Flea/Tick and worming

[LisaL]

What flea/tick treatment and wormer does everyone use nowadays?

[lescef]

Nothing for us. I do a wormcount every three months or so which test for worms and lungworm. Maddie did show to have hookworm last year so then I use drontal and advocate, but otherwise I try not to use chemicals on them.
We are lucky not to have many ticks round here so if I find one I just use the tick tool remover.

[bizzylizzy]

we do the same as Lescef re worms. We do have a tick problem here, last year Humphrey had a scalibor collar, although I'm not really very enthusiastic about using them and it did seem to work, We tried a spot on a few weeks ago that is supposed to be effective for 4 weeks but he still got ticks (trod on one last week that had fallen off him - good job we have tiled floor!  )!, so I won't be using that again. At the moment I'm using coconut oil, which is supposed to help, - will report back on that in a few weeks! I don't use flea treatment either as fortunately none  of my dogs have ever had them.
Always a dilema every year!!!

[its.sme]

I do the same, Worm count every 3 months but my girl also has Garlic and Fenugreek tablets, I initially gave her these for a urine infection but I noticed the Flea's kept there distance 

It depends on the issues in your area ie high Tick count or Lung worm etc so it really is a personal choice.

Sharon .

[Mari]

I still use exspot for ticks, we have tried different things, but had the best results with exspot. Considered switching to bravecto (pills) for convenience, but I prefer using spot on for the repelling effect. Wouldn't want to risk the dog bringing hungry ticks in the house, I've had enough tick bites in my life   I don't need to use wormers where I live now because there are no dangerous intestinal worms here, and infection with the relativey harmless ones are rare in adult dogs. So here we only treat dogs on suspicion of infection. But I would ask the local vet about that because it really depends on what intestinal parasites are in your area. When I lived where there was heartworm I used milbemax regularly.

For the safest and most effective treatment I would recommend asking your local vet, then you can get recommendations based on what you need for your dog

[rubybella]

Billy no mates herbal treatment from April til October. Wormer twice a year. I think if you walk your dog where you deer are then ticks are inevitable tbh. In order for any chemical treatments to work the creatures will need to attach themselves on and suck the blood, chances are that if you check your dog after walks there won't be much difference between you finding them and removing them yourselves, and the time it takes for them to attach, suck blood, die and drop off! I am really sceptical that there is anything that can actually prevent the tick from attaching itself in the first place. I also think that dogs that slowly potter  in the undergrowth are more likely to pick ticks up than a dog races through. My wcs is so fast racing through the forest and fields that I just don't think they have time to stick on 

[elaine.e]

I don't use a flea or tick preventative and haven't done for years. A few years ago I found one flea on William so to be on the safe side I treated both dogs with Practic and the house with Indorex. No further problems.

I check my dogs over after walks and groom them a couple of times a week, so I'm confident of spotting any unwelcome visitors at an early stage! We walk in the New Forest so I have to check for ticks every day. Occasionally I miss one and it latches on and I have to remove with a tick remover. I'm aware that some ticks carry Lyme Disease and there's a risk of transmission if an infected tick latches on to a dog, but personally I feel that regular use of insecticides on dogs also poses a risk, which is why I decided not to use a preventative. Personal decision on my part, I don't expect everyone to agree

Sometimes I have a wormcount done, sometimes I'm lazy and just treat with Milbemax every 3 months.

[rubybella]

"I check my dogs over after walks and groom them a couple of times a week, so I'm confident of spotting any unwelcome visitors at an early stage! We walk in the New Forest so I have to check for ticks every day. Occasionally I miss one and it latches on and I have to remove with a tick remover. I'm aware that some ticks carry Lyme Disease and there's a risk of transmission if an infected tick latches on to a dog, but personally I feel that regular use of insecticides on dogs also poses a risk, which is why I decided not to use a preventative. Personal decision on my part, I don't expect everyone to agree :blink"

I absolutely agree with you !

