Nexgard, Simparica, and Bravecto: Are They Safe For Dogs?
As a dog owner, you want to prevent fleas on your dog and in your house. You don't want your dog to pick up ticks and get sick with Lyme disease, skin irritation, or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
Wouldn't it be easy to give your dog a tasty chew every month or 3 months to protect them from fleas and ticks?
Awesome! The problem is solved.
No, it isn’t!
These tick preventatives are not as safe as you might think. Keep reading to learn about their harmful effects and ingredients.
How Flea And Tick Preventives Work.
These flea treatments are pills that your dog swallows. After your dog eats the chew, the drugs go into the blood, and when a flea or tick bites your dog, it’s exposed to the chemical that Kills fleas and ticks.
These drugs kill fleas and ticks by attacking their nervous system. The following extracts from the manufacturers' Prescribing Information explain how these drugs work.
Nexgard, also called afoxolaner.
NexGard chews contain afoxolaner, which is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream after administration. When fleas and ticks ingest blood containing afoxolaner, it causes hyperexcitation and death in these parasites.
Bravecto (fluralaner)
The fluralaner targets the nervous system of the fleas and ticks, causing it to malfunction and rapidly killing them.
Simparica (sarolaner)
The active ingredient of Simparica®, sarolaner, belongs to a newer class of flea and tick preventatives called isoxazolines. Sarolaner is ingested by fleas and ticks when they bite and works by over-exciting their nervous system, causing paralysis and death.
So, these chewable drugs work by destroying the insects’ nervous systems. If it’s deadly for fleas and ticks, how might it affect a dog? Remember … these drugs stay in your dog’s bloodstream for extended periods.
That means … once your dog takes one of these drugs if she has any side effects, you can’t remove the drug from her body.
The manufacturer’s website provides this warning …
Simparica may cause neurologic signs such as tremors, unsteadiness and/or seizures in dogs with or without a history of neurologic disorders.
Vets Agree These Drugs Aren’t Safe
What does the veterinary medicine community have to say?
Dr Carney, who obtained reports from the FDA, told us that she has personally decided not to use these chewable drugs for her dog, nor will she prescribe them to her clients. Many other holistic vets are speaking out about the dangers of these long-lasting preventive products too.
What Dog Owners Say About Chewable Flea and Tick Preventives
Facebook is another source of information about the side effects of these chewable drugs. These group pages contain many tragic stories from dog owners who believe their dogs have been harmed by these pest preventives.
Some of these groups have tens of thousands of members … so the risks are real!
- Does Nexgard Kill Dogs?
- Does Bravecto Kill Dogs?
- Bravecto Nexgard Comfortis Simparica Trifexis & others Do They Kill Dogs?
- Simparica Flea And Tick Medication. Dangerous Drug Causing Seizures (private group)
Some of the posts are fascinating as well as alarming. One poster reports finding dead ticks on her dog as long as 12 months after his last dose of Bravecto … suggesting that’s how long it stays in your dog’s bloodstream!