Vaccines and wormers
Moderators: Pike Ridge Beagles, Aaron Bartlett
Vaccines and wormers
Well after about a total of 6 hours of looking at threads about wormers and vaccines I believe I am more confused than ever, LOL. There is alot to digest about wormers and vaccines. I have 2 puppies (8 weeks and 7) now and do seem a little more knowlegeble than before though. I believe I belive i will follow the routine in the future of worming at 3,6,9,12,16 and vaccinating at 6,9,12,16. I think I will go with a 7 in 1 vaacine but have no idea about the wormer that i will use. I think i will do ivomec once a month to save on costs, with a test for heart worms first. Does everyone use ivomec or ivomec plus? And does Ivomec have to be kept refrigerated like the vaccines? I don't want to have to order from diffent sites, would like to order from just one site. On the question of wormers which is a good brand, company to order from or which wormer in general. After the puppy worming sequence is it a once a year worming or what is the regiment. Does the vaacines come seperately or or in individual syringes (doses). After the puppy vaccine routine am I correct about only a yearly vaccine shot? I know this is a big and broad question but a newbie has to start somewhere. Also what about lyme disease vaccinations, it seems really expensive. Is it a yearly vaccine or what is the schedule. I like to be well educated and any information, ideas or thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks
Ivermectin doesn't need to be kept in the fridge. Just keep it out of direct sunlight, at room temp is best. If you keep it in its protective box (out of light) that is even better. Don't let it get too hot or too cold.
I use a combo heartworm/wormer/flea control called Sentinel. It protects against whipworms, hookworms, roundworms, heartworms, and fleas.
It is costly, but again, with my crazy schedule and only five dogs, one pill once a month is how I choose to prevent parasites.
If we go to a tick area I will use frontline, but I have no need to use it all the time. If you use frontline you can use Sentinel's sibling, INTERCEPTOR. It will do your worming and heartworms in one pill once a month. Interceptor and Sentinel BOTH come with a guarantee, if your pet gets parasites the company will pay for testing, and treatment, that includes heartworms!
If it is too pricey, the Ivomec is fine. Frontline should prevent both fleas and ticks. But you can't use frontline yet, pups should be AT LEAST 12 weeks old before you apply frontline.
Ivomec treats a lot of parasites, but you won't be covered for whipworms or tapeworms. I don't worry about tapes too much, my dogs don't eat dead things and I don't have fleas. BUT, in the past if I caught them eating SOMETHING that I didn't know what it was, I'd pop them a droncit, because with my parasite prevention program I'm covered for EVERYTHING except the tapeworms and coccidea.
Drontal (relative of Droncit) covers 99.999% of intestinal parasites your pups might come into contact with. If you buy this, check the bottle and make sure it has a long shelf life, it is cheaper to buy by the bottle.
If you use Sentinel or Interceptor you don't need something as strong as drontal, you can get away with it's sibling, Droncit. Droncit covers tapeworms.
I don't EVER worry about coccidea, but folks with kennels do worry about it. I poop scoop religeously and my dogs live in the house, I don't have to worry about any unsanitary conditions. But even the cleanest kennel can suffer a coccidea infestation if even ONE dog gets it, it spreads like wildfire. Mucousy poops, bloody stinky diarrhea, it is a MESS, AND if left untreated can proove fatal to real young or real old dogs.
OH, yeah, Do NOT use Ivomec Plus. I can't remember why, but I do remember a breeder told me never ivomec plus...
The puppyshot by Fort Dodge is a good puppyshot. It covers Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parvo, and Parainfluenze, and corona. It is best to booster once a year. (you can use the same brand, the puppyshot booster, even for older dogs) Even though it is called the "puppyshot" it is what is used yearly to booster the vaccines.
Don't foget the kennel cough vaccine, especially if you will trial your pups, or even if they will travel with your buddies dogs. Kennel cough spreads like crazy, lasts for weeks, and really hinders perfomance, It is much easier to prevent than treat. You can give it anytime now, or with any of your scheduled vaccine times. It is good for one year.
As far as worming schedule, if you aren't going to use the Interceptor or Sentinel, if you use Drontal 4 times a year (seasonally) you should keep covered. Worm more if your guys are exposed to other dogs.
As far as Lyme, I started with Fort Dodge, but my one dog (the one who had lyme disease) had a reaction to the Fort Dodge vaccine, so I switched to the Merial Recombetec vaccine with no problems.
Remember, the Lyme vaccine isn't 100% effective, and if you start it you MUST give the second booster 14-21 days after you give the first shot for it to be effective. Then, lyme is boostered yearly.
Also remember, if you give the Lyme vaccine, and your dog does get Lyme disease it may be more expensive for diagnostic testing to see IF he has lyme. Even though I do vaccinate for Lyme, there are definately pros and cons to giving the vaccine. It is something to think about before you do it. (Also best to prevent the ticks altogether, and although I'm not a fan of Frontline, it is probably your best defence against ticks.) Some collars, like preventic and tick arrest work well, but are toxic to cats or horses. Something to think about if you have cats or horses. I also try to have a little as possible around my dogs neck, their collar and tags are enough!
Your vaccines should come in separate vials, it is more sanitary that way, maybe more expensive (a little) but it is best that once a needle has penetrated a bottle that the bottle be discarded.
Remember to alcohol the tops of your vaccine bottles and let it dry a bit before inserting the needle. (DON'T blow on the bottle to make it dry faster...I know you probably already knew that, but I wanted to make sure.) You can alcohol the injection site, but that isn't always necessary. If you do alcohol the injection site make sure it dries (again, no blowing) otherwise when you stick that needle in it will sting like a booger!
I prefer to use 25g needles on young pups and 22g needles on older dogs. I like the larger needles because you can give the shot faster.