[ips]

Same here.
We check her daily for anything in her coat living or just debris. She has a short coat and being golden things are very easy to see / feel. Only had three tics in two and half years so see no reason to change.

[Finvarra]

Me too! I did get problems with fleas back in Northants, and used those spot treatments, but the smell was so awful Imwas very wary of them. Since being in Scotland we haven,t been bothered with fleas, especially now the next door cats are deceased! Ticks we can pick up every day, we have deer, rabbits and game birds in our garden, so Dylan is groomed every day and any ticks removed. He mostly gets them on his heads, so I keep it clipped and they are easy to spot. So I don't use any preventative.

As for wormers , I have always worked three times a years, as per vet instructions. Last years I used Drontal and Dylan was very ill after that, with terrible diarrhoea which just wouldn,t stop despite starving twice and feeding chicken and rice. We were in the northern highlands on hols at the time, and vets are thin on the ground up there. Eventually we found a vet who gave him Canicur as his gut bacteria had been stripped out. It sorted the problem. He is due for worming now and I have to visit the vet and see what else to use, I certainly won,t use Drontal again.

Lesley and Dylan

[bizzylizzy]

I still use exspot for ticks, we have tried different things, but had the best results with exspot. Considered switching to bravecto (pills) for convenience, but I prefer using spot on for the repelling effect. Wouldn't want to risk the dog bringing hungry ticks in the house, I've had enough tick bites in my life   I don't need to use wormers where I live now because there are no dangerous intestinal worms here, and infection with the relativey harmless ones are rare in adult dogs. So here we only treat dogs on suspicion of infection. But I would ask the local vet about that because it really depends on what intestinal parasites are in your area. When I lived where there was heartworm I used milbemax regularly.

For the safest and most effective treatment I would recommend asking your local vet, then you can get recommendations based on what you need for your dog

Mari, there's been a lot of bad publicity for Bravecto here in Germany, although friends of mine in UK use it and think its great. Its hard to know what to believe!

[Mari]

I still use exspot for ticks, we have tried different things, but had the best results with exspot. Considered switching to bravecto (pills) for convenience, but I prefer using spot on for the repelling effect. Wouldn't want to risk the dog bringing hungry ticks in the house, I've had enough tick bites in my life   I don't need to use wormers where I live now because there are no dangerous intestinal worms here, and infection with the relativey harmless ones are rare in adult dogs. So here we only treat dogs on suspicion of infection. But I would ask the local vet about that because it really depends on what intestinal parasites are in your area. When I lived where there was heartworm I used milbemax regularly.

For the safest and most effective treatment I would recommend asking your local vet, then you can get recommendations based on what you need for your dog

Mari, there's been a lot of bad publicity for Bravecto here in Germany, although friends of mine in UK use it and think its great. Its hard to know what to believe!

It's not just Germany, I've seen it too, some very scary stories are circulating online. But there's still no evidence linking bad side effects to the drug that I've seen. We use bravecto tablets quite alot in Norway, and have for some years now. I've talked to many vets about it (out of curiosity) and none of them have seen any bad reactions on any of their patients. Some very few seem to experience some quickly passing tummy trouble But of course we all have to do our own research and feel comfortable with what we use on our furbabies. I personally don't like the fact that the ticks have to actually bite before they are killed by bravecto so that's why I don't use it yet, but I am still considering it because of how convenient it is

[Londongirl]

We also had problems with Drontal. Henry would start throwing up within half an hour of every dose. We have switched to monthly Milquantel and have no more stomach problems. The vet was a bit sceptical when I specifically asked for a Milbemycin- based treatment and I have to get it ordered in specially. Sometimes you have to go in armed with your own research (much like with my GP and HRT but that's another story!).

[Markr64]

Dexter had terrible problems with Drontal, so we switch to something else which had a better effect. He is always picking things up when off the lead so I want to ensure that he does not get a worm as he will eat dead mice and birds before I can get them off him. As for fleas, we groom regular and keep an eye out for them but not many ticks around here.