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Is Advocate Necessary Every Month?


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Dear All,

I've had my dogs titre tested because I don't want them over-vaccinated. However, I give both of them Advocate every month.

I started wondering if (like with vaccinations) it's really necessary to give them this chemical every month.

Has anyone else had the same thoughts?

Ta

Joypod :)

PS. They both go outside during the day and on walks, etc, so I'm assuming they're being exposed to flea eggs, worms, etc. We've never had a problem with fleas or worms but we've always given them Advocate.

J.

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Dear All,

I've had my dogs titre tested because I don't want them over-vaccinated.

However, I give both of them Advocate every month.

I started wondering if (like with vaccinations) it's really necessary to give them this chemical every month.

Has anyone else had the same thoughts?

Ta

Joypod :)

PS. They both go outside during the day and on walks, etc, so I'm assuming they're being exposed to flea eggs, worms, etc. We've never had a problem with fleas or worms but we've always given them Advocate.

J.

Of course not!

However, if you have a flea problem then certainly use a treatment.

Fleas are seasonal so why use it in the 'off' season.

Even in flea season, unless there is an outbreak or you live in a high flea region, it is overkill to use it.

Dogs scatch for many other reasons like removing loose itchy hairs and biting themselves with their front teeth is a preening practice.

Regards

Px

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If you really want to know if your dogs have a worm burden or not, get a vet to do a fecal count and act appropriately.

As far as fleas go - IMO it's better to treat as necessary not "just in case" BUT if you live in a house which hasn't been well maintained in the past or has cats wandering through/under or you are just plain unlucky, the fleas in the environment could cause you big problems. There's no harm in stopping the use of Advocate and seeing what happens through the cooler months - unless you have a dog with a flea allergy :) - check the dogs regularly, maintain the environment and see what happens.

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I took my girl off advocate once only to discover she has a demodex suscepibility :( I'm sure this isn't very common but something to look out for if a dog starts getting bald patches after they go off it.

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Given that Advocate is a heartworm preventative as well, is there an issue around effectively stopping and starting preventative measures without testing for heartworm before starting again? I was under the impression that it's important to test for heartworm before starting preventative measures.. though I can't quite remember why.

I realise that heartworm is rare in many places in Australia, and that lots of people don't bother with medication for that reason. But is there some risk in stopping and starting if there IS a considerable risk of heartworm?

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I realise that heartworm is rare in many places in Australia, and that lots of people don't bother with medication for that reason. But is there some risk in stopping and starting if there IS a considerable risk of heartworm?

I get a bit confused about the answer to this question too, Alkhe. I think it has something to do with the time-frame between stopping and starting the medication as well as WHICH medication you are using. I am sure a better qualified DOLer will be able to answer this one.

To the OP : IMO, constant worming regime is unnecessary. I did the puppy worming regime when I got my boy home. He hasn't had a wormer since. I have had faecal exams done periodically (here and there) over the last few years and so far, not a sign of worms (he's nearly 4yo now). If I lived in a more rural area where other animal faeces was plentiful and easily accessible, and IF my dog was inclined to want to eat it, then I'd probably re-enquire with my Vet as to the higher potential for worm infestation, but as it stands, in my personal opinion, I think our city dogs are wormed way in excess of what they need.

Edited by Erny
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I a not a fan of those all i one spot ons and prefer to treat each thing as needed.

My guys get all wormer tablets 2 or times a year, flea treatment only if there is signs of fleas (maybe once or twice a year) and heartwormers every 6 to 8 weeks as that is a time frame I was told is safe.

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Given that Advocate is a heartworm preventative as well, is there an issue around effectively stopping and starting preventative measures without testing for heartworm before starting again? I was under the impression that it's important to test for heartworm before starting preventative measures.. though I can't quite remember why.

I realise that heartworm is rare in many places in Australia, and that lots of people don't bother with medication for that reason. But is there some risk in stopping and starting if there IS a considerable risk of heartworm?

It's my understanding that so long as the dog is covered by SOMETHING it's OK - so if you stopped Advocate and started a monthly chew instead of plonking on more Advocate at the monthly interval you'd just give the dog a chew at that time instead. If you decided to go daily, on the day the Advocate is due you'd give the dog a pill instead and keep doing that every day after that. If you decided to go annual injection this would be given when the Advocate is due again. Really simple :D

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I am watching this topic with interest.

We've been on Sentinel Spectrum forever (application every month).

Maybe I am doing the wrong thing? Maybe I am over-dosing my poor doglets? Hmmm...

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As i live in Qld. I treat for everything monthly.

Just curious how does living in QLD make a difference?

We use interceptor monthly and only treat for fleas if we've seen 1 on the dogs or they have been in contact with someone else's pet that has had fleas. We check for ticks but never had one but when we were in Rockhampton for work treated them for ticks as we were warned of them being bad in that area.

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Prevention is better than cure. If you use it regularly you wont have that problem. I give it to an adult rotty once every 1.5 months and i haven't seen a flea since he was a pup. And i take him for walks everyday and he plays with other dogs.

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I use monthly advocate as I have a dog with skin issues and can't afford to take any risks of his skin going downhill due to parasites which I am exposed to on daily basis due to work.

If he didn't have these issues and I wasn't around it all he would be on Sentinel every 60 days which according to their literature is enough to be protective against heartworm.

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Prevention is better than cure. If you use it regularly you wont have that problem. I give it to an adult rotty once every 1.5 months and i haven't seen a flea since he was a pup. And i take him for walks everyday and he plays with other dogs.

Depends on what you're "preventing" IMO.

Preventing fleas? But if there is no flea problem, why have the body absorb chemicals to poison fleas that aren't there?

Preventing worms? The dog's system is engineered to cope with a mild worm burden. If a person suspects their dog has worms, this can be ID'd by a faecal exam and followed with worming. The initial presence of worms is unlikely to harm. Why have the body absorb chemicals to poison worms that aren't there?

Vaccinating pups to ensure immunisation against core diseases such as parvo? Yes - I agree. I don't like any chemicals going into or on my dog, but to my knowledge and to the current knowledge of mostly everyone I know (and that includes DOLers :)), this is important. So sure - I'd go along with the "prevention is better than the cure" theory on that one. But I don't think it stands for everything. That's just my opinion though.

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I personally don't use flea products regularly BUT there is an advantage to using it continuously. Dogs that only have intermittent exposure to fleas are more likely to end up with a flea allergy (Which has happened to one of my dogs). It means that once or twice a year she gets a hot spot on her back- thankfully hers are not too bad. I do have a regular cleaning schedule and will also occasionally use flea powders outside or under the bed to try and eliminate any chance of fleas making it onto the dogs.

So you have to weigh up the extra chemicals vs the chance of hot spots/allergy.

(just putting it out there so people can make informed choices- not pushing one side or the other)

ETA- I do live in a bad flea area so do have to do environmental control to keep the dogs flea free.

Edited by Jumabaar
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I live in a really bad tick area so for the course of the summer months they get Advantix fortnightly. I pretty much stop over autumn and winter.

As for worming ... Drontal maybe once a year

Heartworm, both my dogs had the injection last year but won't be getting it anymore. A monthly chew seems to be the way to go for us now.

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As a vet nurse I often get asked the question "which flea product do I use on my own dogs?"

When I reply with "I've never used any flea product on a dog of mine....EVER", clients are often very surprised. Guess they just assume we all treat our dogs with these products. :confused:

I tell them I've never seen a flea, or flea dirt on my dogs, and they don't scratch more than is normal, so I don't see the point in a) filling my dogs with harmful chemicals, and b) wasting money on a product I don't need. :)

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