Evening everyone I live in the uk and I’m struggling as to what to worm and flea both my dogs with. I’m currently using stronghold on our 4 year old lab as flea treatment and milbimax for worming. We have a 15 week old lab and although she’s been flea’d and wormed, I’d like to know which is the best and more importantly effective treatment for fleas and worm treatment Thanks in advance x
Its a minefield for sure ! There are now so many products available , I think for your puppy, I would ask the Vets for advice and their recommendations x
Hey Tammy, it really is worth discussing this with your vet as it varies a lot from area to area. Where I live in Spain, I have to go into overkill because of the risk of heartworm, ticks and Leishmaniasis, so my dogs have Advantix and Advocate spot-on treatments each month (two weeks apart) and Drontal every three months. But it really depends on the risks in your local area and wherever you might travel to. Where my parents and sister walk their dogs, there's no risk of ticks so they don't use tick treatment. I believe it's been reported that Frontline has lost some of its efficacy in recent years, but the new Frontline Tri-Act is better. Some people like to use oral tablets for flea and tick treatment, like Nexgard or Bravecto; I used Bravecto once and it was very effective at killing ticks that attach, but doesn't stop them bringing live ticks into the house because it has no repellant properties. There are rumours of it causing seizures, too, but no real evidence to support this and thousands of dogs using it without any side-effects. There are also the flea/tick collars which are supposedly very effective; I personally don't like my dogs wearing collars all the time, though. As Kate has said, the best person to advise you is a local vet, who will understand the risks in your area.
I worm religiously every 3 months with Endogard, but only flea treat when necessary (Xena didn't have her first treatment until 16 months). We've had a stinking hot summer though so I've bought her a Seresto collar which will last for 8 months. Like Fiona I prefer "naked dog" but the collar doesn't bother me at all. Can't hurt to ask your vet, they should know what you're at risk of in your area and what is actually effective.
For my 13 month old yellow Lab puppy, I use Endogard wormer every 3 months and Prinovox for fleas every month on the advice of the vet. My 11 year old black Lab gets wormed every 3 months but we have never given her flea treatment and she has never had fleas!
We use Heartguard, and typically nothing for fleas or ticks. We don't seem to have them (touch wood). We do use a flea treatment when we go back to Missouri to visit.
Advocate spot on treatment once a month and Droncit tablet every six months. Together covers just about everything! My vet tried to sell me a tablet for fleas but on research there are lots of people saying they cause seizures so not worth the risk! (You are making their blood poisonous after all)
My boy is prone to seizures and had two seizures after taking Bravecto and one after taking Milbemax. I’ve stopped all tick and flea treatments and he’s not had a seizure since (he is medicated for epilepsy). He doesn’t have fleas, and I remove ticks if I find them. Fortunately we aren’t in a biliary area. I have used Mediworm for deworming, but this time I’ve decided to get a fecal floatation test for worms to avoid his ingesting chemicals - I am thankful he’s so healthy now and hasn’t had a seizure in so long. I’ll get the worm test in the next couple of weeks - it would’ve been the scheduled time for his deworming (every 3-4 months).
Unfortunately Internet searches sometimes only give part of the information. What you will not have seen is the 100s of 1000s, if not millions, of owners who use Bravecto and similar products on a regular basis with no side effects. All drugs, whether canine or human, have side effects and there can be contra indications for their use. The companies have to maintain and report data on all incidents reported to them which you can check yourself. Internet and FB focus groups are not necessarily a source of scientific data, most frequently just personal experience.
This is true, Jojo, but when you personally are one of the people who have that experience, then obviously it becomes extremely relevant. Certainly neither of my dogs will ever be treated with Bravecto or similar again. They wear the Seresto or Scalibor collars during high tick season, and are wormed as necessary, not on a schedule. I think the most sensible advice anyone can give is that you read as much as you can about all the different treatments available, take account of what parasites there are in your area, consult your vet, consider your own particular dog (what suits one may not be good for another), and then make your own personal decision.
I never use flea treatments on my dogs and in over 40 years have only found one flea on one dog, I would only use flea killing products if my dogs actually had fleas. However, tick prevention is a different matter, I don't live in a tick area so no need to treat, but definitely would do so if in I visited a tick infested area. We went to Cornwall once so I did use tick preventative then. As for worming, I am lax at that, only once a year, if I remember! I would of course worm if I saw evidence. I used to be a vet nurse so I can recognise evidence though agree they probably could have worms without me knowing, however, I trust my judgement up to this moment!
I have to say..... We are not entirely sure that the flea med we gave to our 4 month old puppy is not what caused him to eventually have to be put down at 9 months. Before we gave that to him(which killed the fleas, BTW), he was a nice little AKC registered Labrador. After we gave it to him, he became increasingly aggressive to the point that we became afraid of him. He would guard his food and growl at you even if you came within 3 feet of him; he would lunge for your throat if you touched him while he was sleeping; and he seemed to have lost his sense of smell. Before it he loved to go out in the woods; after it, he became fearful upon leaving the house. No training, Positive or punishment related worked at all. Eventually after he almost took out my throat, grabbing my jaw in his teeth, our vet recommended putting him down. I did. My wife could not come with me. Can we be sure that it was the flea meds? NO. Can we before it wasn’t? NO. But the meds did say that neurological damage was possible. I would avoid anything like that. There are natural methods that can be used. Our dog does need the LYme med. We have Lyme ticks everywhere; I, myself, have chronic Lyme disease.
I totally agree and would not wish to make light of anyone's sad loss of their dog. Just wanted to clarify that personal experience unfortunately doesn't always make something fact. When researching the use of a medicine shouldn't we look at the scientific data as well to help us form an informed decision ?
We are successful Bravecro users. Use it twice a year and no problems. Moderately high tick area where we walk. I hesitate to suggest it to others due to experience of folk on here, but find it much more effective than Frontline for sure and our vet uses it too so supports it's use.
Like you I use Bravecto on a 3 monthly basis under the supervision of my vet who doesn't hesitate to recommend it, and have experienced no problems. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, I'm simply not qualified to say It's ok for someone else's dog - that's a conversation for them to have with their vet
