If you own a dog you must give them a worm tablet. (Drontal Plus For Dogs)

Member Name: sarah101

Product:	Drontal Plus For Dogs
Date:	10/10/08 (494 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It kills all intestinal worms, it is fairly easy to give (now), not expensive

Disadvantages: It cant prevent infection only kill it, but there is nothing available to prevent infection

If you are a dog owner chances are your vet has mentioned these to you at some point, or at least a worming tablet equivalent.

You may have noticed the adverts pop up this year with a Miniature Schnauzer looking annoyed and the caption
Worms? Absolutely Not! When I first got my dog these tablets were only available to buy from the vets, however I have recently noticed they are now for sale in Pets At Home and I also got some this year from Crufts.

I pay around £1.50 for a tablet and I give it to my dog every 12 weeks as recommended by my vets. It comes in a little card pouch with some stickers on the front which I use to put in my diary to remind me when I need to give them. I was told my dog's weight meant she needed 70% of a tablet but the vet nurse told me just to give her the whole tablet *I suggest you follow whatever advise you are given from the vets or the store you buy them from* Due to this I have never tried to break the tablet up so do not know how easy or difficult this would be.

The tablet itself is round and size wise it is slightly larger than a 5 pence piece. Each tablet comes in a silver tablet case similar to the tablets we would use. Each has written on the front Drontal Plus Tablets
ad us vet
50 mg Praziquantel
150 mg Febantel
144 mg Pyrantel embonate
alson with the bayer sign.

A small piece of paper is included with information on. The box states one tablet per 10kg of weight, gives the expiry date (I bought these in March and they expire November 2009) It says not to use simultaneously with piperazine compounds, do not exceed recommended dose with pregnant dogs, consult a vet before giving to pregnant dogs, wash hands after use, tapeworm infection is certain to recur unless control of intermediate hosts such as fleas, mice ect is undertaken, do not store about 25 degreesC, do not remove tablets from packaging until required and discard any unused parts and finally that it can be given with out without food.

I used to have to hold my dog down to get these tablets in and it was not fun for either of us! She gave up after the second time she had them and she realised she was going to have to eat it. Now I ask her to show her teeth which she willingly does and I pop the tablet into her mouth and hold her mouth closed for a few seconds and massage her throat until she swallows it - this is how the vet showed me how to do it (the third treatment she did!) and my dog stays for a pat after and does not run off, which I am certain she would do if this hurt or upset her. Again ask your vet for help if you need it with getting your dog to take the tablet, I am just explaining how I manage to get my dog to take them after I got help from my vet.

The stop worms dead website says you should give these tablets four times a year (possibly more if your dog gets repeated fleas). The don't rule out side effects of occasional vomiting but my dog has never experienced this. It states that "Drontal Plus controls all intestinal worms found in dogs in the UK". It also states that humans can get effected by roundworm from dog mess, which can cause permanent eye damage. Lots more information is available on the website.

As I mentioned I make a not in my diary as to when these are due, I think it is so important for all dog owners to give these tablets to their dogs not only for the health of the dog but because roundworm (Toxocara canis) can effect people. They are not very expensive and anyone who invests in a dog should be prepared to do everything they need to lead a healthy life and part of that will be flea and worming tablets/formula.

Summary: All dog owners should be giving these to their pets every 3 months