DBK
LIFE MEMBER
On post number 126 on this thread: https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/two-go-back-to-spain.173803/page-7#post-2841199 I mentioned we started finding lots of ticks on our dog Charlie while in Spain. I initially thought this was because we were a few days late treating him but it has happened again. Yesterday I took three off him and found another walking on the fur of his leg. The three I removed were quite small so had only just latched on. Given we treated him on 12 May this is just under 28 days ago, and every 28 days is the interval recommend by our vet.
So what's going on? I downloaded a PDF written by the manufacturer which states Advantix is effective against two types of tick for four weeks but only three weeks for a third type Dermacentor reticulatus which is not native to the UK but it is now found in coastal areas of the SW and west Wales. However, it is widespread in the rest of southern Europe.
A possible secondary factor is Charlie falls between two dose sizes. There is a tube for dogs 4 to 10kg of 1ml size and one for dogs 10 to 25kg in weight with 2.5ml of the medicine. Charlie weighs 9.5kg so he has the smaller dose. I guess we could use the larger size but that would mean him getting two and a half times the dose he's on now of a potent pesticide.
So we won't be doing that.
While we are on this trip we are now going to treat him every 21 days and I'll have a chat with the vet when we get back. This means he will get another dose a week before we get the ferry.
So the lesson learned I think is depending where you are you may need to treat for ticks more often than the standard 28 days.
But don't follow my advice - talk to your vet first!
And check your legs - I found one crawling up my leg today.
The PDF I downloaded was here: https://www.vet-medic.com/downloads/1373453858ADVAD-advantix-spot-on-dog-datasheet.pdf
So what's going on? I downloaded a PDF written by the manufacturer which states Advantix is effective against two types of tick for four weeks but only three weeks for a third type Dermacentor reticulatus which is not native to the UK but it is now found in coastal areas of the SW and west Wales. However, it is widespread in the rest of southern Europe.
A possible secondary factor is Charlie falls between two dose sizes. There is a tube for dogs 4 to 10kg of 1ml size and one for dogs 10 to 25kg in weight with 2.5ml of the medicine. Charlie weighs 9.5kg so he has the smaller dose. I guess we could use the larger size but that would mean him getting two and a half times the dose he's on now of a potent pesticide.
So we won't be doing that.
While we are on this trip we are now going to treat him every 21 days and I'll have a chat with the vet when we get back. This means he will get another dose a week before we get the ferry.
So the lesson learned I think is depending where you are you may need to treat for ticks more often than the standard 28 days.
But don't follow my advice - talk to your vet first!
And check your legs - I found one crawling up my leg today.
The PDF I downloaded was here: https://www.vet-medic.com/downloads/1373453858ADVAD-advantix-spot-on-dog-datasheet.pdf
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