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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

How frequently do you de-worm?

32 replies

AdoraBell · 08/05/2013 15:44

I've had conflicting advice here in Forrinland so I thought I'd ask you sensible peopleSmile

OP posts:
fanoftheinvisibleman · 08/05/2013 16:11

4 weekly with advocate and 3 monthly with tape worm tablet as advised by our vet.

Callisto · 08/05/2013 16:41

When I remember, approximately once every 2-3 of months.

TakingTheStairs · 08/05/2013 16:46

Monthly with advocate and I think 6 monthly with tape worm tablet. I have a reminder set up in my calender to schedule the vet appointment for the latter.

Original poster
AdoraBell · 08/05/2013 16:59

Thank you

OP posts:
Lonecatwithkitten · 08/05/2013 17:50

I do round and tapeworm tablet once every three months. As a vet I can tablet anything, but can I get spot on on my own cats -NO. So Seresto collar is the flea and tick treatment.

moosemama · 08/05/2013 18:35

This thread got me thinking and I had to go and look up what our wormer treats for.

We use Drontal every 3 months for worms and Frontline spot-on for flea and tick prevention.

We've always done this, partly because the dogs like the drontal pills and are happy to just take them out of our hands and partly because I can buy both the Drontal and Frontline cheaper myself than going through the vet.

After reading this thread though, I'm wondering if we shouldn't review what we're doing and look into some of the newer products. I've never heard of Advocate - is it via vet/prescription only? Would we be better off switching to that plus a quarterly tapeworm pill or is our protocol ok? Confused

moosemama · 08/05/2013 18:55

OK, just googled and saw lots of stuff online about Frontline losing it's effectiveness, so now I'm worried.

We've never had a problem though, dogs have never had fleas and I don't think we have them in the house, as even when the dogs were in kennels for a fortnight while one of my dcs was in hospital none of us saw one or got bitten.

Even more Confused now. Hmm

EasyToEatTiger · 08/05/2013 19:05

We've moved from Frontline to Advocate. It's a bore as Advocate doesn't do ticks and you need to use it more often.... Speaking of which... I think I last did the dogs in March. Ooops. Where's the stuff? We've just moved house so things are all over the place. Bugger

fanoftheinvisibleman · 08/05/2013 19:08

I think the advantage of advocate is lungworm protection as well as treating fleas Moosemama. Lungworm worried me as he tries to eat slugs if he finds one.

OrbisNonSufficit · 08/05/2013 19:19

Advocate monthly for lungworm mainly, Drontal every 6 months (although previous vet said every 3, new vet says 6), Advantix when we take the dog to France...

moosemama · 08/05/2013 19:43

Ah, now that's interesting, because it was tick prevention that started us off using Frontline, as the area we walk our dogs on holiday is a bit of a tickfest. None of our dogs has ever had a tick since we started using it, whereas prior to that they all seemed to pick up at least one every year.

The lungworm thing is interesting/worrying as well. None of my dogs have ever been remotely interested in slugs to date, but we are hopefully getting a pup later this year, so it may well be worth considering it for that protection as our garden seems to be a slugs paradise. Hmm Is it only slugs that carry the risk or can they pick up lungworm in other ways?

Orbis, we have had different advice from vets about Drontal as well. Last vet used to say every 6 months and we haven't asked this one, as we buy it ourselves, so they just ask - when was he/she last wormed whenever we see them, but the advice leaflet says every 3 months, so we go with that.

moosemama · 08/05/2013 19:44

Sorry, meant to/should have said thank you to all three of you.

portraitoftheartist · 08/05/2013 20:15

I worm kittens and puppies, never do adult cats and dogs. De-flea if they get fleas, pull off any ticks.
Of course vets will say do it all as often as possible. I don't want my pets given powerful pesticides unless they have pests.

Lonecatwithkitten · 08/05/2013 20:21

That's all very well portrait, but obviously you have no concerns about children being infected with roundworm and potentially causing blindness. Also in a number of cases of lungworm the first sign is death. But if you are happy accepting these risks that is up to you.

