When it comes to your pet, you, as their owner, know them best. So when it comes to heartworm prevention, you know what will work best for you & your pet. Both Sentinel and ProHeart 12 are wonderful preventatives that each have their own benefits. Here a few things to consider for each when choosing what heartworm prevention is best for your pet.
Sentinel and Proheart 12 both work in purging the heartworms on a monthly basis. Since it takes 5 months for the heartworm to grow and mature (check our article about heartworms here) the medications work by doing a monthly purge to flush out the system of any eggs or larvae in the body.
Sentinel is great because it not only treats for heartworms, but it also treats for other parasites. It treats for intestinal worms like hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms each month with every dose. This prevention is one of the only heartworm medications to help with fleas as well. Sentinel has an active ingredient called lufenuron, which stops the production of the egg stage of the flea. This is great for dogs who are outside or around other animals often so they have that extra step of protection, along with adult flea preventives. These would include dogs who often go hiking, to parks, or any type of dog play places like dog parks and doggy day care. Sentinel is great for dogs who take flavored tablets easily and owners who do well at administering the medication routinely once a month. Sentinel can be given as early as 4 weeks of age for puppies
ProHeart 12 treats for heartworms through one injection that lasts the entire year (learn more about this prevention here). ProHeart 12 also treats existing larval and adult hookworms on the day of the injection only, but continues to treats for whipworms and roundworms throughout the year. This prevention would be a great alternative for owners who may often forget or are too busy to give their pet a monthly dose. It is good for dogs who are not compliant in taking medication in tablet form as well. ProHeart 12 can be given at the time of vaccines to make it just part of the yearly round of vaccines and the yearly check up. To receive this prevention injection dogs must be at least 12 months of age.