Help-crazy prices

[FamBae]

I have just realised that we are spending £2375 per year on flea treatment (Nexgard) for our three dogs. My vets £25.50 prescription charge makes ordering online no cheaper unfortunately. Can anyone recommend an over the counter flea / tic treatment and a worm treatment that includes lungworm please; I will ask my vet about Bravecto as it lasts 12 weeks instead of 4 and makes it much more cost effective; just to add one of my dogs has a bad reaction with the drops so the chews would go down better, currently looking at Nutripaws. We can't resist a rescue hence the three.
Many thanks 💜

I cant recommend anything that's over the counter as in my experience nothing works.

I do think you are paying a heck of a lot and can get that right down without resorting to over the counter though.

Do your vets do a monthly plan? I pay something like £17 a month and that covers all her flea and worming treatments, vaccinations, (only 25% off kennel cough vaccine) 2 health checks, a percentage off treatments, nail trimming and a whole host of other things that I can't remember off the top of my head.

This year my dog will be having the 'new' Bravecto injection which will cover her for the whole year, but I have no idea how much it will cost, but it's covered in her monthly plan.

My last dog I paid the prescription charge but was prescribed for the whole year (4 x treatments) and then I purchased Bravecto and wormer from Viovet which made covering my dog a whole lot cheaper. She was also allergic to pretty much everything and couldn't have any topical treatments so we had to go orally or injection only.

If you can't get a prescription for a year's treatment have a shop around.Jollyes have community vet clinics that are extremely cheap. Animal Trust vets are a non profit (I think, so don't quote me) they dont charge for consultations, they are incredibly cheap too.

£20 ish a month per dog? Not unreasonable.

That's £65 per dog per month. Is that right? You've referred to £25.50. Flea treatments are usually around £20 per month. Where has the £2375 figure come from?

The vets charge £25.50 just to write out a prescription. That's not the cost of the treatment which is extra again

I've never once flea treated any of my animals and we've never seen a single flea.

We use Panacur for worming from Amazon.

Soresto collars? About £50 to buy but apparently last a while?
I don't use one, but my DDog was wearing one when he came to me

I have way more dogs than you and I spend less than that! I use Bravecto and Milbemax every 3 months. It’s about £500 a time but every 4th treatment is free. For 3 dogs from my vet that would be around £180 every 3 months so £20 per month per dog?

There’s concern of overuse of some treatments which are rendering them ineffective and you should only use flea treatment if your dog has fleas.

I don’t routinely use treatment on my 3 and use treats with fur as a de-wormer.
No dog I’ve owned has ever had fleas or worms. Lungworm I used to treat my young lab for as he loved to gift me a slug, but I stopped the treatment when he stopped that behaviour.

I only treat my dog if he has fleas. Hes a rescue so I treated when I got him in case, but not since (4years)I regularly brush him to check. Our dog previous to him had them once in 11 years, so I treated him then.
Form worms can do a worm count. Or I usually treat once a year for worms.

Recent article in the guardian makes interesting reading
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jan/29/vets-urged-to-cut-back-on-flea-treatments-amid-uk-biodiversity-fears?CMP=sharebtnnurl&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2D8V7qIfKijtEDvVSSQ58IZ2BSliWLBEH-ywrOqmY-5M-p1TAg961C54caemm6tYZTpl8rQadVPjquc0RrQ

Wormcount every 3 months =£297.00 per year for 3 dogs

Regular grooming to check for fleas and only treat if necessary. I have never ever had fleas on my dogs.

If you live in a tick area check for ticks daily and remove with tick remover.

Save money save the environment and have healthy dogs win win

You've been very lucky. We used to know if we'd forgotten to do the monthly flea treatment in the spring or summer because within a few days DD would get bitten. And then DH. And then one of the dogs would go into manic scratching mode....

OP, you need to find a vet who has a plan that covers vaccinations and flea/worm. We pay about £20 pm for two dogs for flea/worm and basic vaccinations.

They also end up in the water supply and kill insects other than fleas, including bees 🐝
I wish more pet owners knew this.

