Lungworm......

[Beatrice5]

I have just had an email from a lady who has one of my puppies from 5 years ago telling me he developed Epilepsy this summer and the vet has told her it may be due to him contracting lungworm at 18 months old.

May I add before I am pounced on my girls and when we have pups I worm regularly with Panacur suspension on the advice of my vet which I am told does cover Lungworm so puppies leave me at 8 weeks fully wormed.

Although I worm every 4 to 6 months depending on what the girls are doing and if we have pups etc I always thought the real ones that were prevalent were Roundworm, tapeworm and pin worm.

Where do dogs get Lungworm from so I can be aware and what does it do etc. We have chickens which do get wormed too but would they pose a threat to the dogs?

Also has anyone wlse heard they can cause Epilepsy ?

 

[CorvusCorax]

There are certain hotspots for lungworm in the UK. It is spread by foxes and slugs and snails, they carry it in their slime so in hotspot areas, you should never leave bowls, bones, chew toys etc down unsupervised as the slugs and snails slime over them.
Never heard of it causing epilepsy.

 

[CorvusCorax]

This is probably the main info site but do be aware it is sponsored by/run by a pharma company.

http://lungworm.co.uk/scripts/pages/en/home.php

 

[Beatrice5]

This lady is in Surrey. We are near Exmoor.

No dog bowls outside and washed up daily bit they do drink from puddles / streams etc when on walks. Should I worry? Also tennis balls all over paddock lost on our walks and have noticed slugs trails on them occasionally.

Oh my and the cats sleep in our conservatory and slugs always find a way in overnight...... use drontal on them - off to check calendar think last done about 2 months ago - Help! Also cats like to lick dogs and much lovie lovie kissy kissy goes on between to two!!! Drat and double drat!

Horses feed bowls only rinsed with hose daily but left overnight as Pony likes to play with them ( tub trugs so safe) BUT I often find tiny slugs on the inside when I collect them in the morning..... Do I need to worry about horses and check wormer ususally Equimax covers lungworm?

There is always something to worry about.

 

[Beatrice5]

Thank you for link very informative.

Out of interest which wormer do you use and how often?

Many thanks

 

[CorvusCorax]

You can't keep them safe all the time, I would try not to worry too much, as you say, just don't leave things lying that slimey things might crawl over and keep UTD with wormers. Ring your vet, they will be able to tell you if they have treated any cases recently or if you have anything to worry about.
There are no cases locally that I know of/when I last asked the vet when worming but this is very sluggy/marshy area so better safe than sorry. Think she gave me Milbemax last time, I asked for something specifically that covered lungworm. Every three months. Never bothered with previous dogs but this young dog is a total dirtbird

 

[millimoo]

I de-flea with Advocate... My vets senior assistant says this also covers lungworm although it doesn't specifically say so on the packet.
However if anyone thinks this info is wrong let me know, as I was concerned so rang my vets a few months ago to specifically check.

 

[elizabeth1]

Surrey is a hot spot for lungworm. Previously my vets have prescribed Milbemax every 3 months for my dog but they are now prescribing Advocate as a monthly spot on as they have seen increased levels of lungworm in the last year.
I have to say that although I am using the Advocate I do worry about using it 12 months a year as it seems pretty powerful stuff-it kills fleas and most worms too[although not tapeworm]

 

[Boulty]

Hey as has already been said lungworm is mainly spread by foxes, slugs and snails (there is evidence to suggest dogs licking something that has come into contact with their slime can potentially contract lungworm). The ones I know of that are effective against lungworm are milbemax (reduces worm burden), kills worms and is also a preventative from my understanding and panacur which like milbemax I think just kills the worms.