Eaten a snail....lungworm question

[Mark Huddleston]

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Our Shih-poo is 5 months old and we have been worming him regularly. Today we caught him in the garden and he had possibly eaten a snail. Should we be concerned about this for lungworm or are we being overly cautious?
He’s currently wormed with Drontal oral suspension. I’ve been researching tonight and it would seem there are not many medications that mention lungworm. I was looking at Panacur but another forum suggests this is only used to treat LW and not actually prevent it. Any suggestions? Is there a routine preventative treatment for lungworm?

 

[JoanneF]

I think there are some treatments that are supposed to prevent it but best to have a word with your vet. They will know which parasites are most common in your area and pose the main risks, whether that is lungworm or other things.

 

[Caro Perry]

Harri is on Panacur from the vet as his regular wormer. Lungworm is around here but not very prevalent and Harri has now outgrown eating snails! They still need to be on the list of parasites that he needs to be guarded against. None of the wormers prevent an infestation but instead eliminate one that has occurred.

 

[JoanneF]

You are right @Caro Perry- I thought Advocate prevented it but it prevents the disease, not the worm itself.

 

[JudyN]

Presumably a treatment like Advocate works by killing whatever lungworms/lungworm eggs are in the dog's system? I'm not sure in this case there is a difference between prevention and treatment - it's just a case of killing any organisms present.

 

[Whippylove]

I use advocate and always thought my 3 were covered for lung worm? I'll have to discuss it with my vet as Oliver and Rolo like to eat dead slugs!

 

[JoanneF]

Advocate does cover lungworm - it may not stop your dog from ingesting one but prevents the disease it might cause.