Anyway - the makers of Interceptor recently had some FDA trouble - I understand it was about them accidentally mixing up some human medicines (which would be very scary if you were one of the humans taking one of those medicines) - they DIDN'T mix up any pet medicines but the investigation from the FDA did result in the stopping of production of ALL pet and human medicines for a short time and as a result it is nearly impossible to get or find interceptor at the moment. They are saying it will be at least 6 months before it is back in full production. Everywhere we tried online was out of stock.
Now we could ........and have........ used Advantix Multi in the past but that actually only covers fleas and worms and doesn't do ticks - so then you have to add a tick medicine to the regime. Mr Denny is unfortunately very sensitive to these medicines and had quite a bad neurological reaction to Certifect so we have to be ultra careful about trying him on new things. Reilly on the other hand can't have the heartguard chews - he can have the tablets but they have stopped making those too! Dogs with allergies are such fun :) :)
The other issue at the moment is the some of the worming medications also contain flea medications which means doubling up on them if you use a spot treatment. Best option - talk to your vet about ALL the options and then pick the best one for your doggies
In our area at the moment ticks are a huge problem and although Reilly and Denny haven't had any of them we have pulled three of Jackson - I am assuming it's because he is so low to the ground that he prone to getting them - although you would think the boys long coats would make it ideal for such nasty critters to jump on them. It could also be that Jackson's Mom is not very responsible about getting Jackson his medicines on time!
For those that don't know - there is also a HUGE issue about getting the specif medicine to treat heart-worm once a dog gets it - NOT I REPEAT NOT the medicine to prevent it (that is available). It appears the patent for the medicine they use to treat it - ran out and now no-one is willing to make it because without the monopoly on it they can't make enough money off it anymore (like a gazzillion bucks instead of a trillion!!!). This is sadly and I find disgustingly the same thing that is happening with many human cancer treatments.
It is a sad and sorry world we live in when peoples health and pets health all fall whim to all mighty dollar. PREVENTION is without a doubt the safest way to go at least for our pets for it would be awful to hear of any our buddies falling sick to something you can no longer get a cure for - but you could of hopefully prevented it in the first place.
I only wish there was were more preventative cures for people cancer........of coarse the easiest and hardest one for that is life style change - and although we all know "what we should do" me included - we always seem to find excuses why not too. But here is something that can benefit both you and your doggies - get out there and enjoy life! I know I have been doing this this last couple of weeks and both the boys and I (well Reilly and I at least - Denny is just scared the whole time) are enjoying it greatly.
I heard about the heartworm treatment shortage last summer. Oreo's acupuncturist was checking with all of her patients to make sure they were on heartworm prevention year round (some people stop in the winter here).
ReplyDeleteI heard about the interceptor/sentinel plant shutdown in January, and immediately went to our vet to stock up on it. Went back to the vet yesterday, and all they had left in our weight range was 6 interceptor. Hopefully, I have enough to get through the shutdown. My vet did assure me that iverhart is safe for shelties, because it is at a much lower dosage than the one used to treat mange (which can be harmful to herding dogs). So, we'll use that if necessary.
Right now, I'm using advantix II for the ticks and interceptor.
On top of all that...I can't get excedrin anymore, because that was made in the same plant! And my husband went to have a presciption filled, and they only gave him 6 tablets, instead of 30. That's all they had..apparently there are shortages in numerous human drugs as well.
I guess the lesson from all this is we really can't become too dependent on any drug.
Thank goodness My Vickie got a years worth at one time.
ReplyDeleteWe are pretty lucky here cause we don't have a lot of problems with tics and fleas, but that pesky misquito that carries heartworm has been pretty active.
Prevention prevention, the best tool.
It's so important to have a responsible and honest vet who you can discuss these matters with ...
ReplyDeleteYour pal, Pip
I have about 6 months of intercepter left. I also have used Heartguard on Guiness and Miley in the pass and never had a problem with it. SO Ive switched them over to heartguard and Im just giving Java the intercepeter.
ReplyDeleteAdderall for treating ADHD and other things has been in short supply over the last year. But they seemed to have fixed that now.
What a great post! I just bought the advantage multi 100 for both the hounds to get us through until November. Lots of $$ but worth it in the end. Thankfully we don't have to worry about tics where we are. Prevention is key along with you said it, enjoying life!!
ReplyDeleteGreat information you guys!
ReplyDelete