Lonecatwithkitten · 08/05/2013 20:23

Noise mamma in answer to your query the lungworm is in the slug/snail slime trail so lungworm can be contract from picking up anything that a slug or snail could have passed over.

poachedeggs · 08/05/2013 20:36

Vets see the results of untreated parasitism all the time. Not pleasant and causes entirely unnecessary suffering. A vet makes so little on a Drontal tablet it's not much skin off their nose if you buy it online, but they'll still advise you worm your pets!

I'm at a loss as to why any pet owner would forgo such a cheap and simple health measure. It's like parents not brushing their DC's teeth.

moosemama · 08/05/2013 20:54

Oh blimey, thanks Lonecat, I didn't know that. I knew they could pick up nemotodes (sp?) from eating slugs/snails, but not that they could get infected from trails.

Think I'd better have a chat with our vet then.

Thank you.

pigsDOfly · 08/05/2013 22:17

I'm a bit confused about when to treat.

When my dog was young I was giving Drontal every 3 months and Advocate every month.

When she was about 18 months old I was told I could give Drontal every 6 months and Advocate every months.

I've just received a card from my vet telling me she due for her Drontal after 3 months.

So can anyone tell me what I should I be doing?

Callisto · 09/05/2013 08:25

I get all flea and worm treatments online now. Nutrecare is pretty good and I can get horse wormer and fly stuff at the same time. I can't imagine going to a vet to get something so basic.

ginauk84 · 09/05/2013 12:42

Careful with advocate and border collies, not sure what other breeds, but I know with border collies they can react severely to it and so it is not normally recommended to give to a collie.

I drontal every 3 months and then they have garlic powder in their food to keep the fleas at bay. I too get drontal online, it's quite cheap from some of the canine chemists. I ALWAYS worm the cat will catch so many mice and birds etc it is easy for them to pick up worms, then the dogs can eat the cat poo and have them passed on, or pick up a half eaten bird the cat has caught!

If you are concerned about worms you can send a sample fairly cheaply to these people:
wormcount.com/

I use them to check every now and then.

ginauk84 · 09/05/2013 12:45

moosemama they can pick up lungworm if they have any outdoor water dishes or eat some grass a slug has been across or have toys outdoors a slug has crossed over. I had a dog last year with possible lungworm, we were never sure but did treat with Panacur I think it was (he's a collie so can't risk advocate).

portraitoftheartist · 09/05/2013 19:20

Lonecat - I believe it's puppies and kittens which have roundworms and yes, they need worming.
Lungworms are not a problem where we live (according to our vet) They aren't present everywhere.

poachedeggs · 09/05/2013 20:06

All dogs and cats have worms. Even following a wormer treatment the inhibited larval stages which are present in the muscle tissues of adult animals can be reactivated by stress events and reinfest the gut.

Worming protocols are designed to take account of the life cycle of the worm, and the lifestyle of the host. They aren't just invented randomly.

Lungworm used to be thought of as a very localised problem, but in the last few years cases have been diagnosed all over the UK, as far north as the highlands of Scotland, so your vet's advice could be viewed as a little cavalier.

moosemama · 09/05/2013 20:17

I have now read up on lungworm and how widespread it has become in the UK. Thank you for alerting me to it, I will definitely be having a chat with our vet about it and ensuring my dog is protected.

I am cross with myself actually, because I appear to have become one of those people that has had dogs for many years, but failed to keep up with all the new advice etc. Bit surprised my vet hasn't raised it with us though, given they know we buy our worming products online and Advocate is only available with a prescription.

kernowmissvyghen · 09/05/2013 21:26

Poached eggs, are you a vet? I have been puzzled about the worming advice for dogs fro some time, if you're a vet you may know the answer?

On farms, there is an increasing problem with worms which have become resistant to wormers. So farm vets, DEFRA, everyone, advises us to minimise use of wormer, to do fecal egg counts, manage pasture to minimise the worm burden, to do everything possible to avoid relying on worming by the calendar.

Yet the advice for pet owners still seems to be to worm at x-month intervals, generally using the same wormer for years on end. Why is this? Is there no antihelminth resistance in dogs? Aren't there any other possible ways of managing the worm burden in domestic pets? Has any research been done to find out?

And if the UK's millions of pet owners are following an outdated worming regime just because that's what's always been done, to what extent might that be contributing to the creation of drug- resistant strains of roundworm?

Anyone got any ideas?

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