Tick, flea, worm treatments?

[Elouera]

At the early stages of considering a dog and looking at all options/costs. I assumed tick/flea and worm treatment was a monthly thing, forever, whereas friend said they don't use any unless affected! What do you do and what is recommended?

We pay a pet plan thing which is £11.50 a month and that includes all flea and worming treatment and yearly vaccinations - nice and easy!

Mine is included in my vets plan at £15 a month which also includes vaccinations and discounts for other things.

I would say it depends on the dog. We like short haired type lurchers and have never had a flea problem. Our current lurcher had a tick recently so got tablets to last the tick season. Our last lurcher had 1 tick in 16 years. Hairier dogs probably are more prone to fleas and it probably also depends who they play with. I would say if your dog seems to attract parasites then treat them year round but if not why give them drugs they don't need? Obviously some dogs need them but I do wonder if somebody is making an awful lot of money out of this.

PS my son had nits once as a child and a tick as an adult but it's never occurred to him or us to dose him up every month just in case!

My dog has a Seresto collar, that protects against fleas and ticks. It lasts the eight months when ticks are most active. As I don't have cats, fleas have never been a problem. He has Milpro worming tablets three times a year - May, August and November - which cover all worms including lungworms.

We treat ours as directed by the vet , and he is on a monthly plan that covers it . Dog is 11 , always offlead etc and we’ve never seen a flea or had any indication that he has a worm problem . Our dog is all over the house , on beds etc so I’m not prepared to risk it . We also treat monthly for lungworm ( tablets ) as I know of a couple of dogs locally that have had it .

@Spanielsarepainless , milpro needs to be given monthly if you want it to cover lungworm apparently .

See too many flea infestations at work to risk it with my own dogs they get flea,tick, round and lung worm treatment monthly as a tablet.

There isn't a tick season any more we see them year round in the south of England now.

My vet advised that monthly treatment for lungworm was overdoing it. Twice or three times in the active season is adequate, according to them. I am guided by their advice, checked the online lungworm incidence live reporting and concluded the advice was sound. Your vet might give different advice depending on your location.

Worm mine about 3 times a year
Never flea as she never gets fleas (long legs, short coat)
Use a Seresto collar or similar if going anywhere tick invested
A lot of folk I know go down the pay so much a month at the vets scheme

Monthly tick, flea, worm tablet (includes prevention against heart worm, lungworm which can be deadly and round worm which can cause Toxocariasis which can cause blindness in humans) plus a 6-monthly tablet for tapeworm.

Those not properly worming their animals are cheap and selfish.

@Whattodo121

We pay a pet plan thing which is £11.50 a month and that includes all flea and worming treatment and yearly vaccinations - nice and easy!

Totally agree. Easy, cost-effective and doing the right thing for your pet and for others.

I always think that those folk who don't pick up after their dog are probably those that don't worm their animal properly and therefore more likely to cause
Toxocariasis which can cause blindness in humans (and let's face it...kids...because it's kids that play on the ground and in parks and fall over and forget to wash their hands).

I Worm count and check for fleas regulary.

I then treat worms if they have them ( one dog in 16 years) with specific wormer for the worm they have.

I would treat fleas if I find any - never have in all years of owning dogs.

The only issue I have with the monthly treatments is the mega environmentall impact and the resistance to the drugs that is created. Monthly treatment is just not necessary for all dogs. It is way over medicating. However by wormcounting your dog is still protected and you treat when/if needed.

@PollyRoulson- What is worm counting? Do you count worms in their poo, and when there is a certain amount, you give treatment?

Thanks everyone. As a child, living abroad, we had to give treatment monthly for heart worm and fleas, so I assumed it would be the same in the UK. Interesting and varied replies. I would obviously speak to the vet about what is recommended in our area, but wanted an idea of what people do/dont do in general.

wormcount Really easy to do send a very small poo sample (in packaging that is sent to you) post to wormcount and they email you result in less than 24 hrs.

If treatment is needed they will tell you the exact worm that is present. Due to life cycle of the worms it is as safe as worming treatment. Worming treatment does not prevent worms just treats worms if they are present.

@PollyRoulson- thanks for the link and info. How often do you send off a sample? Seems to cost alot more than a worming tablet.

I dont do it to save money. I dont want to give medication if not required.

I wormcount every 3 months which fits in with the life cycle of the worms hence no major infestation will happen in that time.

It is no more expensive than medication though