Ivermectin and Puppies

[hogdog]

At what age can one begin to use ivermectin on a puppy? My puppy is 4 1/2 months old and hasnt had any?
Jack, what do you recommend?
Thanks in advance

[scratchin dog]

You can start them on ivermectin at 4 months. Thats when i start mine.

[Officially Retired]

At what age can one begin to use ivermectin on a puppy? My puppy is 4 1/2 months old and hasnt had any?
Jack, what do you recommend?
Thanks in advance

I agree with Scratchin' Dog.

Wormers like pyrantel and fenbendazole are the preferred choices for pups, precisely because they kill worms with zero toxic effect on pups (even at 20x the recommended dosage).

Wormers like ivermectin, and especially the related and more toxic moxidectin, are both fantastic wormers ... but if you understood HOW THEY WORK ... by killing worms' central brain system (while not being able to do so against higher mammals due to the blood-brain barrier that mammals have) ... and if you further understood that very young pups do not have a fully-formed blood-brain barrier yet ... you would realize WHY all label indications recommend against using these drugs on pups younger than 4 months. Their brains and resistances to certain drugs are not fully-developed yet.

In fact, this same reason is why some herding dog breeds (e.g., collies) are susceptible, precisely because they have a mutation to their MDR1 gene which allows higher levels of these drugs to cross the blood-brain barrier into the animal’s central nervous system. This is why one must be cautious while using ivermectins on collies too, because it can kill them.

Anyway, I went into detail like this, because it is helpful to actually know WHY certain practices are to be taken (or avoided). Some people get away with giving ivermectin to pups younger than 4 months, but I know plenty of folks who have killed their whole litters by doing so, especially using moxidectin.

And that will never happen using either pyrantel or panacur. However, keeping in mind that it takes about 4 months for heartworm microfilaria to migrate from the blood to the heart, you also don't want to wait any longer than 4 months to give ivermectin (or equivalent) to your pups either.

So 4 months is the magic number

Cheers,

Jack

[hogdog]

Is it ok to use ivermectin on pregnant females? What's your take on this?

[spike33]

-Ivomec 1% - 50ml injectable solution
-0.1ml per 10 lb (30-lb dog would get 0.3ml, 40-lb dog would get 0.4ml, etc.). 1/10th ml for every 10 lb of dog.

My question for Jack is: For the adult worming schedule, (rotational schedule of many different wormers), my Pit Bull Bible shows Ivomec given every other month instead of monthly (as all the other heartworms e.g. Heartguard recommend), which is the correct timeframe?

Thanks in advance

[Officially Retired]

The reason I say that is because it takes 4 months for the microfilariae in the bloodstream to become worms in the heart, so if you do it every other month they still will never make it into the heart.

Jack

[spike33]

Great Jack, makes total sense, thanks for the clarification.

[Officially Retired]

[spike33]

I just received my Ivomec 1% from KVvet, would I be able to give the Ivomec 1% orally to my dogs as the Promectin? Or Ivomec 1%1 has to be strictly injected. Which method do you recommend is more efficient.

Thanks

[scratchin dog]

You're wasting needles if you give it by injection. Giving it orally works just fine except they don't like the taste if you squirt it in the mouth. I pull it up into a syringe and squirt it into a mixture of egg yolk and pyrantel. It seems to mask the taste pretty well. Even my fussy older dog licks it right up, and he can see/smell medicine coming a mile away. lol.