Pup and Advocate spot-on

Dubl07

Anyone else find their dog gets quiet and sleepy after using a spot-on treatment?

maggiepip

Not quiet and sleepy, but one of my dogs had a major itching reaction to Advocate spot on - within literally 10 mins of application he just went mad scratching at himself. Took a few weeks for his skin to calm down. Ive read a lot of reports online of dogs having various bad reactions to that particular treatment.

peasant

We have 4 dogs and 3 cats and we never give them spot-on treatment as they would be apt to lick it off each other, which according to the risk and side effect bumpf is something that should be avoided.

Funnily enough ...in 14 years of keeping the critters without spot-on, we've never had a flea problem and he amount of ticks is negligible too.

I would only ever consider using that stuff if there is a real infestation problem in the area.

maggiepip

peasant wrote: »

We have 4 dogs and 3 cats and we never give them spot-on treatment as they would be apt to lick it off each other, which according to the risk and side effect bumpf is something that should be avoided.

Funnily enough ...in 14 years of keeping the critters without spot-on, we've never had a flea problem and he amount of ticks is negligible too.

I would only ever consider using that stuff if there is a real infestation problem in the area.

We never use spot ons anymore either and have never had any flea or tick problems. Those chemicals cant be good.

Dubl07

Thanks for your responses.

She seems itchy as well. It was recommended particularly due to its lungworm efficacy as well as the flea/tick/mite coverage. I'll have another chat with the vet.

Irishchick

Advocate doesn't kill lungworm. It prevents infestation by killing the flea which acts as the intermediate host but will not kill any existing lungowrms already in the dog

maggiepip

Lungworm is carried by snails and slugs, the flea transmits tapeworm.

Dubl07

maggiepip wrote: »

Lungworm is carried by snails and slugs, the flea transmits tapeworm.

I think I've confused the Milbemax and Advocate. Thanks. So what spot-ons (if any) do people use successfully with max effect on parasites and minimum side-effects on dogs?

tk123

I use a natural flea/tick/mite repellent in the summer/warmer months

They like to eat grass :rolleyes: so to be safe I use a this natural wormer and send off worm counts every 6 months.

I've never used a spot-on treatment on my now 15 month old and unless she actually gets fleas never will. Advocate for example states in it's leaflet that it's toxic to aquatic animals and shouldn't enter water courses - my dogs swim every day but even if they didn't why would I want to put something toxic on them when they don't have fleas?

Prisoner6409

Excuse my ignorance but do puppies/dogs get worms from eating grass? I recently got a puppy(9 wks) and his stools have gone from firm(1st week) to pretty sloppy(last 2 wks). I have not changed his feed or anything but I did read sloppy poo's can be caused by worms. He is not lethargic, in fact his energy levels have not been affected and his appetite is fine. Much easier to pick up firm poo's.

boomerang

Roundworm eggs contaminate the environment when the owner of an affected dog doesn't scoop the poop; dogs and pups can ingest the eggs from licking/eating the infected soil. Roundworm eggs can also contaminate a dog's coat so this is something to think about if you have other dogs in the home and they haven't been wormed recently.

How old is the puppy now and what's his own worming history before and after you got him?

Has there been a change of food?

Dubl07

tk123 wrote: »

I use a natural flea/tick/mite repellent in the summer/warmer months

They like to eat grass :rolleyes: so to be safe I use a this natural wormer and send off worm counts every 6 months.

I've never used a spot-on treatment on my now 15 month old and unless she actually gets fleas never will. Advocate for example states in it's leaflet that it's toxic to aquatic animals and shouldn't enter water courses - my dogs swim every day but even if they didn't why would I want to put something toxic on them when they don't have fleas?

Brilliant info, thanks.

boomerang

That's great that there's an easy online option for worm counts, but it's gotta be cheaper doing it at your local vet if it's just a faecal float and not the lungworm screen?