Best/cheapest Way For Worming?

[nazzri]

Hi guys,

I am wondering whats the best way to have your dog protected from worms/fleas?

My breeder told me to use advocate monthly and it prevents fleas aswell. Just trying to see if there are any cheaper alternatives. I bought a 6 pack of advocate for $105.

[Scottsmum]

I worm with a quarterly worming tablet.

Usually with something like this:

http://www.petdirect.com.au/worming/1288-paratak-plus-allwormer-bulk-pack-10-tabs.html

(aka: Anything with Praziquantel in it)

My flea routine is to bomb the house when ever we all go away for the weekend and to wash all bedding in very hot water with lavender in it every 2-4 weeks but on the actual dog - I only flea when I need to. Then I just buy what ever is cheap / on sale / is recommended at the time - you'll find sales people or the vet / nurse will often say "oh we're finding X isn't working as well as Y this year" and I usually take that advice. At the moment I have a packet of Advantix as my vet recommended it and we were going to a tick area - so I needed tick coverage.

That said, I'm spoiled. With one small dog I just buy individual tablets or small packs as required. The packet of wormer above would last me about 25 years with my current dog....

Edited November 18, 2015 by Scottsmum

[JulesP]

What is really annoying is having dogs in different weight ranges so you have to either buy 2 lots. And only just in different ranges too.

[DeltaCharlie]

We have 13 dogs, so cheap ways are definitely a priority here :)

Tip #1 Combine as many products as you can. If ticks are not an issue where you live, advocate is your best bet. It does fleas, worms and heartworm. So does Sentinel, but it wont kill adult fleas. If fleas are not a problem, Interceptor or milbemax is a better option. Its cheaper as it only does worms and heartworm. If ticks are a problem where you live you can either use a scalibor collar + advocate, or use something like bravecto (fleas and ticks) + interceptor/milbemax.

Tip #2 There is no need to treat monthly, even for heartworm. Heartworm is not dangerous until it reaches maturity, which takes a minimum of 6 months. It can also be killed at any point during that 6 months. Many people only treat their dogs for heartworm every 3 months (giving you 2 opportunities each 6months to eradicate the buggers). Many will also only treat during the summer months, from first mosquito sighting until about a month after they disappear (heartworm is transmitted via mosquito). We treat all year round, the first day of each new season to help us remember.

Tip #3 Buy online. Budget pet products always seem to have good deals and often free shipping, but do a bit of searching there are plenty of online sites around to compare the prices.

[DeltaCharlie]

What is really annoying is having dogs in different weight ranges so you have to either buy 2 lots. And only just in different ranges too.

Yep! We have 3 different weight ranges here. The terriers are 2.5kg and 4.5kg, the pyrenean shepherd is about 8kg and the border collies range from 11kg-17kg. Although we use scalibor collars on 2 of the BCs and just cable tie the cutoff bits onto the terriers LOL The others are all on bravecto.

[Salukifan]

What is really annoying is having dogs in different weight ranges so you have to either buy 2 lots. And only just in different ranges too.

You can always split tablets if that's what you use. I just buy in two weight ranges.

[denali]

I split tablets for my dogs, and split a spot on for my cats :)

But all are in the same weight range, so a 1/4 tablet works easily.

[sheena]

I use Nexgard monthly tablet for ticks & fleas & I split the tablet.

[Salukifan]

Where do you live?

I don't treat for parasites that we don't have issues with. No ticks here and rarely get fleas.

So I do regular heartworm and intestinal worming but don't treat for fleas unless a dog has them.

Agree with order online - way cheaper than buying at vet or pet store.

[Chequeredblackdog]

Another tip is ask if your local store will price match online. Some of them will.

[indigirl]

I use panacur. It's used off label for worming here, it's sold as sheep drench. Overseas they use panacur for worming

Way more economical. I have 12 dogs.. Panacur 100 costs me $170 for a litre which last me 2 years or more, worning every 3 months. Panacur also treats Giardia.

Reacue ppl and greyhound ppl use panacur. That's how I found out about it.

Edited November 18, 2015 by indigirl

[saylecrest]

Look up the website for DENZ- diatamosis earth- all natural fossil shell flour- great for worming and can be used on coats for fleas-

[Willem]

....Tip #2 There is no need to treat monthly, even for heartworm. Heartworm is not dangerous until it reaches maturity, which takes a minimum of 6 months. It can also be killed at any point during that 6 months. Many people only treat their dogs for heartworm every 3 months (giving you 2 opportunities each 6months to eradicate the buggers). Many will also only treat during the summer months, from first mosquito sighting until about a month after they disappear (heartworm is transmitted via mosquito). We treat all year round, the first day of each new season to help us remember....

...this strategy is not 100% safe, e.g. there might be a 5% likelihood that the dog will suffer from an adult heartworm depending on the drug used, more info here on Wikipedia, see Prevention.

Edited November 18, 2015 by Willem

[denali]

....Tip #2 There is no need to treat monthly, even for heartworm. Heartworm is not dangerous until it reaches maturity, which takes a minimum of 6 months. It can also be killed at any point during that 6 months. Many people only treat their dogs for heartworm every 3 months (giving you 2 opportunities each 6months to eradicate the buggers). Many will also only treat during the summer months, from first mosquito sighting until about a month after they disappear (heartworm is transmitted via mosquito). We treat all year round, the first day of each new season to help us remember....

