[curt3007]

George was treated with Advocate by the breeder before we got him. How often should he be flea treated. He has been scratching a bit, vet never mentioned anything when he had his 2nd vaccine, thanks

 

[Nadhak]

I think we have advocate monthly! but still away so cannot check my file [am so organised LOL]

 

[Cockapoodledoo]

Jayne it's every 4 weeks for Advocate. It's blinkin' expensive but have definitely found it the most effective treatment we've ever used for fleas. No evidence of any since we started using it and of course it deals with all those other nasties as well.

Karen x

 

[lola24]

Advocate should be applied monthly although it shouldn't harm to go over by a week. Advocate is great as it covers for a variety of parasites including roundworm and lungworm. Lungworm is a nasty parasite as it is passed on by slugs and snails and can be as simple as dogs eating grass with infected slime on it. Outdoors bowls and toys should be cleaned regularly too. Advocate now holds a licence to PREVENT lungworm which can present with strange symptoms aswell as none.

See here for more info on lungworm; http://www.lungworm.co.uk/scripts/pages/en/home.php

Although more expensive than other good fleas treatments, Advocate has the worming element also so unless your dog eats raw meats/ dead animals (including mice!) on a regular basis, you shouldn't have to tapeworm so often if at all. We currently advise Advocate monthly and Droncit (just a tapeworm version of Drontal) every 6 months or so. Droncit is slightly cheaper than drontal so all in all there isn't much difference whichever way you choose.

Also, if you speak to your vets, some practices offer free nurse clinics where you can take your puppy for a monthly appointment for weight check and the Advocate applying. I have dogs of 3-4yrs still coming for these and they love coming to the vets as they get treats every visit!! It is also a good oppurtunity to ask any questions you may have and spreads out the cost of the Advocate rather than buying 3-6months worth at once.

Sorry for going on, can't shut me up on this sort of thing- last thing, remember bathing your puppy soon after applying spot-on treatments will reduce the efficacy, as will swimming. For those water loving dogs, there is a new veterinary oral treatment for fleas which i think is a leading brand in oz and usa.

 

[doodlebug]

Advocate should be applied monthly although it shouldn't harm to go over by a week. Advocate is great as it covers for a variety of parasites including roundworm and lungworm. Lungworm is a nasty parasite as it is passed on by slugs and snails and can be as simple as dogs eating grass with infected slime on it. Outdoors bowls and toys should be cleaned regularly too. Advocate now holds a licence to PREVENT lungworm which can present with strange symptoms aswell as none.

See here for more info on lungworm; http://www.lungworm.co.uk/scripts/pages/en/home.php

Although more expensive than other good fleas treatments, Advocate has the worming element also so unless your dog eats raw meats/ dead animals (including mice!) on a regular basis, you shouldn't have to tapeworm so often if at all. We currently advise Advocate monthly and Droncit (just a tapeworm version of Drontal) every 6 months or so. Droncit is slightly cheaper than drontal so all in all there isn't much difference whichever way you choose.

Also, if you speak to your vets, some practices offer free nurse clinics where you can take your puppy for a monthly appointment for weight check and the Advocate applying. I have dogs of 3-4yrs still coming for these and they love coming to the vets as they get treats every visit!! It is also a good oppurtunity to ask any questions you may have and spreads out the cost of the Advocate rather than buying 3-6months worth at once.

Sorry for going on, can't shut me up on this sort of thing- last thing, remember bathing your puppy soon after applying spot-on treatments will reduce the efficacy, as will swimming. For those water loving dogs, there is a new veterinary oral treatment for fleas which i think is a leading brand in oz and usa.

Advocate doesnt prevent lung worm its used to treat it, or so i thought lol, do you have the literature where it says it can be used as a preventative please?

 

[pixie]

Great post lola24! thanks x

 

[doodlebug]

This is what it says on their website



Advocate is an ideal product offering

heartworm prevention
flea and lice treatment and prevention of flea infestations. The product can be also used as part of a treatment strategy for FAD (Flea Allergy Dermatitis)
gastrointestinal worm control including several larval stages
treatment of lungworms in dogs (Angiostrongylus vasorum)
control of ear mites in cats and dogs
control of sarcoptic mange in dogs
control of Demodex mites in dogs
http://www.animalhealth.bayerhealthcare.com/4882.0.html

 

[andypandi]

I have been using Advocate and Droncit every 4 weeks and Milo still managed to get worms 2 weeks after the last application - I was horrified and rushed down to the vet to see what else he could have. They just said to give him a Drontal tablet and apply the Advocate again which seems to have done the trick but I was quite upset that despite doing what I thought was best, he still wasn't covered.

I will have to have a think about what to give him next time as I have lost a bit of confidence with the Advocate but wanted it because of the lungworm protection as we are surrounded by slugs and snails at the moment. I have also noticed that he seems to scratch a lot for about a week after the Advocate is applied but the vets think it is probably coincidence. I just feel like a paranoid mother at the moment!

 

[kendal]

only ever used a flea treatment once and it made Gypsy and Inca sick.

5 years of having dogs and we havent had any flees, were as when we just had the cats we were constently having problems with them.

i still stand buy garlic beeing good at preventing ticks and fleas.

 

[lola24]

Advocate doesnt prevent lung worm its used to treat it, or so i thought lol, do you have the literature where it says it can be used as a preventative please?

Will find it for you, its a fairly new licence they have for the prevention....