Rememer with needles the SMALLER the number the LARGER the needle.
Or, the LARGER the number the SMALLER the needle, whichever is easiest for you to remember.
The schedule you picked seems fine. For young pups, USUALLY rounds are the only thing you have to worry about, and strongid is fine.
I am still a fan of the stool/fecal exam. Nasty hidden things like coccidea hide in young pups, and by the time you realize they have it they have spread it all over your yard. It can't hurt to have the stool tested at the vet. That way, picking a wormer will be easy, you will know what you are treating for. But dosing with strongid every 10 days for the first few weeks or so CERTAINLY will not hurt the pups.
As a side note, some folks have used Revolution, but we've found it DOESN'T cover all intestinal parasites as well as good ol' regular wormers. ...
I use a combo heartworm/wormer/flea control called Sentinel. It protects against whipworms, hookworms, roundworms, heartworms, and fleas.
It is costly, but again, with my crazy schedule and only five dogs, one pill once a month is how I choose to prevent parasites.
If we go to a tick area I will use frontline, but I have no need to use it all the time. If you use frontline you can use Sentinel's sibling, INTERCEPTOR. It will do your worming and heartworms in one pill once a month. Interceptor and Sentinel BOTH come with a guarantee, if your pet gets parasites the company will pay for testing, and treatment, that includes heartworms!
If it is too pricey, the Ivomec is fine. Frontline should prevent both fleas and ticks. But you can't use frontline yet, pups should be AT LEAST 12 weeks old before you apply frontline.
Ivomec treats a lot of parasites, but you won't be covered for whipworms or tapeworms. I don't worry about tapes too much, my dogs don't eat dead things and I don't have fleas. BUT, in the past if I caught them eating SOMETHING that I didn't know what it was, I'd pop them a droncit, because with my parasite prevention program I'm covered for EVERYTHING except the tapeworms and coccidea.
Drontal (relative of Droncit) covers 99.999% of intestinal parasites your pups might come into contact with. If you buy this, check the bottle and make sure it has a long shelf life, it is cheaper to buy by the bottle.
If you use Sentinel or Interceptor you don't need something as strong as drontal, you can get away with it's sibling, Droncit. Droncit covers tapeworms.
I don't EVER worry about coccidea, but folks with kennels do worry about it. I poop scoop religeously and my dogs live in the house, I don't have to worry about any unsanitary conditions. But even the cleanest kennel can suffer a coccidea infestation if even ONE dog gets it, it spreads like wildfire. Mucousy poops, bloody stinky diarrhea, it is a MESS, AND if left untreated can proove fatal to real young or real old dogs.
OH, yeah, Do NOT use Ivomec Plus. I can't remember why, but I do remember a breeder told me never ivomec plus...
The puppyshot by Fort Dodge is a good puppyshot. It covers Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parvo, and Parainfluenze, and corona. It is best to booster once a year. (you can use the same brand, the puppyshot booster, even for older dogs) Even though it is called the "puppyshot" it is what is used yearly to booster the vaccines.
Don't foget the kennel cough vaccine, especially if you will trial your pups, or even if they will travel with your buddies dogs. Kennel cough spreads like crazy, lasts for weeks, and really hinders perfomance, It is much easier to prevent than treat. You can give it anytime now, or with any of your scheduled vaccine times. It is good for one year.
As far as worming schedule, if you aren't going to use the Interceptor or Sentinel, if you use Drontal 4 times a year (seasonally) you should keep covered. Worm more if your guys are exposed to other dogs.
As far as Lyme, I started with Fort Dodge, but my one dog (the one who had lyme disease) had a reaction to the Fort Dodge vaccine, so I switched to the Merial Recombetec vaccine with no problems.
Remember, the Lyme vaccine isn't 100% effective, and if you start it you MUST give the second booster 14-21 days after you give the first shot for it to be effective. Then, lyme is boostered yearly.
Also remember, if you give the Lyme vaccine, and your dog does get Lyme disease it may be more expensive for diagnostic testing to see IF he has lyme. Even though I do vaccinate for Lyme, there are definately pros and cons to giving the vaccine. It is something to think about before you do it. (Also best to prevent the ticks altogether, and although I'm not a fan of Frontline, it is probably your best defence against ticks.) Some collars, like preventic and tick arrest work well, but are toxic to cats or horses. Something to think about if you have cats or horses. I also try to have a little as possible around my dogs neck, their collar and tags are enough!
Your vaccines should come in separate vials, it is more sanitary that way, maybe more expensive (a little) but it is best that once a needle has penetrated a bottle that the bottle be discarded.
Remember to alcohol the tops of your vaccine bottles and let it dry a bit before inserting the needle. (DON'T blow on the bottle to make it dry faster...I know you probably already knew that, but I wanted to make sure.) You can alcohol the injection site, but that isn't always necessary. If you do alcohol the injection site make sure it dries (again, no blowing) otherwise when you stick that needle in it will sting like a booger!
I prefer to use 25g needles on young pups and 22g needles on older dogs. I like the larger needles because you can give the shot faster.
Rememer with needles the SMALLER the number the LARGER the needle.
Or, the LARGER the number the SMALLER the needle, whichever is easiest for you to remember.
The schedule you picked seems fine. For young pups, USUALLY rounds are the only thing you have to worry about, and strongid is fine.
I am still a fan of the stool/fecal exam. Nasty hidden things like coccidea hide in young pups, and by the time you realize they have it they have spread it all over your yard. It can't hurt to have the stool tested at the vet. That way, picking a wormer will be easy, you will know what you are treating for. But dosing with strongid every 10 days for the first few weeks or so CERTAINLY will not hurt the pups.
As a side note, some folks have used Revolution, but we've found it DOESN'T cover all intestinal parasites as well as good ol' regular wormers. ...