# How often do you worm/ deflea your dogs?



## Laura1812 (28 October 2010)

I was just pondering this as I don't stick to a particular schedule with mine which might be a bad thing but they are usually wormed and de-flea'd about 3 times a year.

I just did them this morning which got me thinking really about what other people do.

They were last done in July when I spied a tapeworm in my spangles poo. My dogs roam around the farm and eat the occasional unsavory half rotten body.

We usually in the spring worm everything together - sheep / cows/ horses / dogs and cats.

The vet had never really advised me on a proper worming programme for my dogs, but then I have never really asked. Is there a protocol to follow?


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## CorvusCorax (28 October 2010)

Not at all as adults unless I actually see signs of parasites. **awaits flaming**
I will be keeping a close eye on my male as he raided the cat litter tray the other night when I wasn't concentrating, filthy mutt!!!!
I keep a very close eye on ablutions and skin/coat conditions as a matter of course anyway.


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## julieleach9 (28 October 2010)

My vet recommends 'advocate' for flea and worming every month, with proper 'drontal' worming at wider intervals. I have to say I really don't ever have a prob with fleas; we hoover so often as my OH has a house dust allergy and beds are regularly washed so house doesn't small of dogs.

I treat my two dogs once every 3 months (so 4x a year) for both and have never seen a flea or a worm. 

I do always make sure I use the correct dosage by weighing the dogs though; it really winds me up when you see people give a whole syringe of wormer to a horse when a) it only needed half or b) it needs about another 150kg's worth as it is big!!!!!! But that's another topic entirely ;-)


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## posie_honey (28 October 2010)

worms - once a month - on vets advice - unfortunatly the cats catch rabbits then helpullfy eat the head and leave the rest for the dogs to eat  we had got them on the normal worming routine but they were being sick with worms before the next recommended does - as vet says - i can worm them today and they'll prob be reinfected within a few days from eating crap 

fleas - well - we use advantix as we're in a high deer population area with plenty of bracken and heather so they have that once a month too in summer to keep tics at bay - then over winter we don't worry too much unless we see a flea - cat has high viz flea collar on all the time to save it from being shot by keeper anyway


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## blackcob (28 October 2010)

I use Advocate monthly for fleas and worms. Once a month we visit a household with endemic fleas rolleyes, I know that the farm dogs sporadically have fleas and/or worms and she eats many a dead thing. I've only ever found one flea on her and it was extremely drowsy.


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## mollichop (28 October 2010)

Drontal and frontline every 2 months


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## FestiveSpirit (28 October 2010)

I worm every three months with Drontal (as per latest vet recommendations) and de-flea if I should see one or if they have come out of kennels - my dogs do not, and never have, got fleas


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## spaniel (28 October 2010)

Worms and fleas every 3 months as a rule for the cats and the dogs (Drontal and Frontline). 

Both the cats wear flea collars anyway and I change them when I remember so to be honest it may be once  a year - not sure how much good they do but I sweeten it by telling them its a Christmas present.

At the moment we are having a flea battle so the dogs are being sprayed and washed weekly with Beophar - which seems to have worked after a months worth of stressing me out!   My floors are being worn away by the hoovering thats been going on here!  Its the first time we have actually had a flea issue in all the years of owning dogs (except for rescues which have come riddled with them) and I can only assume that they have come in from the farm walks we have been doing this summer.

This weekend its time to gauntlet up again and poke tablets down the cats throats...oh how we love that!


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## blackcob (28 October 2010)

CareyR said:



			I worm every three months with Drontal (as per latest vet recommendations) and de-flea if I should see one or if they have come out of kennels - my dogs do not, and never have, got fleas 

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I have to wonder, are skinnydogs less 'viable' for fleas? Less meat and less fluff to live in!


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## FestiveSpirit (28 October 2010)

blackcob said:



			I have to wonder, are skinnydogs less 'viable' for fleas? Less meat and less fluff to live in! 

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Quite seriously, I think they might be?   I have had them for 23 years now  and can count the number of fleas I have picked off them pretty much on the fingers of one hand (except when they have been in kennels ) it is amazing


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## mollichop (28 October 2010)

Nah, they can't hang on once Amy does her 0-60's


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## soloabe (28 October 2010)

CaveCanem said:



			Not at all as adults unless I actually see signs of parasites. **awaits flaming**
		
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Me either.
Although they do get garlic which keeps everything away.


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## CorvusCorax (28 October 2010)

Yeah, has the same effect for me  NO SNOGGING!

If I may explain further, my dog especially has had enough drugs in his system in his short life, more than all the other dogs have had in their lifetime so I do not want to burden his system needlessly in case things ever do go drastically wrong for him.
My 'good' vets have never had a problem with my way of doing things.


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## haycroft (28 October 2010)

i worm every 3 months or so,never de flea

a dog can get worms very shortly after being wormed..my whippy had caught tapeworm by eating a fresh rabbit and she was wormed two weeks earlier


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## Tinkerbee (28 October 2010)

Worm every 3 months (if I remember!) and she gets deflea'd when we return from Ireland, as she always picks them up sleeping in the sheds, never seems to get them here.


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## Azmar (28 October 2010)

Stronghold monthly. But I blame cats for any infestations in the past!


