Can you grind up Trifexis?

June 21, 2020 9:17 PM

Giving our dogs Trifexis (a combined flea and heartworm preventative) has always been a bit traumatic, so I've started grinding up the pills to powder in a mortar and pestle and mixing them with wet food.

The beasts don't seem to notice and eat it all up. However, it seems like *maybe* this is turning out to be less effective, as far as how long the flea prevention lasts, though it's a little hard to tell if it's just flea season coming on or what. Is there any reason not to grind up these pills? Don't they get dissolved in the stomach anyway?

posted by slappy_pinchbottom to Pets & Animals (4 answers total)

Best answer: The manufacturer’s website says it seems like it should be fine, although they did not do direct studies:

“Can Trifexis Tablets be Crushed and Put in Food?

Trifexis is a beef-flavored chewable tablet, which makes administration easy as it can be given as a treat, so owners should not need to crush the tablet and put it in their dogs’ food. We did not conduct any studies where a crushed Trifexis tablet was added to food and fed to a dog. Given our knowledge of spinosad and milbemycin oxime, it should be stable if the tablet is crushed and consumed right away. The stability in food for any significant period of time, however, cannot be guaranteed. It is best to make sure your dog eats the meal immediately.”
posted by charmedimsure at 12:52 AM on June 22, 2020

Best answer: I did this for years for one of our dogs with no ill effects, mixed with peanut butter. However, it was such a hassle and required greater amounts of peanut butter as he got wise to the taste, that eventually I asked the vet about alternatives. He's now taking two separate medications, Heartgard and Nexgard, that are actually chewable and seem to be very tasty to him. They're more like a meat nugget, not a giant pill like Trifexis.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 4:30 AM on June 22, 2020

Best answer: I do this (yes, they're "beef-flavored" and "chewable," but no one can convince my dogs of this). It's a chewable tablet so I can't imagine on its own in a mouth or with some pb added would make any difference. It's a pain to grind it and mix it and supervise, but that's the only way to get the job done.
posted by Ink-stained wretch at 5:32 PM on June 22, 2020

Best answer: Thaw a small amount of BilJac. Break the tablet into manageable pieces. Mold BilJac around the tablet pieces like meaty Play-Doh and pop in your pupper’s maw.
posted by ReginaHart at 6:20 PM on June 22, 2020