New Puppy Owner, Confused About Worming

[quangle]

Hi everyone,

I have a 5 month old springer spaniel puppy. I am just shopping for food online and thought I would try and buy wormers at the same time, but all the different types have me confused. Up until now I have given her a drontal tablet from the vet and she has had guardian chews for heartworm that we were given at puppy school.

If I was to use a Drontal allwormer chewable with Valuhheart for heartworm, would that cover everything I need?

Some of the heartworm tablets seem to cover some other worms as well. Does that mean I need to use an intestinal wormer that doesn't cover those worms, or is it ok to double dose so to speak?

I am finding this very confusing. I found this useful table, http://www.petessentials.com.au/compare_Canine_Comparison_Chart-9.html but when I work out the costs, there is a big difference in price between brands - does more expensive equal better? eg. Guardian $35.25 for 3 months, vs combination of Valuheart and Drontal at $19.54 for 3 months.

And one more question - with the all wormers that include heartworm (Interceptor and Guardian for eg) this means I am worming my dog for intestinal worms every month instead of every 3 months - is this better than using separate products and only doing intestinal worms every 3 months.

Thank you.

Edited August 21, 2011 by quangle

[Red Fox]

I've always found the simplest way is Interceptor every 6 weeks. It covers both heart and intestinal worms (including hydatids).

There are a few choices though;

You can either give and all in one chew (or tablet, or spot on) as above every 4-6 weeks.

or

Heart worm chew/tablet once every 4-6 weeks PLUS an intestinal wormer as needed (or every 3 months if prefererred).

If you choose a spot on (ie advantage) it may not cover hydatids (tapeworm) ao you would need to give a seperate tablet for this along with the spot on.

Hope that helps.

[dandybrush]

quangle i totally understand why you are confused, im still confused with mine

i have my dogs on the heartworm shot, then every 3 months they get the drontal all wormer, and montly they get flea and tick spot on (advantix), im sure there are cheaper ways to do it...but i get sooo confused

also from what i have been told you cannt overworm them, so i think if you had a couple of worms in 2 of your different covers they would be fine, heartworm is the only thing i think you can only cover once, so make sure u are only giving them 1 dose of the heartworm

someone else can correct me if im wrong...

[poodlefan]

I use Drontal every three months and a montly heartworm tablet (Proheart)

I only use a flea or tick treatment when necessary (which is not often). I'm no fan of using all in ones if you don't have issues with some of the parasites covered.

[dandybrush]

im in a tick area so i use the advantix, and so far (knock on wood) my dogs havent had any ticks

[Roar Kingdom]

I see more gastrointestinal upsets with cheaper products. You can definitely 'overworm', especially a puppy with a sensitive digestive system. Worming agents are pharmaceutical drugs and should be treated as such. Drontal is a good product and rarely causes too much problem. I generally recommend to worm puppies with Drontal twice 6 weeks apart, more frequently than that only if indicated by a eggs found on a faecal float. For adult dogs I prefer to do a faecal float once or twice yearly to check for the presence of intestinal worms and worm as needed; they are less common than you think. Or use a herbal wormer 'just in case' - good herbal worming products such as the Greenpet one are very effective for adult dogs.

Heartworm medications need to be evaluated according to likely risk of infection vs toxicity of ongoing use of a chemical. Some regions in Australia are low-risk, some are high-risk, weigh everything up and do what you feel comfortable with.

I am not a fan of monthly use of allwormers like Sentinel or Interceptor in adult dogs, as I believe this is unnecessary use of chemical agents and can be problematic for some dogs.

[WreckitWhippet]

Using a heartworm prevention that also does intestinal worms, is in my opinion over kill.

Using a monthly heartworm prevention ( in heart worm areas ) and worming every three months is sufficient.

There is no point in overloading your dogs system with additional chemicals to control ticks and fleas, if you have none. If you are considering travelling to other areas that may have ticks or fleas, then it's easy enough to apply a preventative for that month.

[poodlefan]

One more thing - there's no way in God's green earth I'd ever use Revolution on a Collie breed, nor would I rely on it for tick prevention.

Knowing what I know now, I'd also never use the heartworm injections on a dog.

[Guest lavendergirl]

One more thing - there's no way in God's green earth I'd ever use Revolution on a Collie breed, nor would I rely on it for tick prevention.

Knowing what I know now, I'd also never use the heartworm injections on a dog.

Why is that Poodlefan? I have also been considering the necessity of worming every month as opposed to every three months and applying Frontline every month. What are considered "tick prone" areas - local parks or is bushland more likely to harbour ticks?

[poodlefan]

Why is that Poodlefan? I have also been considering the necessity of worming every month as opposed to every three months and applying Frontline every month. What are considered "tick prone" areas - local parks or is bushland more likely to harbour ticks?

On the heartworm? Because there have been far too many adverse side effects IMO to justify the convenience when a perfectly suitable and potentially less harmful alternative exists.

A vet for whom I have great respect gave very succinct advice about the injections.. "don't". That was enough for me.

Tick prone areas to me are any regions were paralysis ticks are found. Fortunately for me, the ACT is not one of them.

[**Super_Dogs**]

I am a big fan on Sentail Specrum and Inteceptor. One chew once a month and all done!! I have compared the price of buying all the products seperate and it is no different.

[Sandra777]

I am a big fan on Sentail Specrum and Inteceptor. One chew once a month and all done!! I have compared the price of buying all the products seperate and it is no different.

A dog doesn't need worming once a month though - so what are you actually doing? Creating drug-resistent worms? Pouring chemicals down your dog's throat for no reason? Wasting your money? Harming your dog? Doing nothing wrong at all?

Sorry - not a big fan of "treating" things you don't even know the dog has.