Worm count test

[elaine.e]

I'm reluctant to bombard my dogs with pharmaceuticals unless absolutely necessary, so I don't use flea or tick treatments unless I see fleas (none for at least 2+ years) and I check my dogs for ticks after walks, removing them before they've latched on, and use a tick removal tool for any that manage to latch on. I'm also reluctant to worm unnecessarily, so was pleased to have www.wormcount.com recommended to me yesterday.

I've just ordered 2 x worm test kits and 2 x lungworm test kits, total £28. So when they arrive I'll be collecting poo samples and posting them off then awaiting results. If the dogs have worms I'll worm them of course, if not, I'll re-test in 6 months.

[Archie bean]

That sounds brilliant. Thanks for the link. Im with you on the chemicals front. Last year for the first time I used Billy No Mates and it was brilliant. No fleas and more importantly hardly any ticks. Before I started using it I was picking 4 or 5 ticks of Archie after every walk (unattached and crawling  )

[elaine.e]

Quite a few people on here have used Billy No Mates with success, but I tried it a couple of years ago and didn't notice any difference. I'm in a minority on that though

I've been told that raw fed dogs are generally less attractive to ticks than those on processed foods, something to do with sugars and other ingredients in processed foods I think. I don't see as many ticks on raw fed William and Louis as I did on my previous kibble fed Cockers, but most of their walks were in a different area of the New Forest, so that could affect the numbers too.

I'm going to be adding a mix of crushed fresh garlic, powdered ginger and brewer's yeast to their food to see if that wards off some of the ticks, but I need to check the quantities first. I was told about that yesterday at a seminar where the speaker was holistic vet Nick Thompson.

[JohnK]

I was told garlic was bad for dogs 

Is that not the case?

[Black Beauty & Silverfox]

Sorry Elaine but what your proposing to do and then worm your dog's if infected seems a long drawnout procedure and can't really see the benefit to the dog's I don't think 1.5 tablets once every three months is a bombardment of chemicals
As nearly all puppies carry Toxicarra Canis [roundworm] I would rather prevent an infection and reduce the stress levels and pain once worms become evident

I'm not a great advocate of popping pills at the first sign of a sneeze, in fact I'm very reluctant to submit to a painkiller even when the screws in the bone of my leg seem to move


Mel.

[elaine.e]

I was told garlic was bad for dogs 

Is that not the case?

Garlic can cause a specific type of anaemia if fed in very large quantities, but a small amount has benefits. Some dog foods and supplements contain garlic and respected companies like Dorwest sell garlic tablets for dogs. I tried my previous 2 Cockers on Dorwest Garlic & Fenugreek tablets mixed in with their food but one of them used to spit them out  so I gave up. It will be interesting to see what William and Louis make of garlic, haven't tried it yet.

[elaine.e]

Sorry Elaine but what your proposing to do and then worm your dog's if infected seems a long drawnout procedure and can't really see the benefit to the dog's I don't think 1.5 tablets once every three months is a bombardment of chemicals
As nearly all puppies carry Toxicarra Canis [roundworm] I would rather prevent an infection and reduce the stress levels and pain once worms become evident

I'm not a great advocate of popping pills at the first sign of a sneeze, in fact I'm very reluctant to submit to a painkiller even when the screws in the bone of my leg seem to move

Mel.

The wormcount kits come in the post, I pick up and put some poo in the container, post it back and get the results within 48 hours, so I don't think it's a long drawnout procedure Mel.

The advice I was given is that puppies should definitely be wormed as most will be born with roundworm, but not all adult dogs have worms, so for me, with 2 adult dogs, I think it's worth a try. If the results keep showing that they have worms then I might need to re-think, but for now I'm happy to try it and see how it goes. The "bombardment of chemicals" sounds a bit extreme maybe, but I include flea and worm preventatives in that too. Just my opinion

[debbiedaywalker]

That's really interesting, thank you sharing the information Elaine 

[BobnDot]

Thanks for the info Elaine. I'm all in favour of a test that non-invasively gives us information about the health of our dogs.

