When Mars was  a puppy I had him on Triflexis.  He didn't mind it at first.  But with time, I noticed he would start vomiting after taking the medication and then he would not eat it, and when I tricked him into eating it, he would regurgitate and throw it up.  He then went on Sentinel Spectrum, which he tolerated much better, but I could still see he would act funny after taking it.  But since around November he has been only on Heartguard--this doesn't seem to affect him in any way--maybe b/c it has no flea pesticide.  

So, he has not been on any type of flea medication since November.  I don't think he has fleas, since I assume we would have noticed them given he is always being petted, played with and brushed.

Mars had his yearly checkup last weekend and the vet recommended Bravecto for the summer months, which given where we live, means through November.  My concern with this is that it's a 3-month pill.  What if it makes him sick?  Yet, I am always fearful of fleas.  

I can't believe how much I agonize over this/Mars.

Kohdi was on Bravecto with no issues. Their regular flea preventative is nexgard, which they have both thrown up on. Mine NEED to be on a flea preventative but if Mars doesn’t, I’d skip it. Less poisons in our dogs the better, in my opinion.

@PollyR I used to live around Houston everything from Spring to Rosenberg.

With the pest population over there you really have to have him on something and something for Ticks as well and of course Heartworm meds. I had a small <??> pharmacy for my pups, but it was either keep them flea / tick free or have to put up with them myself. I won't make any suggestions since it's been almost 10 years since I was there and there have been a lot of new meds and changes to the older meds. I think the hardest part of making the decision is that almost all brands have had extreme adverse reactions with some dogs -

Thank the gods, I don't need them where I am now. The heat on the desert as well as the lack of humidity - well, we don't have many bugs. (I was very pleasantly surprised that there weren't even any roaches over here and they seem to thrive everywhere else!)

A quick run through the web, it appears as if Spinosad (the flea killer in trifexis) is potentially fatal when used on a dogs who has been treated with Ivermectin (the heart-worm med in Heartguard) unless the ivermectin has been given enough time to dissipate (my opinion from what I've read)

In light of the above, since Bravecta treats for flea and tick, I'd be particularly careful about the hearworm component you choose.

Agonize ... yeh, most of the time I was living in Houston I'd make sure mine had a good heartworm medicine and treat the fleas / ticks by monthly <??> bathing. At the time I had a Husky who liked water and a black lab - no problem with bathing them! One comment I will make is that shampoo I normally used was Adams (blue bottle) whose active ingredient was Pyrethrin <sp> ... will it work for you, I have no idea, it did work for me.

Adams makes a flea tick mosquito spray for dogs and cats that works amazing. I had to get it at the vet but wasnt rx.

I cant say ive ever used it on dogs. We used it on foals and nursing mares with no issue which i can not say about several other sprays.

I remember houston and i used frontline there BUT i left houston in 2012 and new things have come out since then.

I get agonizing over your pup. I have 4 but in particular a gsd with medical issues that are becoming mental issues im always worried about

Leo has done that too, i haven't given him any tick or flea meds since he was about 8 months old. cause he acted strange with each one that we tried. so i now use essential oil bug spray to keep those bugs away. you can try wondercide for pets.

Squirt gets wiped down with a mix of eucalyptus oil ceder oil peppermint oil and citronella. Seems to work for ticks and most bugs. We dont get fleas and we dont have heartworm carrying mosquitoes but i travel with the dogs so they are all.on heart guard.

But Houston.... maybe a dog sized hamster ball. Its a bad bad area for bugs.

Texas has some fairly nasty tick diseases, some of which are fatal, and fleas can get in your house, carry diseases to humans. Have you tried the topicals? I use Vetguard Plus once every 4 months, in between every 6 weeks they get freedom 45 and every 3 months Fiproguard.

Thank you for all your suggestions.  I hope I don’t live to regret it, but I am going to try the natural route as much as I can.  I will be using Wondercide and DE on his coat.  With the high temperatures in the summer, he doesn’t spend much time outdoors.  Also, Mars gets brushed a lot, either with a brush, flea comb or vacuum cleaner (Yes, I can’t believe he likes this—he waits for his turn —Must be the treats!), and bathed, and will keep 5 pairs of eyes on him.  Hopefully we will notice right away if he gets fleas. (And I keep a box of Capstar and a  Simparica tablet at home, just in case).  I do give him Heartgard plus.

We went natural years ago...it's been so long that I can't even tell you how many years it's been...at least 7 yrs, possibly more. I give a small dose of garlic 3 times a week in both my dogs' dinner and it keeps them bug free. I do have chemical stuff on hand (Advantix & Frontline) as a backup just in case, but haven't had to use it. We've lived in the bug filled south (FL, NC, SC, AL) the entire time we've been all natural and haven't had an issue.