puppy nails / worming and flea care

princessmoog · #1 09-10-2009, 03:41 AM

Hi i was looking aroung for advice about clipping my puppy's nails. Cassie is 12 weeks just over and her nails are getting quite long, when i took her to the vet a week ago for her vaccinations she said not to bother as walking would wear them down, but she is only a baby and walkin on the road is short and in the last week they grown loads...

I have seen some posts on dremel? is this the best and safest option, how old before i could start?

Also i have read contraversial opinions on worming and de fleaing puppies, is every 4 weeks correct or no?
Thank u for any advice kate

TwoDogs · #2 09-10-2009, 06:43 AM

I would definitely start dremmeling now. I recommend dremmels over clippers because it is much easier to clip the quick with clippers. You can still quick a nail with the dremmel, but because you dremmel just a bit at a time, it is easier to judge when you are getting close to the quick. Clippers just take it all off at once and if you are too close, too bad--you've already done the damage.

Even if your pup does wear her nails down on her own, I still recommend getting them conditioned to having their nails and paws fussed with early on. There may come a day when you do need to dremmel, or wrap a paw, attend to a wound, etc. It will be MUCH easier if your pup has been used to having their paws touched all along. Same with the ears and mouth.

As for worming, in the US where heartworm is rampant, vets recommend a monthly combo wormer like Heartguard and such. It protects against heartworm, roundworm, hookworm, tape worm--pretty much all the nasties. It is recommended once a month, year-round but I think that is because of the threat of heartworm. If heartworm is not a threat and you will just be worming against the others, I believe that 3-4 times a year is generally recommended.

In the US, most vets recommend a once-a-month topical application of a product that will kill ticks, fleas, their larva and eggs. Frontline Plus is probably the most popular, but there are others. Personally, I've never had a problem with fleas and I mainly use it for tick control so I use the Frontline Top Spot, it will kill ticks and adult fleas but not the larva however that is good enough for me. I'm not sure if there are any restrictions for use on young puppies, though, so check with a vet before administering any product.

Personally, I use the heartworm prevention every 45 days. I've read reputable articles that state they are actually effective longer than the recommended 30 days and discussed it with my vet and am comfortable administering it on this schedule. Since fleas have never been a concern for me, I choose to administer the flea and tick prevention only during peak tick season in my region. Again, I've found from my personal experience that they are effective for a bit longer than the recommended 30 days.

I suggest talking to your vet to determine a product and schedule that is right for you and your pup.

princessmoog · #3 09-10-2009, 09:42 AM

Thank u for ur reply, yes i agree it is best to start touching their paws etc early on, we have already had drops for dirty ears ...
I will get a dremmel and start to have a go at trimmimg them down bit by bit to get her use to it.
I am goin to the vets in a weeks time so will discuss worming, im pretty sure they advised every month with flea, i have used frontline before and found it good, although my vet uses advocat or somethin like that, think il stick to what i know! x