campolife

I had to work out for myself the best protection in Spain for my dogs.
Before living in Spain the best that my UK Vet could come up with was the usual Frontline and Drontal. The Vets in Spain seem to just favour the products they sell.

The products I use are :
Frontline for ticks, lice and fleas mainly. monthly
Scalibor collar for Sand flies (leishmans disease) and ticks. 4 monthly (2 collars per year).
Stronghold for heartworm, ear mites, fleas, round worm and lice. monthly.
Drontal for most intestinal worms. 3 monthly

I know some people use Advantix instead of scalibor every 2 weeks but most reviews say this can cause problems.

Question is. Is there a better combination?
Also is the Frontline really necessary as the Stronghold and Scalibor seem to have this covered between them.

jjh

I´m not a vet but this is what we do. Our dogs have Scalibor collars which are changed every six months. We use Advantix once a month from May to September then bi-monthly October to April. They both have an injection once a year for heartworm. They are also wormed with Drontal 3 times a year.

rugbymatt

My dog has been on Advantix for about 4 years now and not a single problem...

campolife

jjh

I emailed Bayer who make Advantix. They told me not to use it with Scalibor as the active ingredient in Scalibor is in Advantix and so can lead to overdose.

Also they told me that full protection against sand flies required Advantix every 2 weeks.

There is some evidence of reactions to Advantix at this dosage.

Reading the Scalibor trials it seems that after 4 months the effectiveness drops significantly. That is why I decided to use 2 per year.

Advantix does seem to have an advantage over frontline where fleas are concerned as it is a repellant as well as an insecticide.

jjh

Thanks campolife. My dogs have had Advantix with Scalibor collars all their lives and there doesn´t seem to be any adverse reaction, but I will bear that in mind and will talk to my Vet, who seems to think it´s OK or he wouldn´t prescribe them. I use 2 Scalibor collars per year per dog, so I´ve got that right. I won´t be using Advantix every 2 weeks because what we´re doing at the moment seems to be effective.

campolife

I suppose each dog has a different tolerance level anyway.

Strange how vets don't seem to be in agreement on the best course though.

We used stronghold the first time in Spain as one of our dogs had ear mites a couple of times and it gets rid of them and keeps them away. We also stopped the heartguard tablets as it covers that as well.

Important thing is to do all we can to keep the sand flies away and to prevent heartworm. So I suppose any method of achieving that is good.

jjh

Absolutely. I think that all we can do is to protect them as best we can. Unfortunately, nothing is foolproof or guaranteed but at least we know we´ve tried to the best of our abilities.

Dick Dasterdly

[QUOTE=campolife;8277479]I had to work out for myself the best protection in Spain for my dogs.
Before living in Spain the best that my UK Vet could come up with was the usual Frontline and Drontal. The Vets in Spain seem to just favour the products they sell.

The products I use are :
Frontline for ticks, lice and fleas mainly. monthly
Scalibor collar for Sand flies (leishmans disease) and ticks. 4 monthly (2 collars per year).
Stronghold for heartworm, ear mites, fleas, round worm and lice. monthly.
Drontal for most intestinal worms. 3 monthly
I know some people use Advantix instead of scalibor every 2 weeks but most reviews say this can cause problems...(QUOTE)"


I am not a great believer in the long term or even short term effectiveness of the collars.They certainly don't give 100% protection by a long way.
I even remember a poster,I think on this forum, saying his dog had gone down with Leishmans despite wearing a collar.
Advantix may be a better bet but as said can be subject to side effects.

I prefer to shampoo my dog with a strong insect repellent shampoo at least once a week in the height of the season, normally ensuring that some traces remain in the coat........ I also use frontline spot treatment of course.

BEWARE of Frontline in aerosol form.

A Swedish vet came so close to killing my mut by spraying him with it and allowing him to lick the surplus of the table which had mixed with some food she used to get him to take a drontal tablet.
I have never ever seen any creature suffer so much, and had I been in a position to put him out of his misery at the time, would have immediately done so.

campolife

DD

Yes the manufacturers of Scalibor (and Advantix) are very clear about this. 100% protection is not guaranteed.

