safe-guard equine dewormer

[ristakrat]

sooo..... I was at Tractor Supply today and was hunting for de-wormers for my dogs when an associate saw me and referred me to safe-guard 10% Paste. She told me the ration was 3 grams for every 5lbs??? I would like a second opinion. Is there anyone else out there that uses this stuff to de-worm their dogs? Also, how long or how many days should I continue dosage?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[Jax08]

I think if you look on the manufacturer site you'll see that they do not recommend using an equine wormer for a dog due to side affects.

[sharkey19]

Do your dogs have worms? I have to discourage the use of broad spectrum dewormers, as we are breeding resistance in the parasites, just as irresponsible use of antimicrobials has bred resistance in bacteria. Have your dogs tested for worms and treat specifically for whatever worms they have.

[Rerun]

Lots of very long argumentative threads on this. Is it done, yes. Does the manufacturer recommend it, no. why? Well, that's debatable. Some argue that the medication isn't dispersed evenly throughout the tube, some argue that they simply don't want to lose money on their more expensive line of dog specific dewormers, and yet others argue about the proper dose, period. Most of the people doing this are farm folk or direct decendants of farm folk (lol) and/or those who have a large number of dogs. Your average joe pet owner isn't usually going to do this.

Personally I do an annual broad spectrum dewormer, though not this in particular. Parasite resistance, yadayada, but bottom line - I have 4 dogs sometimes 5 with a foster, etc, and the local vets here won't do a fecal on a dog they haven't seen for a "wellness" exam, and want to check everyone's fecal. So just to do an annual worm check, it's $50 per dog for the "exam" plus about $30 per dog for the fecal, then whatever insane price they charge for a very small dose of dewormer. No thanks.

Instead, they get checked and vac'd at shot clinics as needed, I do selective vac's as it is, and I do the dewormer myself.

[ristakrat]

I consider myself farm folk I have even been called... dare I say it... a hillbilly LOL I guess I'll call my vet tomorrow and see what he has to say about it. Probably "schedule an appointment" :P Oh well...

[sharkey19]

If you have seen your vet within the past year, I don't see why they couldn't just do a fecal for you without an exam.

[Liesje]

You have to really watch your math because often the concentrations are different in equine products vs. canine products. Also certain species need more per weight. It's not as simple as just comparing the volume of the product vs. the weight of the animal. There have been some threads on using injectable ivermectin products given orally for heartworm preventative in dogs and pretty much everyone's math is wrong because they are ignoring the actual micrograms of the drug. I had a chemistry professor help me with my math.

[jocoyn]

They sell all kinds of dog worming products if you don't want to get a check. When I was asking my vet about the dog grabbing some deer poop (we had a negative fecal but she wormed the pup anyway) she said the worms that grow in dogs are for the most part species specific to canids with some overlap with cats.....

[gagsd]

Always discuss medication and dosing with your veterinarian.

Treating Canine Parasites with Fenbendazole for Dogs - VetInfo
Dosage is 25-50 mg/kg orally once a day for 3-5 days.

[Rerun]

99% chance your vet will tell you not to do it.