Worming tablets

[Flippetydip]

We've had Flipdog a month now - she was wormed just before she came out of rescue so I'm guessing it must be time to worm her. Any suggestions for worming tablets - can I just get from the supermarket? Sorry to sound so utterly clueless. Rescue used Drontal - is that available to get in the supermarket or is it a vet thing? She's a greyhound if that makes any difference.

You need to know if are in a lungworm risk area and what other products you are using for ticks and fleas.
Drontal does not cover lungworm, but can be got from agricultural wholesalers or some pet shops. Milbemax does do lungworm, but is prescription only.
Advocate does do lungworm, fleas and roundworm, not tapeworm or ticks.
I could go on into other combination Nexguard, nexguard plus and bravecto. There are so many.

I agree with Lonecatwithkitten as it depends on what you want to kill/prevent plus whether you want to also include lungworm, flea and tick.

Argh, I have no idea. I will consult other hound owners in the same area - that's probably easiest is it not?

Or chat with your vets to see what they suggest as some treatment is prescription only.

Thought Drontal is given every three months if you're not treating any infestations?

I give my dog Drontal, usually get it from Boots or Pets at Home. I only give it every 3 months as a preventative.

I would ask at the vets - more reliable than asking random dog owners. (Or random people in the internet though I believe Lonecatwithkitten is a vet.)

Point taken hippy

I would definitely ask your vets what they currently recommend as they will have a better awareness of any lungworm cases locally etc.
And yes, Drontal is normally done every 3 months unless you suspect an infestation. However, depending on what you know about her background, there is no problem with worming more frequently than that, and I would worm again then wait 3 months,

Marco Drontal every 3 months is fine for an adult dog in a non-lungworm area, though recommendations are probably going to change later this year for public health reasons.

You can wormcount and then you know exactly if and what worms and what medication to use.

Wormcount is amazingly efficient

We got from the vet when we had to take her for the claw incident - see thread further down....

user148 , the problem with lungworm is the damage can already be done by the time you do a worm count , it needs preventative measure , not treatment when you already have it .

Floralnomad as wormcount looks for larvae not the live worms there is little risk of infestation. If there is larvae start treatment and the lungworm will not effect the dogs.

User with lungworms there have to be active adult lungworms in the lungs that then release eggs that are coughed up and swallowed for them to be seen in the faeces. Once you gave lungworms eggs in the faeces you are no longer in prevention territory you are having to treat active disease. Your dog is also highly likely to have one of the clotting disorders that go hand in hand with active lungworms infection.
This and the insidious, ambiguous nature of the symptoms of lungworms is why it is so regularly fatal.

Thanks for clarifying that lonecat .

Unfortunately that is not quite correct lonecat (yes I know you are a vet!)

Lung worm do not release the eggs into the faceas it is the larvae.

You are always treating the active disease. Advocate and Millbemax will only kill the larvae and not the eggs - so this could be used once the wormcount shows larvae are present - there is no point before as it will not do anything.

I pay £12 a month to the vet which covers worming, fleas, injections, claw cutting and some other bits too.

Does your vet do anything like that? It takes the guesswork out and spreads the costs over the year.

Some people swear by diatomaceous earth for all sorts of parasites but not sure how effective it is.

I realised as soon as I sent eggs that it should be larvae.
You are correct that milbemax treats the infection, but you need to be using it daily not monthly. Advocate is not recommended for treatment. Panacur is the other option for treatment.
The aim of the prevention is to kill the larvae before they migrate to the lungs and become adult worms causing lung damage and possible clotting disorders.
All the recommendations of lungworm control are around prevention rather than treatment of clinical disease.
Once you have had one dog die on your table coughing up blood due to lungworm you never want that to happen to another client.

Of course no one wants their dog to die of lungworm no one is suggesting that!

By using regular wormcount your dog is as safe as using monthly chemical treatment as that will only take effect if larvae are present.

Wormcount will tell you when larvae are present so you could use chemical reatment at that stage rather than just in case.

Hi Flippetydip, I'd usually say drontal is a safe bet when it comes to worming tablets, however prazitel is also a good choice- I'd recommend looking into both. As for purchasing I usually use petshop.co.uk- unlike some other websites I've used, this one actually asks you to input details of your pet so they can check you have the right dosage for your dog's weight. Hope this helps!