Flea and worm treatment

[rbe78]

Hi all - looking for advice re. flea and worm treatment, as there is a lot of conflicting info out there.

We recently adopted a 5 year old lurcher - she was given flea and worm treatment when she came into the rescue, but we now need to decide what we're going to do long term.

I've heard that monthly worming treatments can be harsh, and often uneccessary. If you go monthly, what types/brands do you use? If you don't, do you use natural wormers (e.g. furry rabbit ears) or screen their poo for worms? Do you do this yourself, or is there a service that does it for you?

Does everyone treat for fleas monthly? Do you use something that goes on the skin, or something that is ingested?

Hit me with your routines! TIA

You need to know what the biggest concerns are in your local area, your vet is the best source of information.
For example where I am

1. ticks - we know 1/3 of them carry Lyme disease so rapid kill is essential
2. Lungworm silent killer
3. Fleas - not nice in your home
4. Roundworms - though if you have kids it's number two,
5. Tapeworm though if you raw feed it will be two or three depending on whether you have kids or not.

Then we tailor the product to our local risk profile and then your dogs lifestyle.

I use Bravecto.. big chewy tablet. I don't like it as it sometimes upsets my girl's stomach but it's 3 monthly. I wouldn't treat more often than that unless I saw a reason to (worms in poo or fleas/ticks)

I also give rabbits ears as a treat now and again.

We spend a lot of time in the woods and I hate ticks (once woke up with one embedded in my torso which was fun to remove and left me with the bullseye rash!) so that is a priority for me!

We use Bravecto too. Mainly because the other tick treatments the vet sold stopped being effective.
I did use to flea monthly as we also have cats and he goes to daycare so lots of opportunity to pick up fleas.

I also worm 3 monthly.

I worm about 3 monthly, and I don’t treat for fleas or ticks as she doesn’t get them. If she got them I would.
I believe there are natural preventatives, like garlic for fleas, that you might want to explore .

I use Bravecto every 12 weeks and also milbemax monthly for lungworm as we are in a risk area and I know a couple of dogs that have had it . We used to use Advocate monthly but the spot on didn’t seem to agree with my dogs coat type . I know all the stuff about natural things and combing for fleas but my dog is all over the house / beds and I’m not prepared to risk it . He is nearly 11 and I’ve never seen any fleas or worms ( or had a tick actually) .

I use nexgard spectra which is a monthly tablet for worms, fleas and ticks.

I wormcount so send off poo samples so do not worm unless my dogs need it.

Ticks are mega here so I do use tick treatment . I choose not to use digestable medication ever, due to environmental impact and overuse impact.

@PollyRoulson What service do you use for worm counting? And do they then reccommend a medication if needed?

What tick treatment do you use? I'm guessing it's a topical one - does it affect your dog's skin/coat?

I use wormcount An amazing service. You prepay and they send really easy packaging and explanation on how to do it. Within 24 hour you have a result emailed to you and 48 hours for lungworm.

IF and a big if your dog has worms they tell you the type so you can use specific medication. They do not sell the medication but you can then get this from vet they will advise if you want them to. They are incredible approachable and will discuss worms for hours on end

I have multiple dogs and have worm counted for over 20 years. In all of that time I have only ever had one dog that had worms once.

I use the seresto collar on most of my dogs as this in the most effective in our area but there are other options.

@PollyRoulson

I wormcount so send off poo samples so do not worm unless my dogs need it.

Ticks are mega here so I do use tick treatment . I choose not to use digestable medication ever, due to environmental impact and overuse impact.

There are actual far bigger environmental concerns from spot ons than digestibles. Many vets are moving away from spot ins due their high incidence in water courses.

Bigger concerns with the dogs from digestibles though and spots on can be used for a shorter period of time than digestibles as I do not need all the cover that comes from digestibles so over all less impact.

@PollyRoulson Fab, thank you! Interesting to hear how infrequently you've encountered worms - I'd rather not be giving a harsh medicine regularly if it's not necessary. I'll check out wormcount.

@PollyRoulson Sorry, one more question! How often do you wormcount?

It is recommended to wormcount every 3 months BUT depending on your area and the risk you may want to wormcount more than that.

I have never needed to.

I'd rather not be giving a harsh medicine regularly if it's not necessary.
Exactly. If the worm count comes back positive then I’d definitely be straight up the vets but otherwise natural prevention has so many more pros than the cons of chemical treatments.

There’s a good article about it here: brownsnaturalpetstore.co.uk/browns-blogs/pharmaceutical-vs-herbal-flea-and-worming-treatments/

I would recommend Billy No Mates to prevent fleas, ticks and mites. And VermX to prevent worms. The VermX crunchies are good (my dog eats them like treats) but the Billy I use is a liquid that I put in his food.