Fleaing/worming etc

[Mydogsnotfat]

Hello,

Interested in other opinions really. I have 2 dogs and had another previously. All wormed regularly as puppies. As adult dogs I do faecal testing and worm as appropriate (so far no worming needed)but do worm periodically for lungworm. I don't ever flea them unless there are signs of fleas but so far never and eldest dog is coming 7. We also have 3 cats in the house who do not have fleas. Why the current seeming to me obsession with continual worming and fleaing for a problem that does not exsit? Surely it can't be good for the animals to ingest or have topically chemical they don't need. Does anyone else work like this or am I a strange or bad dog owner who should change their ways? BTW all up to date on jabs etc but on no kind of package from the vets which is where I think the trend may have arisen. I'd appreciate others views though.

Can I clarify that I will treat for worms if my dog has them hence wormcounting all my dogs regularly. There is no health risk to the dog or to other people as I am know my dogs do not have worms.

I will treat for fleas if I see any evidence of fleas as my dogs are groomed daily this will not be an infestation of fleas. Flea treament does not prevent fleas it prevents the fleas breeding As fleas have to be on your dog to be killed by the treatment daily checking is the same.

An infestation of fleas in a week after stopping flea treatment would make me question the effectiveness of the treatment tbh as the flea treatment only kills adult fleas and not the larvae or eggs. A flea life cycle is longer than a week which means your dog had fleas despite treatment .....

Worm count is sending a small poo sample of to a lab to be checked for parasites. Packaging and equipment is sent to you and very easy to do. Within 24 hours the results are emailed to you 48 hours later for results for lungworm.

You are also informed of the actual worm type eg type of tapeworm and so can use accurate targetted wormers if needed.

wormcount

Totally agree with @PollyRoulllson. All my animals go out and are looked over, brushed etc. I've had cats for coming up 30 years in my own home so a whole succession of them and rarely fleas. The odd one or evidence of flea dirt and they are treated but never an infestation of any kind. Dogs are much more recent in my life but again in 6 years we have seen a couple of fleas and dealt accordingly.

@Chuechebache

I worm/flea treat not every month.I dont think,there is a need.But if I go to a particular "tick area" like Devon and Somerset,I def Advocate them before.

Advocate does not treat for ticks only fleas, round and lungworm. Lots of the evidence is against the spot on products as these get washed into the environment and that we should be moving to the oral products, I definitely practice risk based medicine discussing with clients the lifestyle their cat or dog leads and what would suit that lifestyle.

I only use flea/tick drops if he’s going to my dog sitter, never regular.
And I worm twice a year, just in case.

I definitely practice risk based medicine discussing with clients the lifestyle their cat or dog leads and what would suit that lifestyle.

We used to treat BiteyDog for roundworm but the side effects didn't warrant the potential benefits and our vet agreed so we don't do the 'full recommend treatment.

I also moved away from spot ons as my dog absolutely hated the smell and wouldn't settle for days and I didn't blame him as they stink.

Ours has tablets regularly , he sleeps on the beds so I’m not prepared to risk fleas and our area appears to have a high lungworm rate - as in I know 3 dogs who live within a 5 minute walk of my house that have had it . We moved away from Spot ons because the dog really didn’t like them and he can’t wear a seresto collar because he can’t wear collars .