Flea and worming schedule help....I'm confused

[Mark Huddleston]

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Our puppy is 10 weeks old and has just been to the vets for his second vaccination. We saw the nurse and I was asking advice about flea and worm treatments. She said once he reaches 8 weeks he needs worming every 4 weeks and not 2. However I've read that it should still be every 2 weeks until he reaches 12 weeks of age. We were there last week too and the vet recommended Advocate so I've paid for a prescription today and will buy it online. Can anyone tell me definitively what the schedule is and if Advocate is decent??.....I'm a confused first time owner

 

[Mad Murphy]

The idea is that the first few months should look like this, according to my vets schedule.
2 – 12 weeks Liquid wormer every 2 weeks
12 weeks – 6 months Worming tablet every 4 weeks
6 months + Worming tablet every 3 months

Advocate is a reliable product but ask enough people and someone will always disagree. The best product is the one that suits your dog. My beagle once had a side effect from a wormer that made him look as if he had had a stroke.
The other two dogs were perfect with the same product..Some flea treatments suit one dog and cause awful reactions in another, it finding the right product for you and your dog..

As regards the worms many people (and I know @JudyN is one of them) do not just give pills ad hoc instead they use worm tester kits to see if the dog needs the wormer.

 

[JudyN]

As regards the worms many people (and I know @JudyN is one of them) do not just give pills ad hoc instead they use worm tester kits to see if the dog needs the wormer.

Yep - this is they: Worm Count | Wormcount.com

 

[JoanneF]

However, if you live in a lungworm risk area, monthly worming is recommended. Advocate is a broad spectrum product.

 

[JudyN]

The Wormcount test can check for lungworm too - though they usually recommend testing once every three months and whether that carries a risk of not picking up an infection soon enough I don't know.

 

[Mark Huddleston]

OK thanks. So the schedule is clear now but all this choice of products is a little overwhelming as a first time dog owner. Am I best sticking with Advantage to cover everything as a broad spectrum or using a liquid/tablet wormer and a separate spot treatment for fleas and ticks?? If I do this how often do I use the flea treatment? Does the breed of dog make any difference to product choice too?

 

[JoanneF]

Advocate or Advantage (it may have been a typo / autocorrect in your post but to add to the confusion there is a product called Advantage too).

 

[Mark Huddleston]

Advocate or Advantage (it may have been a typo / autocorrect in your post but to add to the confusion there is a product called Advantage too).

Well spotted. It was advocate. The vet recommended it last week when we took him to get his immunisations.
I feel a bit ridiculous here...I’ve been a Paramedic for 15 years and am used to having people’s lives in my hands but I feel a bit lost looking after this little fella at the minute.

 

[JoanneF]

If it helps, I still question my choices after gawd knows how many years. But - advocate covers fleas and worms but not ticks. So if you don't live in a tick area it will be fine. If you do live in a tick area, most products (all?) that kill ticks kill fleas too so you would be double dosing the flea element with Advocate.

 

[Mad Murphy]

We live in a tick area there are lots of deer here too so during the winter month I give a daily dose of sheeps fat with garlic which keeps any nasties at bay and during the summer I use advantix (another similar sounding product) which does for fleas ticks and lice. Its also good for dogs who swim.. Murphy swims in anything deeper than a saucer so we need that added protection.

You do have to keep a bit up to date on what works and what doesnt. Frontline was great when it first came out but over time it became less and less effective until its now all but useless.