...this strategy is not 100% safe, e.g. there might be a 5% likelihood that the dog will suffer from an adult heartworm depending on the drug used, more info here on Wikipedia, see Prevention.

If its heart guard you are using then its safe to give at any point of the worm lifecycle.

So that 5% wouldn't matter.

Other drugs may.

[nazzri]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

How can i find out whats in my area? I live in Cherrybrook, (Hills District) and don't really know much about what is in the area, i live next to the bush. Does that mean there could be ticks? or no correlation there?

From what ive gathered, tape worms come from fleas and as advocate kills fleas, thats why it doesnt cover tapeworm.

So do you guys think advocate is my best bet?

Thanks !

[Mjosa]

One of my son's lived in Cherrybrook when he first went to live in Sydney, their beautiful short haired Persian boy got a tick and sadly died.

Coming from SA they were not aware of ticks and the sad consequences of paralysis tick.

[Aziah]

Daily heartworm tablets and purchase 1000 tablets for around $65 (3-9kg 1/2 tab, 10-18kg 1/2 tab and 19-36kg 1 tab)

3 monthly worming usually with Popantel, Drontal or Canex

We don't have a flea or tick problem here however if travelling into a tick area we use collars and/or dip in the Fido's Fre Itch Concentrate which is brilliant for fleas AND ticks (and if were better named I feel sure it would be more widely used)!

[Scottsmum]

Daily heartworm tablets and purchase 1000 tablets for around $65 (3-9kg 1/2 tab, 10-18kg 1/2 tab and 19-36kg 1 tab)

3 monthly worming usually with Popantel, Drontal or Canex

We don't have a flea or tick problem here however if travelling into a tick area we use collars and/or dip in the Fido's Fre Itch Concentrate which is brilliant for fleas AND ticks (and if were better named I feel sure it would be more widely used)!

God - how do you do daily. I can hardly remember to brush my teeth every day - let alone HW the dog.

[Aziah]

Daily heartworm tablets and purchase 1000 tablets for around $65 (3-9kg 1/2 tab, 10-18kg 1/2 tab and 19-36kg 1 tab)

3 monthly worming usually with Popantel, Drontal or Canex

We don't have a flea or tick problem here however if travelling into a tick area we use collars and/or dip in the Fido's Fre Itch Concentrate which is brilliant for fleas AND ticks (and if were better named I feel sure it would be more widely used)!

God - how do you do daily. I can hardly remember to brush my teeth every day - let alone HW the dog.

The heartworm tablets are next to the food bowls so there's never any real way to forget :)

[sandgrubber]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

How can i find out whats in my area? I live in Cherrybrook, (Hills District) and don't really know much about what is in the area, i live next to the bush. Does that mean there could be ticks? or no correlation there?

From what ive gathered, tape worms come from fleas and as advocate kills fleas, thats why it doesnt cover tapeworm.

So do you guys think advocate is my best bet?

Thanks !

I didn't know that was the cause of tape worms so I just did some googling. Apparently it's caused by swallowing an infected flea, which means your dog could do that while they're out and about and don't have to have fleas themselves, and the Advocate won't stop that from happening. I'm not sure what the likelihood is of that though so am contemplating stopping the all wormer unless there's some kind of indication that my dog has worms, as I'd rather not give him stuff like that unnecessarily

There are no simple recipes . . . what's best/cheapest depends on your area, what's around, and how your dog responds to various parasite treatments. Bottom line is make sure to control/avoid heartworm and/or paralysis ticks if they're in your area, cause they can kill your dog. Everything else, watch and adjust treatments to take care of problems as they occur.

A lot of people just do a general wormer every quarter. I can't see giving it monthly, as in HeartGuard Plus. Worms are gross and you don't want your dog to build up a large burden of worms. But a few worms are no big deal.

Note general wormers often don't work for tapeworm. It requires a different, and more expensive, chemical (fenbendaxole). But tapeworm, isn't all that common, and you'll notice white rice-grain like things in your dog's poop if they have it. Usually people don't treat for tapeworm until they see evidence it's there.

I find the best way to check for fleas is to get a flea comb and run it through the dog's coat. Flea treatments can be tricky. All flea treatments are essentially poisons that are not supposed to affect dogs. But some of them affect some dogs . . .eg., cause seizures. In some places fleas have become resistant to some flea meds, eg., Frontline.

Heartworm: If your dog is ok with Ivermectin (many herding dogs are not . . . there's a genetic test available if you're in doubt), the 1% livestock formulations are dirt cheap. You can find dosage recommendations all over the internet; some of them recommend higher dosages than others. The stuff is so cheap that I can see no point of going to 6 mo. applications. I give my girls an egg with Ivermectin injected into the yolk once a month. One $40 bottle has is going on two years for three Labradors. The only trick is measurement . . . the required doses are generally a fraction of a ml (eg, small insulin syringe). It's very easy to use too much.

Ticks are deadly if you're in a paralysis tick area, otherwise just obnoxious. If you do live in a paralysis tick area you should read up on the problem and keep your dog medicated (I don't, and have forgotten which treatments are recommended). Otherwise . . . use tick preventatives if you find a lot of ticks.

I live in an area that is awful for both fleas and ticks, and have dogs that don't tolerate some flea meds. I find Bravecto works great for both. It isn't cheap, but it works where other meds have failed, and giving one tablet every three months is convenient.