Dog Parks and Worms

Mary -- you misunderstand what it does. 

ONE DAY a month -- the milbemycin in Interceptor kills any blood-feasting parasite.  From heartworm microfilaria to hooks, whips, etc.  The only thing it *won't* kill is tapeworm. 

But it kills them on that ONE day.  It prevents heartworm microfilaria from maturing and going thru it's larveal stage to become adult parasites.  It kills all hooks and whips in the body that one day.

But if you go back to the place where they got the parasites tomorrow -- they can get re-infested.  Only to be killed the next month when you give Interceptor again.

The stuff like Revolution and Advantage Multi which advertises that it kills "constantly" -- is because it literally puts a pesticide in the dog's blood to STAY THERE all month long.  The **hope** is that it is sufficiently strong to kill the parasites, BUT that it will wear off before the end of the month so the next month's application won't be an overdose.

Revolution fails frequently -- they have to dose it low enough so that at the end of the month when people re-apply it's not going to over-dose the dog (and every dog's metabolism is different).  But ... then it fails.  But it also has one of the highest incidences of adverse-reactions of all similar pesticides/meds.  Because it stays IN the body.

The stuff that is in Advantage-Multi is moxydectin -- that's what was in ProHeart 6 several years ago that caused so many deaths (and they took it off the market -- this is a revamped product they've gotten by the FDA).  Moxidectin has been tied repeatedly to IMHA (Immune-mediated hemolytic anemia which is such a severe, horrible disease and is so often deadly) -- among other immune-mediate/auto-immune diseases.  I wouldn't use it for all the tea in China.

You may want to talk to your vet about keeping something like Panacur on hand to treat suspected whips/hooks in between - an infestation of those can be deadly.

But honestly -- if your dogs are getting into hooks and whips repeatedly?? Man, I'd be switching dogparks.  They are majorly destructive in the body -- hooks are nothing more than a little ball-shaped parasite that is essentially all teeth.  And whips are long thin razor blades -- both of them feed on the dog's blood.  I lost a dog to hooks/whips once years ago -- he was older and they just tore thru him.

In the summer you may want to discuss with your vet even something like using liquid ivermectin in two week intervals dosed simply to kill hooks/whips.  Not every day - that's way too hard on the immune system (it can be habit-forming). 

But it isn't that the Interceptor doesn't "last" -- it isn't intended to.  It's out of the body in 24 hours.  The word "heart worm prevention" is a misnomer -- it simply means it prevents the life-cycle of the heartworm from being completed.  There is no day by day "protection" in Interceptor or any of the other monthly "preventions".

You could try feeding DE - http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html

 What Callie said.  But, if your dog is herding breed, be careful of ivermectin.  Read up on MDR1 mutant gene before giving a herding breed anything with ivermectin in it - there are other drugs to be careful of, too.  MARS mini aussie rescue publishes a list on their web page.

They are getting hooks

Thanks for this useful info.  May have to quit the dog park where I go. 

Does anyone use DE?  Does it work well?

I don't know a lot of folks who have used it internally (and you *must* use the food grade one for that) -- but the couple I have didn't like it that way -- it is kinda like ground glass (it's small glassy-crystals -- maybe that sounds better) but it's pretty rough stuff to try to 'pass' -- sorry TMI.  But the one dog had quite a bit of gastric distress with it.

It's a dessicant essentially -- but I think it's different how it works internally - but be cautious.  Especially since you're already dealing with gut disturbance.

Thanks.  We're just not going to the dog park as often and do panacur again.

Since you're saying 'hooks' -- be aware that once they are in YOUR yard you won't ever get rid of them.  I deal with this myself -- we took a dog about 13 years ago during a hurricane and he had hooks & whips and I **STILL** have them.  And we took the yard all the way down to bare sand and replaced it.  You just can't ever get rid of them so you'll have to just always treat periodically. 

 I have fecals done on my bunch several times a year because of it -- much depends on the weather and other things.  They can go dormant for years and then suddenly reappear.  Ugh.

Gibby had HOOKS twice, I believe they came from either the dog park or one of the play days he went to. He goes to neither anymore.  Its not worth it to me at all!