Parasite Preventatives For Your Pup

Recommendations for parasite prevention in pets is largely based on your dog's geographic location and lifestyle. Some parasites are more common in certain regions, so some pets are more at risk than others, but no pet is risk-free, and some pet parasites can infect you too-eww!

Parasites can be categorized as living internally (inside) and externally (outside), and typically one product will kill internal parasites, while a separate product is needed for external parasites. However, some combo internal/external parasite preventatives exist, but there is no such product that can prevent ALL parasites. Despite using parasite prevention, some parasites cannot be prevented at all, which is why having routine laboratory screenings performed on your pet is highly recommended to help keep your whole family safe.

Internal Parasite Prevention (all dogs)

Intestinal parasites (spread via feces and soil) and heartworm disease (spread by mosquitoes) need to be prevented in all 50 states. Again, some regions have more or less risk, but there is some risk in the entire US, and preventable diseases should be prevented, especially when they can affect human health or can be life-threatening for your pet. With this in mind, its vital to be immediately cleaning up pet poop to prevent the spread of disease. Only internal worms can be prevented and usually one heartworm product will cover intestinal and heartworms. There are no available preventive products for intestinal protozoa, like coccidia and giardia (the most common intestinal parasite in dogs).

Best Monthly Product: Interceptor Plus because its a chewable (yum!), it covers the most internal parasites, its new-ish so the bugs have not developed resistance to it yet (aka, its very effective), and its reasonably priced.

Best Long-Term Product: Proheart 12 because it ensures complete year round protection, and that a dose is never missed or late. Personally, despite having reminders on my phone to administer my dog's monthly interceptor, I can almost never remember to give it that same day. Another downside of monthly chewables is that its possible that a pet secretly spits it out, vomits it up, or just simply will not eat it, so sometimes doses are missed even when we do remember.

External Parasite Prevention (most dogs)

There are a wide variety of external parasites, but the main categories are fleas, ticks, lice, mites, and mosquitoes and most of these can infest your home and carry dangerous diseases that can infect your pet. External parasites can be prevented with chewables, topicals, or collars, and each has its pros and cons. For example, chewables can be yummy and don't affect how you bathe your pet but they can be vomited, topicals can be bathed off of your pet purposefully if they have a bad reaction or accidentally if you forget that they cannot bathed for 48 hours after administration, and collars can be removed, again either purposefully or accidentally. Different products may have different efficacies in certain areas due to the ability of parasites to develop resistance to preventive products.

Best Monthly Chewable Product: Simparica because it is a chewable (yum!), does not affect how you bathe your pet, it repels and kills all external parasites, it is new-ish so the bugs have not developed resistance to it yet (aka, its very effective), and it is reasonably priced.

Best Longer Term Chewable: Bravecto is similar to Simparica, only it lasts for 3 months instead of just one.

Best Monthly Topical Product: Vectra 3D, this is a somewhat newer topical than most other available products, which means that there is less resistance to it.

Best Collar: Seresto is a collar than lasts approximately 8 months, and the collar can be removed at any time. Other flea collars are typically associated with much less efficacy and more side effects.

*Special notes: Parasite preventatives should be prescribed by your veterinarian, over the counter products often have dangerous chemicals and can be counterfeit. Dogs older than 7 months, who have had a gap in heartworm prevention for more than 5 months should be tested for heartworm disease before restarting preventatives.

Want to know more about testing for parasites?

Want to know more specific information about parasites? Visit the Companion Animal Parasite Council's website.

Want individualized recommendations for your pet? Consult with your vet!

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