Author(s)

Nadège Perier^1*, Douglas S. Carithers¹, William Russel Everett², Sheila J. Gross³, Phrutsamon Wongnak^4,5, Karine Chalvet-Monfray^4,5, Frédéric Beugnet⁶

¹Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, 3239 Satellite Boulevard, Duluth, USA.
²BerTek, Inc., 104 Wilson Bottoms Rd, Greenbrier, USA.
³Independent Statistician, 26 Bayberry Close, Piscataway, USA.
⁴Universit é Clermont Auvergne, INRAE, VetAgro Sup, UMR EPIA, Saint-Gen ès-Champanelle, France.
⁵Universit é de Lyon, INRAE, VetAgro Sup, UMR EPIA, Marcy l’Etoile, France.
⁶Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, 29 Avenue Tony Garnier, Lyon, France.

Pet owner compliance is essential for the success of veterinary healthcare strategies. As some parasites are zoonotic, consistent parasite control is an integral part of the One-Health strategy. Highly palatable formulations help ensure compliance, as they offer a positive experience for the dog and the owner. This study was conducted to ascertain if dogs exhibited a preference between two commercially available oral formulations of broad-spectrum endectoparasiticides, NexGard Spectra (afoxolaner and milbemycin oxime) and Simparica Trio (sarolaner, moxidectin and pyrantel). For four consecutive days, 100 healthy dogs were offered both products and consumption was recorded. If one product was more consumed than the other, it was defined as the preferred product. No adverse event was recorded throughout the study. A total of 358 chewable tablets were consumed over four study days; 78.5% of dogs voluntarily consumed NexGard Spectra (281 chews), while 21.5% of dogs voluntarily consumed Simparica Trio (77 chews, p < 0.01). Among 75 dogs which demonstrated a preference for a product, significantly more dogs preferred NexGard Spectra (94.7%) compared to Simparica Trio (5.3%) (p < 2.2 × 10^-16), resulting in a preference ratio of 17.75 to 1 for NexGard Spectra.

Preference, Parasiticide, Palatability, Dog, Compliance

Perier, N. , Carithers, D. , Everett, W. , Gross, S. , Wongnak, P. , Chalvet-Monfray, K. and Beugnet, F. (2020) Preference of Dogs between Two Oral Formulations of Endectoparasiticides: NEXGARD SPECTRA^® (Afoxolaner and Milbemycin Oxime) and Simparica Trio^TM (Sarolaner, Moxidectin and Pyrantel). Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 10, 155-163. doi: 10.4236/ojvm.2020.109013.