It seems short haired dogs are more at risk and those who stay out at night.
The worst time is August to the beginning of October as the sand flies are adults and will have fed many times.

Even dogs who stay indoors cannot be protected by mosquito blinds as the sand flies can get through them.

If you protect yourself with the plug ins and light killers you also protect your dogs.

That is the theory anyway. Apparently there are trial of a preventative to Leishmanaisis but they are set to last 3 years.

campolife

Bayer have replied to me again.
This is an extract from a message from their chief Vet in Spain.

"If you use Advantix, every three weeks, you cover all this parasites: fleas, ticks, sand-flies, mosquitoes, stable flies, and thanks to it's repellent effect, prevent the transmission of CVBD (Canine Vector Borne Diseases), like ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, borreliosis (transmitted by ticks) and leishmaniosis (transmitted by sandflies). It's the most complete product against ectoparasites.
Then, you need another product against endoparasites (internal worms). You can use Drontal Plus, or now, the last product that we had launched, "Profender comprimidos", that covers the same worms that Drontal, but also it's larval stages, not only the adult ones.

If you use this combination, you have all the most important parasites covered.
If you use also Advocate, you can cover also the heart worm (if you are going to live in or around Huelva), and also other mites of the syn and ears.
With this three products, you can cover every parasite of your dog.

Advantix every three weeks.
Advocate every four weeks.
Profender tablets every three months.

It's better to wait one week before Advantix and Advocate."


I realise this is just one companies products but, on checking, Advocate is the same as Stronghold, Advantix covers the same as Frontline and scalibor combined, and Profender is equal to Drontal plus.

Hope this helps

Dick Dasterdly

Interesting post Campo.
I wonder if the improved Drontal will be adopted by DEFRA for pets travelling, If it does as said on the label it would only make good sense.
It seems heartworm is prevalent in some possibly warmer areas, and not others.I asked my local vet near Valencia and he thought I was joking,...no risk of that around here said he.
However having read a few articles, the general belief seems to be that it is spreading further North as things warm up, and is also common in the South of France,....so can't figure why not in my area.
Lived in the Canaries for quite a few years and it was a real killler over there.

campolife

There are loads of studies regarding the spread of heartworm.
As the temperature only needs to be 14C it can occur anywhere in Spain.
One study regarding where it was found quoted the following when talking about Europe.

"The longest risk period occurs in Spain" (Murcia test station noted mosquito vectors from March 21–November 11).

By the look of this data it is not worth chancing it as it is easily prevented.

campolife

Just thought I would give an update having now done some extensive research and to cut through the confusion.

Approached my own vet in the UK and the one I use in Spain. Asked the online vets and tried DEFRA and NOAH. They either had a preference dependant on the meds they stocked or were non committal.

The on-line animal pharmacy vet medic were the most helpful. They listed all the combinations possible to cover all the necessary problems encountered in the Mediterranean even meds they did not routinely stock.

There verdict of the combination to give maximum coverage but at the best cost was.

Scalibor collar @ £8.95 (but use 2 per year - change after 5 months max)
Drontal Plus @ £1.70 per tab (1 tab per 10kg weight every 3 months)
Advocate @ £26.90 six pack for large dogs (every month)

Advocate wins over stronghold due to covering both types of heartworm.

I am not recommending this company as you may be able to find cheaper but their help and detailed replies were invaluable.

Grebo

Thanks for you post.
As we have just added to the family (another mutt) I have had to look at the cost & best coverage as you have.
I always assumed that frontline was the best, I now use Advantix, drontal plus & program plus.
We had a panic on Sunday out walking when one of the dogs suddenly started pawing at her mouth, I instantly though *hite she's got a caterpillar.
Thank fully it was a piece of twig stuck across the bridge of her mouth.
We have only seen the nests so far this year & none on the ground, but they should be about now shouldn't they ?

jdr

I saw and burned a line of them about a month ago.