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- Title
Comparison of Preference Demonstrated by Dogs When Offered Two Commercially Available Oral ectoparasiticide Products Containing Either Afoxolaner (NexGard®) or sarolaner (Simparica™).
- Authors
Carithers, Douglas S.; Halos, Lénaïg; Crawford, Jordan; Stanford, Heather; Everett, William R.; Gross, Sheila J.
- Abstract
Background Acceptability and palatability of oral formulations are critical issues in establishing and maintaining optimal owner compliance, especially for essential, regularly administered treatments such as monthly flea/tick control products. Such dosage forms are generally developed to be highly palatable if possible, to best ensure they are voluntarily and completely consumed by the pet. The present study aimed to compare the preference of dogs between two commercially available oral ectoparasiticide formulations of afoxolaner (NexGard®, Merial) and sarolaner (Simparica™ , Zoetis). Methods: In two separate experiments, 204 individual dogs from two independent facilities (100 dogs at site 1 and 104 dogs at site 2), were simultaneously offered a choice of similarly-sized, commercially available afoxolaner and sarolaner chewable tablets. The 204 dogs were given an opportunity to smell both products, then both products were simultaneously offered to each dog by hand, allowing the dog to choose and consume one, or the other product, each day for 4 consecutive days. The products were offered from alternate hands on each day, to negate any handedness effect. Individual consumption and related behaviors were recorded. Each dog in the respective studies received offerings from the same individual (Investigator) throughout the studies. The total number of chewable tablets consumed of each formulation was recorded, and the product preference of each dog was defined as the consumption of a given formulation on more days. Results: A total of 622 (81.4%) afoxolaner chews and 142 (18.6%) sarolaner chews was consumed in both studies. The consumption ratio significantly (p<0.0001) favored Nex-Gard over SIMPARICA at 4.4 to 1. Additionally, significantly (p<0.0001) more dogs consumed the NexGard Chewables than the SIMPARICA Chewables on each day. In these two studies combined, for dogs showing a preference over the test period, 93.1 % (p<0.0001) of them preferred Nex-Gard to SIMPARICA, where "preference" is defined as consuming the entire product on more days. The preference ratio of NexGard Chewables over SIMPARICA Chewables was 13.5 to 1. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that when dogs were offered a choice between the two ectoparasiticide products, a significant preference was observed for the NexGard formulation.
- Subjects
DOG behavior; ANTIPARASITIC agents; VETERINARY drugs
- Publication
International Journal of Applied Research in Veterinary Medicine, 2016, Vol 14, Issue 3, p217
- ISSN
1559-4602
- Publication type
Article