What do you use for flea, tick, worm prevention?

[Kimmikins]

Sara's on Advocate as a monthly spot on, which covers everything apart from ticks and one kind of worm that I can't remember off the top of my head, and Drontal twice a year for the worm that Advocate doesn't cover. I'm not fussed about tick prevention, as apart from one (Advantix, I think) they don't prevent them latching on, they just kill them within 48hours. I'd like to think I'll find the little buggers and kill them myself before then!

We did try a natural one for Scrumpy Jack, this was about 5 years ago. It was called Billy No Mates and you sprinkled it on their food. It caused a horrendous hot spot on Scrumpy's leg, which then became his first ever full blown tummy and leg infection. The poor mite had to come stay with me in my new flat so that he didn't have stairs to climb, as the pain was so bad.

What about you guys? Do you take the prevention route, or wait to treat it if it happens?

[sarahhound]

Mine have Drontal when I think they need it. I always have it in the cupboard, but rarely use it. I can never remember but also, I don't think they have worms, so what's the point? If I saw any, I have the tablets there.

For fleas they have Advantage. I've never had a case of fleas, but I absolutely hate bugs, they really stress me out, so I don't want to wait and treat it if it happens.

[Kimmikins]

I'm more of the wait and treat sort when it comes to fleas. I've never ever had a case of them with any of my dogs, so I've never seen the need for it. I think the Advocate covers fleas too, but that would just be an added thing, not something I looked for in a product. I prefer not to use anything on Scrumpy Jack if I can help it, because his skin is so sensitive it gets scabby around the spot on site

[timin770]

I found an online outfit at www.fleakiller.co that has generic formulations of Advantage and Frontline. We have used the generic Advantage (Imidacloprid solution) for many years on both dogs and cats and I cannot remember the last time I saw a single flea. Very cheap compared to store-bought

I buy heartworm meds online from a company in QLD Australia and, even tho it costs $6 USD to ship to me here in the states, I still save money. www.vidalspets.com/

[kristina]

Well my 2 old girls that I had never got fleas or worms and thats the truth,but they used to get Ticks big time used to sort them out myself although at one time I did treat them with a frontline treatment I got from my vet.Feel this is purely where I lived and my girls used to have garlic too which fleas hate,they also swam a lot which fleas hate,I am just going by own experience at the time.
Now I live in a totally different enviroment and so does Xena she has been wormed and I did ask the vet about LUNG WORM,he told me thats only because their not wormed regularly,but adverts on the tv say different,Xena has brought me in snails and slugs which I believe are the offenders of Lung worm,so that panicked me a bit,I will keep her worming up to date and will also do her flea treatment,Ticks I doubt she will get but one never knows.This is cattle country Ticks are mainly with sheep but then Ticks can be anywhere,nasty little buggers they are too.The vet's charge a fortune for any treatment and although I want Xena to be safe I will have to look for cheaper but just as good safe guard for her.Kristina

[sparks01]

we use drontal and front line but we might try a holistic one in the future
i suffer from psoriasis and i have ordered some scalp and skin treatment from a new company called natural life uk ( you can only find them on face book )
we also ordered some grooming spray for crash. this is how i found the company as a breeder we know was using one of their sprays, which smelled amazing,
so i looked them up and they do all sorts of natural stuff including a flea treatment so if my stuff works we might try the flea stuff next

[Jordan]

I use Advantix for Domino it covers ticks and fleas.....He had flees when i got him and this soon had them cleared. We get ticks here from the sheep and deer so like him to be covered for that as we roam the countryside a lot.

[Kimmikins]

Dec 31, 2013 18:04:44 GMT kristina said:

Well my 2 old girls that I had never got fleas or worms and thats the truth,but they used to get Ticks big time used to sort them out myself although at one time I did treat them with a frontline treatment I got from my vet.Feel this is purely where I lived and my girls used to have garlic too which fleas hate,they also swam a lot which fleas hate,I am just going by own experience at the time.
Now I live in a totally different enviroment and so does Xena she has been wormed and I did ask the vet about LUNG WORM,he told me thats only because their not wormed regularly,but adverts on the tv say different,Xena has brought me in snails and slugs which I believe are the offenders of Lung worm,so that panicked me a bit,I will keep her worming up to date and will also do her flea treatment,Ticks I doubt she will get but one never knows.This is cattle country Ticks are mainly with sheep but then Ticks can be anywhere,nasty little buggers they are too.The vet's charge a fortune for any treatment and although I want Xena to be safe I will have to look for cheaper but just as good safe guard for her.Kristina

Slugs and snails can be carriers of lung worm, so I'd be inclined to take precautions against lungworm too Scrumpy Jack had lungworm when he was a puppy, but we'd never seen him anywhere near a slug or snail so the vet said that he obviously got at them when we weren't looking! That's why he's regularly lungwormed - he's an at risk dog because he's had it before. He gets Panacur every other worm treatment; Panacur doesn't cover some worms that the regular wormer covers and the regular wormer doesn't cover lungworm so they get alternated.

Looking online for treatment is always a good idea, and some of the over the counter ones from Pet Stores are just as good. Not always, so be sure to do your research, but sometimes it's not worth paying through the nose to get something from a vet that you can get elsewhere.

[kimthecat]

I use Advocate for my three dogs and I used to use it on kim the cat. 

[baileysworkworld]

I use advocate monthly on Bailey and Drontal XL every 3 months to cover him for the worm that advocate doesn't cover.

He has it on repeat prescription from our vet, as he is prone to fox mange so it covers that mite as well.

I think ticks are more of a problem where there is livestock, mainly sheep, but cattle as well. We don't walk in any areas where there are farm animals, just lots of wildlife, which is why we have more cause for concern from mange than from ticks.


Having a treat when needed, not preventative attitude to fleas may be find for a while, but once you get them, it can take 6 months, even up to 9 or 12 to get rid of them. My friend had this problem recently. she had not had a case of fleas in 15 years of owning dogs. However, she walks them in a popular doggie area, where they meet and greet many dogs daily. She also does transport runs for rescue groups at least once or twice a month. We have no idea where she got them from but she noticed fleas on one of her (4) dogs last summer. She then had to treat each dog monthly, wash bedding, spray sofas, carpets, etc. She has only just become confident that she has got rid for good. But believe me, once in, can be so difficult to get rid of.

[Kimmikins]

We only had one tick this summer on Sara, and I think not many more on Scrumpy, if at all. I wonder if the weird weather we had at any point stopped them from being so prolific?