@EdithStourton I think it's very area dependent tbh. My dog is out with other dogs all day and the cats go out to roam and we've never had any issues.

There's lots of research about the harm of over treating which is quite interesting.

Eh what vet are you with, we pay £17 a month, that includes all flea and worming treatments, 2 health checks a year and nails and teeth done

I don't flea treat my dog , never needed to .
But you can ask your vet to write a prescription for 6 months worth ( probably per animal ) and that would only cost you £23 whatever for 1 script charge .
Vet doesn't need to be writing a prescription every month .
I get 6 month medication from one note , not flea treatment but can't see how it's different tbh.

Yep, the over-treating stuff bothers me TBH.

We've lived in two locations and had fleas on pets in both. I'm also concerned about ticks - not that many here, but they are around and the carry Lyme which nobody wants.

We had a dog when I was a kid and she very rarely had any fleas or ticks on her, so perhaps it's partly the animal, too.

Sorry, OP - off-topic!

Billy No Mates is really effective and is a natural herbal treatment.
It might not be enough if you live rurally. You could use Biospotix as well if needed which again is a natural product.
Nobody wants fleas or their dog to have worms but routine treatment with chemicals is doing far more harm than good imo.
As has been mentioned, wormcount is a good way to monitor for worms and and if you are really worried treat once a year or so.

That's crazy money!

I have a pet care plan with my vet. It's £18 a month to cover all flea, worming, tick, two health checks, annual vaccinations and nails per year.

Can you sign up for something like that, OP? You'll see several PPs also have the same in place.

Prescription flea and wormer does not cost anywhere near that amount. As others have suggested, many vets do plans which are less than £20 per month per dog and include a variety of other benefits too. Check around your local area and I’m sure you will find something suitable for your budget 😊

Do you need to treat them all year around? I also use Nexgard for our dogs, no idea how much it costs/year, but we only use them in the hot season.

Thank you for all of your replies, and I will check out some of your suggestions.
Sorry maybe I didn't make the figures clear.
I was charged £65.96 for just one Nexgard treatment for one dog from my vet which has to be topped up every month.
I've just checked out VioVet again and I can get a three month supply for pretty much the same price £63.00 (Yaaay!); I didn't notice that it was for three tablets last night as it was late and I was tired. My vet charges £25.50 for a prescription, I'll have a chat with them and see if they will give me a prescription for three months which will reduce the cost to £29.50 per dog per month. I'll also check with the vets about a yearly plan but I suspect DinoLil is getting a great bargain, I'll let you know how I get on.
We are very rural, lots of rabbits, badgers, deer, livestock and the odd rat about so prefer to be safe.
Thanks again for all of your advice 💐💜

Worm count is safe. Safer than unnecessary worming treatments.

Worming does not stop a dog getting worms. Wormers are not preventatives.

Wormers are ingested by you dog and do absolutely nothing if your dog does not have worms (which will be most of the time). They will literally be pooing out £30.00 of your money each month for nothing.

IF your dog does have worms they kill the worms. Which will not be ever month at all. The life cycle of most worms is 2 - 3 months even if they do have worms - I have had many dogs working on the farm that have lived until they are 16 and never ever had worms in their whole life. You would have spent over £17000.00 on wormers

Just check via wormcount if they do have worms and then give the specific wormer needed to kill off the relevant worm.

Using monthly wormers is just unnecessary, unhealthy to your dogs and wrecking the environment.

£90 per month for unnecessary treatments is madness

Just a quick update, I've checked out my vets and as various pp's suggested they do do a monthly plan, I had never heard of this and they had never mentioned it despite them knowing I had three dogs. Thank you so much everyone for all your help, advice and suggestions, I shall be getting the Mutts signed up pronto 🐶💜

People who have never flea treated have never dealt with an infestation or a poorly animal due to an infected tick bite.

Seresto collars are £35 each, last 7 - 8 months and are highly effective and as safe as anything else. Not a good option if you have a swimmer though.

Worming you can do every 3 - 6 months. That's actually what my vet recommends.