Opinions on flea & tick control
 

I am currently using Frontline. I am pleased with the product. It does work. But I have 4 pointing dogs and am tired of the hefty price tag.

Does anyone have opinions on Bio-spot? Although Im looking for cheaper, it has to work. 2 of my dogs are inside dogs. We also do waterwork and I cant find any literature claiming it to be waterproof.

Also on this note- Do you guys continue to apply the drops when the weather turns cold (over the winter)?

wormer
 

I used intercepter and frontline for several years, it is just to expensive. I started talking to some older guys who raise dogs(60+). Also spoke with some vets. I now use Ivomec .27% injectible for feeder pigs. I give it by mouth, 1cc per 20 lbs body weight every 28 days. It kills most all external parasites and alot of internal parasites, plus covers heartworm. (ivomectin is the main ingredient in interceptor) It doesnt kill tapeworms and (one other, I cannot remember off hand the other). I use panacur twice a year to get those.

Ivomec is not labeled for use in domestic dogs, but it works. Vets will tell you not to use it, but that is because they are trying to make money, and they cannot make any money selling 200 cc of Ivomec for $50. It also cost less than $1 per month per dog, instead of $25 a month for interceptor and frontline.

i only put the k-9 on just before the grouse season opens.that is oct here in pa.then again in nov.then i stop until jan if weather looks warm.

so i use 3 bottles ,cost is around 32 dollars.

Birddog- are you suggesting that the ivomec solution, besides treating internal parasites, will also ward off fleas and ticks? I do treat my own dogs with the 1% injectable solution by mouth as recommended by a vet-for heartworm prevention. (BIG money savings) But I was not aware that it would work on the fleas or ticks. Is this correct?

ivomec
 

Yes it works, but you have to give more than for heartworms. If you read the label it is recommended for use on external parasites in farm raised foxes.

I do want to add that you do not want to give this to any collies or collie cross dogs.

1cc per 20 is much too high of a dose. About a third of that is more appropriate.

Ivermectin is not the main ingredient in Interceptor. That would be milbemycin oxime. Ivomec is not even in it. It is the main ingredient, however, of heartgard.

Panacur (fenbendazole) is not generally used to treat tapeworms. It does get the Taenia sp. of tapeworms, but does not even touch the more common dog tapeworm. Praziquantel (Drontal/Droncit, Cesteved) is the drug of choice here.

Pour-on Ivermectin (not orally) has shown some ability against fleas (doesn't do anything to ticks). However even the cheap over-the-counter permethrins (i.e. Sargents, Bio-spot, Adams, etc) are more effective. The fact is, when it comes to fleas and ticks, there are no perfect products, at least none that I have found. Frontline is my personal favorite and what I use on my own dogs, but it isn't perfect. And if you are in a Lyme endemic area, Frontline is tough to beat.

City vets may not recommend Ivermectin, but that isn't necessary so for rural vets like myself. Try telling a guy who has 20 hunting dogs that he needs to put every one of them on Interceptor. Isn't going to happen. Ivermec is the perfect solution in cases like this. However it is also important to note that you should NEVER start ivermectin in dogs over 6 months of age without first establishing whether or not the dog has heartworms. If he does, ivermectin can be very harmful, fatal even. And as you mentioned, Ivermection should never be given to Collies and collie-related breeds.

Thanks for straightening out some of what I said (the difference in interceptor and heart guard, I got them confused) You say I am giving to much ivomec, even though I am only using .27% solution, and Illinois hunter says he uses 1% solution. Guess I have just been lucky not getting the fleas and ticks, not saying I do not pull an occasional tick off a dog after being afield in the summer.

Madvilledoc
 

MADVILLEDOG, what would be your recommendation to someone with 10 plus dogs to keep costs at a managable level, as far as heartworms, internal and external parasites? What would your yearly treatment schedual be?

Thanks

Yes, Thanks Doc for the explanation. For the records, I uase the 1% solution given oral, 1/10th cc. per 20 pounds. It end up being about 1/2 cc. per dog for my shorthairs. I had to travel almost 2 hours to find a vet that would actually sit and talk with me at a consult about this. Not saying that I blame my local vets, as they do have a career in medicine and im asking how to take away some of thier buisiness. But I was dead set on doing this and just wanted to make sure Im going at it right. Our local vet is currently 3 times higher than the one I now travel to.

I do care about the health of my dogs and they do go in yearly for a check up, heartworm test and rabies as needed. As bird dog asked, what do you recomend otherwise that can save us the travel time and money. And do you know about Bio-spot being waterproof? As I can not find it in any literature. And is the permetherin safe for my dogs??