely loved the taste of the chew, which is a big improvement over the Revolution, which they have always hated getting put on their backs. The price, though... $17.47 for the papillon and $17.87 for the AKK every month (plus tax, so $40.29) is not cool.


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## Flaming (Feb 2, 2013)

I'm getting a vet to bring in bravecto for me to try out because I don't like applying the revolution and advantix (Vitae can't have revolution)


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## Zilla (May 11, 2013)

Had to go buy Nexgard on a whim today..... I found an attached tick on Jace today and I hate ticks! Went and got one dose from my vet. She assured me it wouldn't hurt that he got Revolution about 2 weeks or so ago. I'm out of revolution after that last dose and am probably going to be getting Bravecto next.


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