Armed with that info we can then make an informed decision on our worming routine.  Both Milly and Chaz are on Advocate as there have been some Lungworm cases in the area but, for peace of mind, I'd just like to make sure that it's doing the job.

Just ordered 2 x Lungworm and 2 x Worm tests.

Bob

[Black Beauty & Silverfox]

Sorry Elaine but what your proposing to do and then worm your dog's if infected seems a long drawnout procedure and can't really see the benefit to the dog's I don't think 1.5 tablets once every three months is a bombardment of chemicals
As nearly all puppies carry Toxicarra Canis [roundworm] I would rather prevent an infection and reduce the stress levels and pain once worms become evident

I'm not a great advocate of popping pills at the first sign of a sneeze, in fact I'm very reluctant to submit to a painkiller even when the screws in the bone of my leg seem to move

Mel.

The wormcount kits come in the post, I pick up and put some poo in the container, post it back and get the results within 48 hours, so I don't think it's a long drawnout procedure Mel.

The advice I was given is that puppies should definitely be wormed as most will be born with roundworm, but not all adult dogs have worms, so for me, with 2 adult dogs, I think it's worth a try. If the results keep showing that they have worms then I might need to re-think, but for now I'm happy to try it and see how it goes. The "bombardment of chemicals" sounds a bit extreme maybe, but I include flea and worm preventatives in that too. Just my opinion

That's what the forums all about, expressing opinion and accumulating advice from experienced COL's as your goodself
Hope the only worms you find are in the garden and may your dogs live a long and healthy life


Mel.

[MaggieR]

Just ordered mine too Elaine...

[elaine.e]

Sorry Elaine but what your proposing to do and then worm your dog's if infected seems a long drawnout procedure and can't really see the benefit to the dog's I don't think 1.5 tablets once every three months is a bombardment of chemicals
As nearly all puppies carry Toxicarra Canis [roundworm] I would rather prevent an infection and reduce the stress levels and pain once worms become evident

I'm not a great advocate of popping pills at the first sign of a sneeze, in fact I'm very reluctant to submit to a painkiller even when the screws in the bone of my leg seem to move

Mel.

The wormcount kits come in the post, I pick up and put some poo in the container, post it back and get the results within 48 hours, so I don't think it's a long drawnout procedure Mel.

The advice I was given is that puppies should definitely be wormed as most will be born with roundworm, but not all adult dogs have worms, so for me, with 2 adult dogs, I think it's worth a try. If the results keep showing that they have worms then I might need to re-think, but for now I'm happy to try it and see how it goes. The "bombardment of chemicals" sounds a bit extreme maybe, but I include flea and worm preventatives in that too. Just my opinion

That's what the forums all about, expressing opinion and accumulating advice from experienced COL's as your goodself
Hope the only worms you find are in the garden and may your dogs live a long and healthy life


Mel.

Thanks Mel

I think the tricky bit will be finding where Louis has "performed" as he likes to go down the far end of the garden and poo discreetly under the Rhododendrons. I think my neighbours will have even more reason than usual to think I'm crazy when they see me rummaging about down the bottom of the garden first thing in the morning in my PJs and disposable vinyl gloves

[Sarah.H]

Great information Elaine 

I've always used advocate on Millie as someone's dog where I work used to continually have ear mites    . Bu the poor thing died a while ago and the persons new dogs don't seem to have them 

Millie is also a pain for killing slugs so do worry about lungworm. I have thought in the past whether dogs are going to go the way of horses with the extremely worrying resistance to wormers.

[carol pearson]

Brilliant, thanks Elaine

I have just placed an order.

I have been reluctant to give worm treatment to Ozzy after a very bad reaction to Drontal last year and have been thinking about asking my vet to test but this is probably a lot cheaper.

[elaine.e]

An update now that I've had the results.

Lungworm count - both dogs clear.

Other worms count - Louis clear. William had a moderate roundworm count and a low tapeworm count so has been wormed with Milbemax.

The company suggests testing every 6 months but I think I'll test again in 3 months, out of curiosity more than anything else, to see if both dogs are clear or not, then go to 6 monthly testing if the results after 3 months are OK.