Pete the Vet: How to control parasites and protect your pet's health

What you need to know about the five main groups of parasites affecting pets in Ireland

Parasite control is important to protect the health of your pet, and to protect human health. It isn’t difficult to achieve these goals, but many people don’t understand what they need to do, and they end up buying inappropriate, unnecessary or inadequate products. So what parasites really need to be controlled, and how can this be done effectively and economically?

It’s impossible to make one general rule for all pets. It’s all about risk: first, identifying the individual risk of your pet picking up specific parasites, and second, working out the level of risk you are prepared to accept. Do you want to remove all risk by giving a once-monthly premium medication? Or are you prepared to accept a small risk of issues with parasites by allowing bigger gaps between treatments?

There are five main groups of parasites affecting pets in Ireland.

Roundworms 

Roundworms are the only common parasite that can seriously affect human health, even causing blindness in children in rare cases, so control of this parasite needs to be taken seriously.

Almost all pups and kittens have roundworms, picking them up from their mother’s milk. If they are not treated regularly (e.g. every two weeks till they are 12 weeks old) they can fall seriously ill. I’ve seen many young pets die, simply because their owners hadn’t given them an inexpensive treatment for roundworms.

As dogs and cats grow up, they need to continue to be given a regular dose against roundworms: if there are children in the house, it’s important to give pets a roundworm treatment every 1 - 3 months, lifelong. Often the medication for this is included in so-called “broad spectrum” products, covering a range of parasites in one dose.

Tapeworms 

Most pet tapeworms don’t affect humans: in other countries, there are some very dangerous dog tapeworms that can cause serious human illness, but these are not seen in Ireland. However, tapeworms can cause ill health in pets. The most common tapeworm to affect dogs and cats is carried by fleas, so if your pet does not have fleas, they are less likely to have tapeworms. Many people choose to prevent fleas with regular medication: this has the added bonus of also preventing most tapeworms.

If your pet hunts regularly (many cats do) or eats raw meat, they can pick up a different type of tapeworm, and a regular tapeworm treatment makes sense (e.g every 1 - 3 months).

Again, anti-tapeworm medication is often included in broad-spectrum products.

Lungworms 

If dogs eat slugs or snails (or if they chew grass, which may carry small slugs and snails), they are at risk of picking up lungworm. This has become more common with climate change, and as well as causing a cough, the parasite stops the blood from clotting. I’ve seen several young healthy dogs die from a spontaneous brain haemorrhage linked to lungworm infection. Prevention is important if your dog is at risk: this requires a once-monthly prescription-only medication from your vet.

No over-the-counter products are available.

Fleas 

Fleas are a year-round risk to dogs and cats: you can choose to prevent them (e.g. using a regular tablet or spot-on product) or wait until there is an issue, and then treat your household.

Ticks 

Ticks are a nuisance and can carry Lyme disease, a serious infection that can affect both pets and people. You can choose to remove ticks on a one-by-one basis, but if your pet picks these up regularly, you may prefer to use a product (such as a tablet) regularly (every month) to prevent them.

So what do pet owners need to do?

The control of parasites in dogs and cats is one of the most confusing aspects of pet care for owners. There is a vast range of products on the market to control fleas, ticks and worms, on sale in pet shops, supermarkets and at vets. Prices for a single dose may range from a few euro to over €20. The small print on the box explains precisely what a product is, and what it does, but the technical details are not always easy for owners to understand. Ideally, owners should talk to their vet, but vets always seem busy so many people opt for the line of least resistance: either doing nothing at all, or buying a mid-range product that the salesperson in the pet shop suggests. However, this is often not the best choice for you or your pet.

This confusion is one of the reasons why I set up my new website, Petfix.com: I have designed an easy-to-use interface that recommends the parasite control that your pet needs. An online tool asks specific questions about pets’ lifestyles, and at the end of the process, the most appropriate parasite control products are identified. Sometimes, those products can be bought over the counter, and sometimes, prescription-only parasite control products are needed, in which case a visit to your local vet is essential.

Important questions include:

• Are there children in your home?
• Does your dog spend time in the garden?
• Do you ever see your dog eating slugs or snails?
• Does your cat hunt?
• Do you ever see external parasites like fleas or ticks on your pet?

It’s easy to control parasites effectively, but it does take some thinking about your pet’s individual circumstances, and some planning. Talk to your local vet, or try the Petfix parasite planner.