# people who use sheep drench for HW?



## atravis (Sep 24, 2008)

***HW _prevention_, I should specify!

I tried looking this up in the forum, but very few people seemed to be using the .08% drench vs. the cattle wormer. 

I never would have considered using this when it was just the 2 dogs... but 4 is now making it very expensive to buy the commercial HW meds, and I'm opening up my options here.

I like the idea of the sheep drench being already diluted, having to cut the 1% admittedly intimidates me.

I guess I want to know how its working for people, and what brand they use/suggest. I've opted for slow-kill on Vega's HW load, so I'm still going to stick with the Iverhart for her to play it safe, but all 3 of the others have been on Heartgard/Iverhart for a good while without issue (not concerned with MDR1).


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

I think your vet should be advising you on dosing if you go this route. I've posted many times what the risk is of getting the calculation wrong (irreversible blindness, etc.)--I fostered a dog who was blinded by his owner trying to save a buck by using cattle ivermectin on the dog. Your vet should be willing to calculate the dose for each dog, to give you some comfort, if this is what you want to do. 

FYI, for Slow Kill, I strongly encourage you to investigate Advantage Multi over Heartguard. I don't know any vets in Louisiana who still do slow kill with ivermectin-based products -- it takes 18-24 months to clear worms that way. With Advantage Multi, my understanding is that most dogs are clearing in about 12 months, with 30 days of Doxy. (We had two in rescue that cleared in just 9 months!) I know dozens and dozens of people who have used Advantage Multi this way--it's widely used for slow kill by many rescues down here. Some do it due to cost and/or lack of foster space, others do it for dogs for whom fast-kill isn't a safe option due to other health issues. 

The theory is that the Advantage Multi behaves differently in the body. Since it's topical, it apparently gets absorbed into the fat pad under the shoulder blades. I read somewhere that after 3 mo. on it, there's a steady state that's reached in the body with it. My guess is that it could be that why the worms are dying faster. Ivermectin is a one-hit dose, then it's cleared from the body.


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## atravis (Sep 24, 2008)

Vet is the one who cleared the Iverhart for her slow-kill, I was under no illusion that it would be quick. Ill ask about the Advantage Muli, though, if that's a viable option.

Not trying to cut corners here... but "save a buck" is a bit of a curt understatement. 4 dogs doing the large dog Iverhart isn't cheap. I buy in yearly doses per dog, but at around $60, x4 dogs, $240 starts adding up. Doesn't seem like a lot, didn't to me either for years, but I also wasn't expecting to abrupty double my dog count.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

l use the ivomec *(given orally) *from tractor supply for my dogs...
.01cc per 20lbs of weight...every 45 days is preventative enough for my state.

safeguard goat wormer for other parasite preventative or treatment is also much cheaper than strongid from vet.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I use it. I have 7 dogs, so imagine the price of heart guard for them? I give it to them every 45 days. The bottle costs like $35 and I won't even come close to using it all before it expires, but I'm ok with disposing the unused portion because it isn't that expensive(well in my mind anyway)

The doses are so small, just drops literally. I counted it out for each dog and checked their name off a list once they were done. 

Here is what I read over and over again to be sure(there are other options, I felt the safest with the Sheep Drench....DogAware.com Health: Ivermectin Dosage Instructions for Heartworm Prevention and Treatment of Mange

And this is what I use


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