Pets and Parasites
All pets have parasites. Puppies and kittens are born with worms and regularly become reinfected throughout their lives. Fleas are ubiquitous and all but unavoidable, especially during warm weather and when pets live in the warmth of centrally heated houses. However parasites do not need to be a problem: with a little knowledge and a few good anti parasite products it is possible for you to keep your pet healthy and parasite free.
Check for more information on Flea control – with special offers for Abbeyside clients – from Bayer, makers of Drontal and Advantage.
Worms and Your Dog
All puppies are born with roundworms. These have passed from the bitch, across the placenta, during pregnancy. Newly whelped bitches also have worms and need to be wormed within a day or two of whelping or they will begin to pass eggs which will further infect the pups.
The reason that infection occurs so early is that all adult dogs have immature stages of the roundworm in their body all the time. These are not affected by routine worming and can stay in their immature phase for many years. However the hormones of pregnancy cause them to be reactivated and go to the blood stream of the bitch. From there they pass across the placenta and develop into adult worms in the pup. Some will also go on to develop to adult worms in the bitch.
Tapeworms, and other worms sometimes found in adult dogs are rare in young puppies.
Which wormer is best?
Not all wormers are suitable for puppies, some are unnecessarily strong and others difficult or impossible to give to such small animals. We usually use a paste formulation (Strongid Paste) which is easy to administer and safe even for very young puppies. Older puppies can be given tablets in their food. Newer worm doses, such as Drontal Plus, are safe enough to use even in very young puppies but effective enough to kill all types of worm in dogs of any age. A new product, Stronghold, is a tablet given monthly which kills roundworms as well as fleas and some other parasites.
Many of the older liquid wormers which are still widely available are both ineffective against worms and potentially toxic to the puppies at even slight over dosages. It is very easy to accidentally get a liquid wormer into the puppies lungs which can be very dangerous. These should be avoided.
How often should Dogs be wormed?
Puppies should be wormed at 2,4,6 and 8 weeks of age, then every month until they are six months old. Often a puppy will be re-homed with no history of its early worming. In this case worm every 2 weeks until the puppy is 12 weeks old, then as before.
Bitches should be wormed 2 days after whelping and then along with the puppies until they are weaned. They should also be wormed during pregnancy – the frequency and timing of these doses depend on the drug used and it is best to contact us, or your own vet, for specific advice.
Adult dogs need worming about twice a year but where they are in contact with children or are allowed to defecate in areas frequented by the public they should be wormed at least four times a year.
Scooping the Poop
Did you know that if your dog defecates in a public place you are now legally required to pick up and dispose of the droppings?
A plastic bag for this purpose should always be carried whenever you take your dog for a walk. Specially designed pooper scoopers are available and make this task much easier. We usually have some in stock.
Bayer and Us
We have chosen to use Bayer’s products: Advantage for Flea control and Drontal for Worm control because we believe they are the most effective treatments available. Bayer have developed two excellent and entertaining sites with extensive information for pet owners.
Visit No Fleas for info about fleas and print out the coupon and bring it to us to claim a free tube of Advantage! Ignore the bit that says offer only available in the US. It’s available at Abbeyside too.
