ProductsABC Veterinary Hospital is committed to using and recommending the best, most affordable medicines and preventative medications on the market. We also want our clients to have choices about what pills they want their pet to use to prevent worms, fleas and ticks. The following are the products and brands we suggest:
HEARTGARD Plus: Protection against heartworms, while treating and controlling roundworms and hookworms. Heartworms are transmitted to dogs and puppies from mosquitoes. Without the protection of a heartworm medication, your pet could get this potentially fatal illness. Once infected, heartworms are difficult and expensive to treat. Your puppy or dog is also at risk for roundworms and hookworms, which cause serious health problems. A monthly deworming is incredibly important. HEARTGARD Plus is effective in preventing heartworms in dogs and puppies as young as 6 weeks old. HEARTGARD Plus also treats and controls hookworms and roundworms. Its the only product that comes in Real-Beef Chewables that prevents heartworm disease and provides broad control against five other intestinal parasites, hookworms and worms that threaten your pet. HEARTGARD is well tolerated, but all dogs should be tested for heartworm infection before starting a preventative program. Digestive and neurological side effects have rarely been reported following the use of HEARTGARD.
Advantage: Topical flea treatment for cats and kittens. Comes in two doses, for cats and kittens under nine pounds, and cats and kittens over nine pounds. Fleas are one of the most common ectoparasites of companion animals and feed on the blood of their hosts. Fleas can consume more than 15 times its weight. Adult fleas can live on a host for up to 140 days. Several thousand eggs are laid by females and are dropped wherever she goes. Warm climates provide a favorable environment for multiple flea cycles. Ctenocephalides felis is the name for the cat flea, and Advantage targets those fleas. Flea infestation can disrupt the general well-being of all animals, causing itchiness, redness, hair loss and severe skin infections. The most harmful effects include: blood loss, flea allergy dermatitis, tapeworm transmission and bacterial disease. Click here for more information on fleas.
K9 ADVANTIX: Topical flea, tick and mosquito control for dogs only. Ctenocephalides canis is the dog species of flea. Fleas are one of the most common ectoparasites of companion animals and feed on the blood of their hosts. Fleas can consume more than 15 times its weight. Adult fleas can live on a host for up to 140 days. Several thousand eggs are laid by females and are dropped wherever she goes. Warm climates provide a favorable environment for multiple flea cycles. Flea infestation can disrupt the general well-being of all animals, causing itchiness, redness, hair loss and severe skin infections. The most harmful effects include: blood loss, flea allergy dermatitis, tapeworm transmission and bacterial disease.
All stages of ticks are obligate blood feeders, and adults require blood for sperm or egg production. Following a blood meal, females lay around 3,000 eggs on the host, and then drop off and die. Ticks perch on grass and leaves and wait to attach tightly to a host, boring into the skin and drawing fluids. Harmful effects of ticks include: Lyme disease, transmission of Babesiosis, transmission of Ehrlichiosis, transmission of tick-borne encephalitis, and tick paralysis. Click here for more information on ticks and fleas.
Comfortis is the first FDA-approved, chewable, beef-flavored tablet that kills fleas and prevents flea infestations on dogs for a full month.
Female fleas that are living on animals produce eggs that fall from the animal into their surroundings. These eggs usually hatch within a week; larvae then emerge and spin cocoons to become pupae. The entire life cycle can be completed in as little as three weeks, with new adult fleas emerging from the pupae, to jump onto your dog. If conditions such as temperature and humidity aren't perfect for flea development, the time from egg to new adult flea can take as long as two to four months to complete. Because each female flea can lay up to 50 eggs per day there is potential for a large buildup of eggs, larvae and pupae, resulting in a constant supply of new adults emerging in the dog's environment.
Regardless of the product used to kill fleas, the dog can continue to be exposed to fleas that live in the environment. When these fleas jump onto the dog, they can feed almost immediately but will be quickly killed by Comfortis chewable tablets.
If you see fleas on your dog within a month after your pet receives Comfortis chewable tablets, it is most likely these are new fleas that have very recently emerged from pupae and jumped onto the dog. These new fleas will be killed quickly before they can produce eggs that contaminate the environment. Consistent monthly administration of Comfortis should be continued to provide continued protection for your dog against these fleas.
Royal Canin is not your average pet food company. Since its inception in 1967, Royal Canin has been a forerunner in health nutrition because it does things differently. Royal Canin was different when they produced the first diet exclusively for large-breed dogs. Different when they developed Persian 30, the first diet tailor-made for a single breed. And different when they launched the first nutritional program for indoor cats.
At Royal Canin you won’t find fish-shaped pieces in the cat food or peanut butter stuffed in the kibble. That’s because first and foremost, Royal Canin respects the animals. Gimmicks benefit the pet owner. Superb nutrition based solely on science benefits the pet.