Bravecto is one of the newest kids on the block when it comes to the control of fleas and ticks. While it works very well, some people question this drug’s safety and others struggle with the tablet’s price. So can you split Bravecto tablets, and when should you be worried about an overdose or Bravecto side effects?

• Bravecto is isoxazaline parasite control product that is a tablet which: Kills fleas for 12 weeks, kills most ticks for 12 weeks (Ixodes ricinus, Dermacentor reticulatus and D. variabilis), but only kills the lone star tick for 8 weeks
• The Bravecto data sheet clearly states: "The chewable tablets should not be broken or divided". This is because the active ingredient can not be guaranteed to be evenly mixed throughout tablet and so half a tablet may contain less or more than half the total tablet dose.
• It is uncertain how significant the difference could be but it could mean that a dog is either under-dosed or overdosed. This will depend on the size of your dog compared to the supposed dose given
• That being said, the dose rate for dogs within 1 dosing band corresponds to a dose of 25 – 56 mg fluralaner/kg body weight which is clearly quite a large dose rate to work with. You may be happy with this and so choose to split the tablet, but it is not something that I can specifically recommend.
• Overdose testing has been carried out for Bravecto and:  "No adverse reactions were observed following oral administration to puppies aged 8 – 9 weeks and weighing 2.0 – 3.6 kg treated with overdoses of up to 5 times the maximum recommended dose"
• As with any drug there are potential side-effects which include: diarrhea, vomiting, drooling and inappetence, and in rare cases muscle tremors, wobbliness and even seizures in dogs taking these drugs. It might be that your dog is at a higher risk of side-effects - for example, I would be cautious about recommending its use in epileptic animals or those suffering from other types of seizures

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