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## prosefullstop (28 October 2010)

CaveCanem said:



			Not at all as adults unless I actually see signs of parasites. **awaits flaming**
/QUOTE]

I'll grab us a couple of hazmat suits 

I've not found a single flea on Stella in the seven years I've owned her. We did use Frontline once, but she developed a gigantic lump at the site of application, so that was the end of that. Instead, we've used this for five years: http://www.wholelifepets.com/Earth-Animal-Herbal-Internal-Powder-Yeast-Free-p/ea002.htm

Nor do I use heartworm preventative. I soak my dogs--and I mean soak--in natural bug spray in summer, and the insects leave them alone.

My dogs also see the vet at the end of every summer--tomorrow, as it happens--and we do a stool check for worms, and a blood test for Lyme, Rocky Mountain etc. I use my common sense, which means no woodland walks at all in summer.
		
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## Cedars (28 October 2010)

When Chlo is around the horses and in the field I'm really careful and worm her every month on the month with Advocate or whatever its called. However, since her op I havent bothered as shes in the house basically full time or walking on a lead. When shes back out in the wide world, I'll start again!


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## GinaGem (29 October 2010)

We worm with Drontal every three months.  Have never had to deflea in the three years we've had them.


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## spaniel (29 October 2010)

Gina off topic but your roan is the spitting image of the connemara mare I had as a teenager!


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## GinaGem (29 October 2010)

Ah cool - do you have a pic?


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## cm2581 (29 October 2010)

What about puppies? I have a border terrier who like to eat everything and anything nasty! I love his spider and creapy crawly catching abilities!! Sometimes he eats them, sometimes sucks till they are dead then spits out!!!! He walked around with a daddy long legs legs hanging out his gob for ages!!!

Any way!! He was wormed by breeder at 2, 4 and 6 weeks with drontal puppy. Then me at 8 weeks also DP, and then vet did a spot on thing for fleas and apparently worms at 10 weeks and told me not to worm him for a month. Puppy got a gradually rounder tummy and intermitently squishy poops!! At 12 weeks I thought hmm. Gonna worm you anyway and see what happens!! Hey presto normal sized slender physique and firm poops resumed within 24hrs although I didn't see anything in his poop. So according to packet, that's him now sorted for another 3 months. How come at 14 weeks I see tapeworm segments?!!! More DP down the throat, no more tapeworms!! What now? Worm again in 2 weeks? 3 months? As appears necessary?!


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## posie_honey (29 October 2010)

cm2581 said:



			What about puppies? I have a border terrier who like to eat everything and anything nasty! I love his spider and creapy crawly catching abilities!! Sometimes he eats them, sometimes sucks till they are dead then spits out!!!! He walked around with a daddy long legs legs hanging out his gob for ages!!!

Any way!! He was wormed by breeder at 2, 4 and 6 weeks with drontal puppy. Then me at 8 weeks also DP, and then vet did a spot on thing for fleas and apparently worms at 10 weeks and told me not to worm him for a month. Puppy got a gradually rounder tummy and intermitently squishy poops!! At 12 weeks I thought hmm. Gonna worm you anyway and see what happens!! Hey presto normal sized slender physique and firm poops resumed within 24hrs although I didn't see anything in his poop. So according to packet, that's him now sorted for another 3 months. How come at 14 weeks I see tapeworm segments?!!! More DP down the throat, no more tapeworms!! What now? Worm again in 2 weeks? 3 months? As appears necessary?!
		
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sounds like you'll have to worm monthly as i do (explained in my post above )


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## WoopsiiD (29 October 2010)

Mills gets wormed every three months as she has a wonderful habbit of finding dead things to roll in and quite possibly eat!

She has been flea'd once. She has never had them, gets bathed regularly as she loves water and so needs to be washed after nearly every walk!!!!!

She is also clipped which I think helps. 

The house in which she lives is only carpeted upstairs and her bed is washed fortnightly. 

The cats are flea'd every month as Egg loves to hunt and we have hedgehogs in the garden. They are wormed every three months.

I'm not a huge fan of chemicals and find that good housekeeping is a better solution.


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## willhegofirst (29 October 2010)

Drontal every 3-4 months ish and deflead with frontline only when I see signs, too many chemicals can't be good for any living thing!


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## kelly_s1 (29 October 2010)

Frontline for fleas every month
Worming with Drontal every 3 months


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## lq22 (30 October 2010)

The vets I work at recommend drontal wormer every 3 months and Frontline treatment every 2 months. With my dog I follow this but the frontine you can get away with not doing if your dog isn't at high risk of coming into contact with fleas and ticks i.e. no cat, walks in parks or beach, enclosed garden, in town etc


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## lq22 (30 October 2010)

cm2581- what wormer did you use? The wormers you get in pet shops aren't as strong as prescription wormers such as Drontal. Prescription wormers also tend to cover more types of worms than pet shop ones. Although ones at the vets are more expensive I think they are worthwhile in the long run.


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## ChesnutsRoasting (30 October 2010)

katielou_houston said:



			Me either.
Although they do get garlic which keeps everything away.
		
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^^^This^^^

They haven't been wormed since pups & were de-flead 3 months ago due to me looking after a neighbours kittens that were riddled!


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## spaniel (31 October 2010)

Gina&Prince said:



			Ah cool - do you have a pic?
		
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Sadly not....this was a bout 30 odd years ago!!


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