Flea/worm Preventative Treatments

[Teal]

Hi,

I am sure this topic has been done to deathe however I can't find anything that really answers my question specifically.

I have two boxers, one 18 month old male and one 8 month old girl.

I currently use revolution spot-on treatment once a month and canex oral wormer once every three months, I don't really have any complaints (ie. never had flea or worm problems so they seem to be working) however it is quite expensive, and I'm not sure if it is the best thing to be using.

One thing I have read is that the spot on treatments become less effective if your dog swims often, and I take my dogs to the beach at least once a week, where my boy LOVES to swim and my little girl while she doesn't swim as much will still end up drenched...so that is something to take into account. I don't have any trouble getting them to swallow tablets or anything either.

I want to obviously cover as much as possible - heartworm, fleas, intestinal worms etc

I have done a bit of research and have come up with the following options:

*Continue with what I am using (Revolution + canex) this seems to cover everything BUT is very expensive to get both these products for two dogs, also there is the swimming issue with the spot on

* use Sentinel spectrum chews - these are much cheaper as I am only buying one product it works out to be almost half the price. With these I also don't have the swimming issue. From my understanding these cover heartworm, all intestinal worms and will sterilise fleas. I understand this is not as an effective flea treatment as a spot on as it doesn't kill fleas only sterilises....I thought in this instance i could use a flea only treatment in addition should I ever get a flea problem?

*use advocate plus an extra tapeworm only treatment (as advocate covers heartworm, fleas, intestinal worms but not tapeworm)...this is similar in price to the revolution + canex, still has the swimming issue but I have read it is a better quality product than revolution.

I am leaning towards the sentinal spectrum as it is so much cheaper....is this a good product, and is it ok to give an extra tratment fo fleas to kill rather than just sterilise (as is included in the sentinel product) only if they should occur?

Any advice would be great - there are so many products out there, all of which cover different things it is quite overwhelming! I know different things work better for different dogs however figuring that out would be a massive case of trial an error, and the dogs may or may not ever be exposed to certain things so I am not sure how exactly I am supposed to figure out what works the best for them!! Thansk in advance

[BMAK]

I use revolution for my 2x dogs and it works really well for them and the environment never had a problem with it.

Every 3 months i do intestinal worming tablets.

Money isn't much of an issue there for me because i dont have fleas that often so i dont need to buy a lot.

i dont like using to many chemicals on my pets, so i only use the flea treatment when needed but still do the heart worm tablets when not on revolution and continue with worming.

Comfortus i think it is called is a flea oral tablet that works really well for dogs, but it is pricey $$(not really what you want, i know but!).

it has shown to be a reputable brand fairly new to the market and should last the recommended time to last so you should have to administer any more then the recommended amount unlike some of the other brands that dont last.

if your interested and them keep on doing oral worming tablets for every 3 months.

sorry i cant help with the other brands as i havent used them, but nothing else has worked for me except revolution but it has to work for your dogs and your wallet good luck.

[cavNrott]

I've used Sentinel Spectrum for years and the dogs have never had fleas or worms. It's a great product that takes care of everything.

If by chance your dog did pick up a few fleas you could give a Capstar tablet. This kills the fleas within 20 minutes. I had a rescue dog come here that was covered in fleas, I gave her a Capstar tablet right away and had her lie down on a white sheet. I was amazed at the number of dead and dying fleas that dropped off her. She was put on Sentinel the same day and we had no further problems.

[noisymina]

I don't use flea treatment at all. My dog does not have fleas.

If the cat has a flea or two (she seems to get them first), as has occasionally happened, I get a flea collar for each of them.

The collar can be removed any time eg for swimmimg. Big saving.

On the other hand, I do the Drontal all-wormers and the chewable heart worm too, which is a bit more expensive.

[Poodle wrangler]

My vote is for Sentinel Spectrum, too.

You're not in an area with paralysis tick?

Tick collars are much cheaper than Advantix/ Frontline etc. if you need it.

Capstar for flea knockdown is also in supermarkets e.g. Woolies, should you ever need some.

[karly101]

Revolution is a very good product (safetywise, effectiveness) and what you are doing now does cover everything and if given after going to the beach you should have no issues.

BUT.. if cost is an issue (do check price online as well and make sure you are buying the 6 pack which is cheaper) ... Sentinel Spectrum is very good and much better priced for multiple dogs. The cons is that it doesn't cover everything (mites/lice/and only sterilizes fleas).. and we've had a couple people complain that their dogs vomit after it. If fleas are BAD in your area (where I work they are terrible and Sentinel isn't often enough) then you would need to couple it with Capster or Comfortis/Frontline/Advantage.....

It's up to you how wide a coverage you want...