Worming medication advice

Hi, we have a very healthy (fingers crossed!) working labrador who is 13 months old. Our vet recommends that he takes Nexguard monthly, and Endogard every 3 months - both to prevent wormers. Monty is our first dog, and talking with friends who have dogs they only take Nexguard. I just wondered what others did, only because Monty hates Endogard and it's difficult to get him to eat it (even crushed into high value food). We don't want to take him off Endogard if it's necessary, but given how much he hates it, if the general consensus is that Nexguard is sufficient we might reduce him to just that. Thanks.

 

Hi there

My dog is on the same regimen. Nexgard Spectra protects against fleas, ticks, heart worms, round worms and hook worms, but not tape worm. Endogard adds tapeworm protection. Max hates it too, so I crush it up and mix it into mayonnaise, then stir in some grated cheese, and finally add it to wet food. At least it's only once every 6 months!

You could ask your vet about alternatives to Endogard, and the relative risk of tapeworm if you stop using it altogether. I think (but my memory might be unreliable) that tapeworm is mostly spread by eating fleas or rodents that contain tapeworm larvae. So if your dog is taking nexgard regularly to keep fleas at bay, and doesn't tend to hunt rodents, then perhaps the risk of tapeworm is low enough to stop using Endogard as a preventative, and just accept the possibility of one day needing to treat an infection instead. But ask your vet for their advice first!

 

Many thanks Sarah. He's on Endogard every 3 months at the moment so I'll talk to the vet to see if we can reduce it to twice each year. Other than celery it's the only thing he refuses to eat