Worming Dogs

Have you ever thought about what might be living on the inside of your pet? Most of us have heard of worms in dogs and cats but where do they live, are they dangerous for your pet and what should you be doing about them? These are important questions to be asking as internal parasites can have a significant impact on your pet’s health and some of them can even be transmissible to humans, particularly children – not something you really want to be sharing with your pet!

Regular worming is essential to ensure the good health of your dog and the safety of you and your family. A good quality wormer to control roundworm, hookworm, whipworm and tapeworm should be used.  We recommend Popantel tablets.

Puppies should be wormed:

• Every 2 weeks until 12 weeks old
• Then every month until 6 months of age
• From 6 months of age dogs should be wormed every 3 month. We can generate easy to remember text message reminders, so you do not forget the three-monthly dose. Just ask our friendly reception team to get them set up.

*Dogs living or visiting hydatid tapeworm areas or living on farms and eating offal should be wormed every 6 weeks to prevent hydatid disease.

Heartworm Prevention in Dogs

Heartworm is a parasite that lives inside the arteries of the lung and chambers of a pet’s heart and feed on surrounding blood. The disease is spread between pets via mosquitoes and can result in respiratory (breathing) failure, heart failure and severe damage to other organs. While heartworm are more commonly found in tropical areas of Australia, there have been cases of the disease in Canberra and given the severe and life threating consequences, prevention is much better than treatment!

Prevention: We recommend use of the pro-heart injection. This will require injections at the clinic at 3 months, 6 months 15 months and then annually for the rest of your dog’s life. There are many products on the market to protect against heartworm. The injection appears to be the most effective method of prevention and the benefit is, there is nothing for you to remember! We will send you a reminder when your pet is due.

Monthly tablets such as Nexgard Spectra are an alternative option which will protect your dog not only against heartworms, but also intestinal worms, ear mites, fleas and ticks. The key with these medications is that they MUST be given on time every month.

Worming Cats

Regular worming is essential to ensure the good health of your cat, and to prevent accidental infection of their humans. A good quality all-wormer to control roundworm, hookworm and tapeworm should be used. We recommend Milbemax tablets or Nexgard Spectra. Nexgard Spectra is an easy to use spot-on treatment that is simply applied to the back of the cat’s neck – no need for tablets or pastes. Used once a month, it treats fleas, ticks, heart worms, intestinal worms, and ear mites.

Kittens should be wormed:

• Every 2 weeks from birth until 12 weeks of age
• Then monthly until 6 months of age

Adult cats (over 6 months of age) need to be wormed every 3 months with Milbemax or monthly if using Nexgard Spectra. Nexgard Spectra is safe for kittens from 8 weeks of age and is also safe for pregnant or lactating cats.