Worming

In dogs and cats, Roundworms and Tapeworms are the main enemy.

More recently lungworm in dogs has arrived in the West Midlands

Roundworms

Canine roundworms are zoonotic ie can affect people with very serious consequences causing blindness, liver & lung disease  so comprehensive worming of all puppies and adult dogs is vital. Pups and kittens can be born with worms, passed via the placenta, suckled by the dam's milk. Bitches and queens rearing young can also release eggs in the faeces and subsequently infest their offspring directly. Adults pick up worms from soil and the environment eg. in the park.

The fact that worms are not seen does not mean that the animal is worm free as only eggs are passed out in the faeces and are invisible to the naked eye. Eggs passed out subsequently take a few weeks to develop to infective lavae and so rapid removal of faeces is important. With basic hygiene and regular worming of pets, the risk of human infection is virtually eliminated.

Puppies should be wormed several times as youngsters with a good quality prescription wormer. Ashwood recommend Panacur or Drontal  and then on to every three months routinely as an adult with a further doses of a good quality prescription wormer ~ Drontal or a prescription spot on such as Advocate or Stronghold for dogs & Drontal tablets or the brilliant spot on Profender for cats ~ no struggling with tablets or risk of a dose being regurgitated later outside! Beware of supermarket products than are often much  less effective  ~  especially spot ons.There are many spot on preparations on the market and it is common for folks to believe they are using an equivalent to our prescription medications and this can be hugely misleading.

Tapeworms 

Tapeworms can cause disease in humans, very rarely indeed though and only one particular type of tapeworm can do this. Tapes are normally seen as segments (microscopically filled with eggs) about the size of a grain of rice, adhering to the underside of a pet's tail or on the surface of the faeces. These eggs are ingested by a number of intermediate hosts eg fleas, wild rabbits, sheep and pets become infested by eating these intermediate hosts and completing the cycle. Control of fleas, especially in cats, is an important part of the treatment.

Tapeworm therapy is best combined with roundworm treatment, using a good quality all in one wormer eg Drontal and repeated every three months. The Profender spot on is great for cats and very effective against both round & tape worms.

 Lungworm ~ dogs

 Lungworm affecting dogs has been increasing across the country in recent years and appearing in the West Midlands affecting a dog in Walmley recently. It can be fatal and is spread by ingesting infected slugs and causes coughing, pneumonia and potential fatally bleeding disorders. As a consequence, Ashwood parasite protocol has been updated to offer a product effective against this potentially fatal parasite. Our routine worming preparations do not deal with it.
The risk is probably low but consequences can be fatal.

Our Gold Standard combined internal and external anti-parasitic treatment is:

For dogs :

Advocate Spot on every 4 weeks. Drontal every 3 months.

Advocate  kills:   Fleas & Flea larvae    Scabies (fox mite)
                              Roundworms              Earmites
                              Hookworms                 Biting lice
                              Whipworms                 Heart Worm

Advocate is the only product effective against lungworm. It is applied as a spot on and must not be ingested.

Advocate does not deal with tapeworms or ticks. Drontal is needed for tapeworms and Advantix needed for ticks.

The risk of contracting lung worm is currently considered low but the consequences are potentially lethal.However for those clients not wanting this additional protection or those who consider their pets unlikely to be at risk the advice would be our standard protocol as before ie:

Dogs :

For routine flea treatment - Frontline Combo Spot on first choice

For routine worm treatment – not protective against lungworm – Drontal Tablets.

Cats :

This particular lungworm is not a problem

For routine flea treatment – Frontline Combo.

For routine worm treatment – Profender or Drontal.

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