 

[lola24]

http://www.animalhealth.bayerhealthcare.com/3519.0.html?tx_bahprdmx_pi1[showUid]=38&no_cache=1

Part way down the indications paragraph it states prevention of angiostrongylus vasorum which is lungworm. I will get our rep to e-mail me the paper next week so i can post it on here. As i say, its quite a new licence they have for it and i only know because we see the technical staff regularly.

 

[lola24]

I have been using Advocate and Droncit every 4 weeks and Milo still managed to get worms 2 weeks after the last application - I was horrified and rushed down to the vet to see what else he could have. They just said to give him a Drontal tablet and apply the Advocate again which seems to have done the trick but I was quite upset that despite doing what I thought was best, he still wasn't covered.

I will have to have a think about what to give him next time as I have lost a bit of confidence with the Advocate but wanted it because of the lungworm protection as we are surrounded by slugs and snails at the moment. I have also noticed that he seems to scratch a lot for about a week after the Advocate is applied but the vets think it is probably coincidence. I just feel like a paranoid mother at the moment!

How old is milo? Were the roundworms or tapeworms? (pasta spaghetti or rice!?) monthly advocate and regular (every 3-6months) droncit should be fine to cover worms, how often depends on the individual. Make sure he doesn't get bathed or swims after application as this will reduce efficacy. Also (without sounding patronising) make sure you part the fur so it goes directly onto the skin and not just on the hair- it is fine to do this in several places on the back of the neck if it helps. Sorry if thats teaching granny to suck eggs but it can sometimes be something that simple! Hopefully now he has had a thorough worming you should find he's ok

 

[doodlebug]

Will find it for you, its a fairly new licence they have for the prevention....

http://www.animalhealth.bayerhealthcare.com/3519.0.html?tx_bahprdmx_pi1[showUid]=38&no_cache=1

Part way down the indications paragraph it states prevention of angiostrongylus vasorum which is lungworm. I will get our rep to e-mail me the paper next week so i can post it on here. As i say, its quite a new licence they have for it and i only know because we see the technical staff regularly.

I really appreciate this Lola, thank you

 

[DONNA]

Thanks Lola your posts are really helpful ,especially for a new owner who hasnt got a clue about these things.
Buddy's on frontline combo at the mo would you say Advocate is better then?

 

[Guest]

i use stronghold when puppies leave me , my final dose but i do feel that putting this strong treatment on a dog every month is unnesessary i think worming is very important i use milbemax cheaper than drontal and as effective , i always say to my customers would you keep putting chemicals on your childs head for lice every month ? NO you would not so why do it to our dogs as KENDAL said use garlic in there food and treat with tea tree or citronela shampoo its much kinder , i read a article many years ago regarding cancer and flea treatments it was a bit scary janice x

 

[lola24]

Thanks Lola your posts are really helpful ,especially for a new owner who hasnt got a clue about these things.
Buddy's on frontline combo at the mo would you say Advocate is better then?

It very much depends on your dogs lifestyle and the area in which you live. We have had cases of lungworm locally which is why we use advocate and i believe places like surrey are rife with it. Best thig to do is to ask your vet what is best for you. Frontline combo is a very good flea treatment, quite honestly i use Advocate for the worm/lungworm factor not the flea, thats just an added bonus!

 

[lola24]

i use stronghold when puppies leave me , my final dose but i do feel that putting this strong treatment on a dog every month is unnesessary i think worming is very important i use milbemax cheaper than drontal and as effective , i always say to my customers would you keep putting chemicals on your childs head for lice every month ? NO you would not so why do it to our dogs as KENDAL said use garlic in there food and treat with tea tree or citronela shampoo its much kinder , i read a article many years ago regarding cancer and flea treatments it was a bit scary janice x

Milbemax is a very good wormer, quite as effective as drontal as they both contain praziquantel but is from the same family of drugs as Advocate- (moxidecin/milbemycin) which is why we don't use it. Although it has been used alongside Advocate, the drug companies do not reccomend it as you are kind of double dosing on this side of things. Advocate contains imidacloprid which is what is effective against the fleas/ mites. The moxidectin covers the 'internal' parasites just the same as milbemax.

 

[JulesB]

I use milbemax for worming Betty and Frontline for fleas. i tend to use the flea treatment every month to 6 weeks in the summer but less in the winter and it seems fine so far.

I am happy with keeping worming and flea treatments separate as think it means you can regulate more easily how often you treat them.

Been happy with Milbemax and seen no signs of worms from Betty (fingers crossed). i wouldn't touch drontal having seen how sick it made my friends puppy, she was sick about 20 times after having it and had always been fine with Milbemax so figured I'd just keep Betty on this.

 

[JulesB]

It very much depends on your dogs lifestyle and the area in which you live. We have had cases of lungworm locally which is why we use advocate and i believe places like surrey are rife with it. Best thig to do is to ask your vet what is best for you. Frontline combo is a very good flea treatment, quite honestly i use Advocate for the worm/lungworm factor not the flea, thats just an added bonus!

I was told Milbemax covered lungworm too, is that not the case?

 

[lola24]

milbemax will treat lungworm if given weekly for 4 weeks, currently i think advocate is the only product out there to prevent it, but this is fairly new. as i said earlier though, best to speak to your own vet to see what the lungworm situation is in your area. frontline and milbemax are perfectly good flea/worm treatments.