Has anyone heard anything about this? In my quest to find the best protection for my dogs' health when we eventually move our summer times to Spain, I'm finding out about nasties that I'd never taken into account before. This is the current version of my "plan": Milbemax for intestinal worms and heartworm Bravecto for ticks and fleas Then there's the issue of sand flies, which are observed throughout Catalonia. Although they are not likely to be on the property we're hoping to purchase, due to the lack of water there, the likelihood is that we will be exposed to them over the course of the summer. I've considered the Scalibor collars. but I'm not keen on my dogs permanently wearing collars of any type, and have read anecdotal stories of dogs still being bitten by sand flies whilst wearing the collars. The scariest thing that the present phlebotomine sand flies transmit appears to be Leishmaniosis/Leishmaniasis, which can be fatal. According to this article, As far as treatment goes, Now, a study was done in 2008 to examine the efficacy of the Scalibor collar (linked here), which found: That tends to counter the concerns I have from the anecdotes I've read, which could be explained by ill-fitted collars, exhausted collars etc. I'm still uneasy having collars on my dogs all the time, and have seen first-hand a lack of efficacy with other biting insects, including ticks, so it would have to be used in conjunction with the Bravecto tablets (which, according to this study, is safe to do). But, although apparently safe, again I am left feeling uneasy about over-medicating. Then, I came across some information about a vaccine for Leighmaniosis, which sounds as if it could be promising: http://www.vetclick.com/news/canile...ne-leishmaniosis-launched-in-the-uk-p2165.php This doesn't seem to tie in well with the information in my first quote So, I'm going to talk to my vet about the vaccine, if he knows about it (he may not, since it's not a problem here in Andorra), but I was wondering if any of you other knowledgable people had anything to share?
Just wondering if @Nade may know about this as she has mentioned Lehmaniasis on another post. And she is a vet student of some description (sorry if I don't know whether this is vet med or vet nurse)
I didnt get any alert that you tagged me guys... @drjs@5 I am a vet med or DVM doctor of veterinary medicine. In my country there is no school for vet nurse. Yes, I have seen Leishmaniosis at the clinic. It can present itself like visceral or cutaneus. In the visceral type there are no specific chances that can lead you to direct diagnosis but clinical searching can show changing in the blood panel and biochemistry, the dog will be lethargic, will vomit or maybe have diarrhea. On US(ultrasound) will show chances in the spleen and possibly kidneys and liver. There are fast tests for this to confirm the diagnosis. And this type is harder to cure. The other type, can be easier recognized because aa vet that has treated leismaniosis has seen the typical chances on the skin. Again diagnosis should be confirmed by fast tests or maybe getting the titar of antibodies. This type is not that aggressive and its easier to manage. Bottom part is that, its not always fatal but the parasite can not be totally killed because he knows how to hide in the blood cells. You can get the dog to be ,,healthy,, or not to show any signs,but he becomes a possible carrier of the disease. And it usually requires long life treatment. Mind that Leismanisis is a zoonosis. That means people can get it as well. But dont worry, if your dog has it, its not that simple for you to get it. Because a mosquito can be already infected by another dog. All in all not a nice parasite. Nowadays Virbac I think it was, has made a medicine and from what I have heard it successfully treats Leismaniosis. Its called Milteforan (its linked, but I could not find from the official page so its from amazon) I recently heard that virbac also made a vaccine for this parasite, but I dont really know if its effective. Because they have offered it for L. infantum, and there are more Leismanias( L. donovani ect). So what your vet must know is which Leismania is in that region. Because if you vaccinate for L.infantum and lets say L. donovani is common in that part, you havent really protected the dog.... so I am a bit unsure.... http://www.my-virbac.co.uk/file.aspx?id=317
Hmm, our vet says they've stopped using the vaccine because of too many side effects, including death in young dogs! I'm going to see him tomorrow so he can explain in more detail.
I dont know, we dont have it officially in Macedonia. But if this is true, please do ask your vet for any referral about this, I would love to read it.
Sadly, I couldn't get to see the vet myself because of work, so my husband went down instead. He only saw the vet nurse rather than the vet. She gave him Frontline Tri-Act (fipronil and permethrin) to use alongside the Bravecto for the treatment of sand flies. I'm in the process of searching for any studies on the concurrent use before I administer the Frontline. They gobbled up the Bravecto, though! It smells like stock cubes I'm back there in a couple of weeks for their pre-UK wormer and kennel cough jab, so I'll be able to talk to him then.
Hi I would be interested what you r vet says about using the Front line Tri Act with Bravacto. We currently use Bravacto and milbermax for the UK and then when we go to South of France in summer we have taken a break from Bravacto and used Advantix just for the holiday period, but would be interested in whether the Frontline line is better protection and whether it can be used with Bravacto?
I've put off using the Frontline until I can see my vet face to face. I have an appointment there soon so will let you know what he says. Bravecto alone is not going to cut it. My poor pups have been eaten alive by bugs this weekend. They don't seem to be overly bothered by it, but their tummies are really red from bites. The Bravecto seems to be doing the job on ticks, which is great, but I need to have them protected against other biting critters, too. Last time we were in the same place, I didn't see one bite on them, albeit we've not been there for so long, or at this time of year before. I believe that Advantix is deemed to be superior to Frontline, but it definitely cannot be used alongside Bravecto. If I'm happy that Frontline and Bravecto are OK to use together, I'll report back on how effective they are together. I took several live ticks off Shadow over the weekend that hadn't yet attached - I would hope that the Frontline would act as a deterrent for many of these. Otherwise, I'm just going to go back to Advantix and a good old tick twister.
There's no reason why not - I'll have a chat with the vet about what he can suggest. Do they make doggy sprays that are non-toxic if they lick them? I'll do some research later...
