Advantage Multi, Hookworm & Decreased Appetite

[GreyhoundGuru87]

Good Morning All -

 

While I know this has been a topic multiple times, I have read through and am seeking advice on some of the common side-effects people have seen with de-worming meds. My grey is 4 years old, and has had hooks off and on since we adopted him approximately 7 months ago. He has had two fecal tests that were clear; however, last week he tested positive again. We took in a sample as he had a decreased appetite and typically that indicates that his tummy isn't feeling 100%. He is not a huge "food driven" grey but does usually have a decent appetite overall. On a typical day, he gets a mix of Nutro Ultra Dry and Canned Food.

 

Okay, fast-forward to today (Monday 05/21/18), Keeper went to the vet on Saturday (two days ago) and was administered and oral de-wormer in-house (unsure what the name of it is). Then, the vet I am working with has opted to replace his monthly preventative to Advantage Multi (he was taking Sentinel) for three months. He was given his first dose of the Advantage Multi yesterday. My question for everyone on here is:

 

1. Have your greys experienced a decreased appetite with hooks?

• (Mine has been eating, but not consistently and not enthusiastically. He has not wanted to eat his kibble, but will eat biscuits and baby food)

2. If yes, once treated - how long did it appear to take for them to have their appetite's back?

• I am wondering if maybe the suppressed appetite is simply because he doesn't feel well and that the meds are upsetting his tummy while they do their "magic" with the hooks.

 

Please know I have been in consistent contact with my vet, I am just reaching out to see what other's experience has been. My grey has been drinking, passing bowel movements and urinating normally. I did check his temp and have been watching that his gums stay healthy pink as well. Thanks to all for any insight!!

 

 

[cgs]

Advantage Multi doesn't seem to affect my guy's appetite at all. I'm not sure it's doing anything for the worms. :/ The vet said to just keep giving it and retest in 6-12 months.

[NewGrey2017]

My dog was starving when he had hookworms.

[LaFlaca]

Lola only stopped eating when she developed gastritis because of hooks. Otherwise, her appetite is fine. We've been struggling with hooks since last August.

 

Question: Is Advantage Multi a topical or oral medication? It was my impression that it's topical.

[GreytXpctations]

Lola only stopped eating when she developed gastritis because of hooks. Otherwise, her appetite is fine. We've been struggling with hooks since last August.

 

Question: Is Advantage Multi a topical or oral medication? It was my impression that it's topical.

Advantage Multi (Advocate) is a topical.

 

All the dogs we have had here with hooks usually have normal to increased appetite, with severe infestations causing weight loss and increased hunger even with over feeding. Treatment can cause appetite loss (Drontal).

[NewGrey2017]

Yep. Mine ate and ate and kept losing weight.

 

Of course, he's also on thyroid meds now, so who knows.

[LaFlaca]

Advantage Multi (Advocate) is a topical.

 

 

Thanks. Do you continue to give an oral medication (Lola gets Trifexis) along with the Advantage?

[GreytXpctations]

I switched from HG+ to Advantage Multi for the time being. No oral meds at this time except for the Panacur or Drontal. When I have several months of no hooks on all dogs i will likely go back to HG+. I am going to use the cedar oil product on my yards and just keep an eye out for ticks.

 

In the past I just used HG+ monthly for heartworm prevention and Advantix every couple of months for fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. I'm in a semi-urban neighborhood and haven't had an issue with ticks in the past.

[LaFlaca]

It seems that Advantage Multi is widely used by folks on this forum for prevention and treatment of hooks and other parasites. What is the advantage of using Advantage Multi over monthly oral medications specifically for the treatment and prevention of hookworm?

[GreytXpctations]

I didn't really even know much about it until this year. I used HG+ monthly and never had an issue with hooks until recently. Normally, a treatment with Panacur would knock out the hooks and HG+ would keep them controlled. My newest has hooks that won't go away and I assumed that she picked them up at a greyhound event that had a lot of new dogs at it, since she had no sign of them before. The Advantage Multi is supposed to build up in the tissue so that when larva latch on they die before they can get to egg laying stage, so eventually all the eggs hatch and no more are laid (as I understand it). I think HG+ would just wipe out any resident hooks before they could get established, but that would trigger whatever eggs were laid to hatch again and the cycle would repeat, but still keep from getting out of control. Some stuff says "treatment of", some says "control of " and some products say "control and removal of", depending on the product or the parasite. I haven't figured out if this is all marketing and semantics or if they actually mean different things.

 

My greys were temporarily on HG (not Plus) without the Pyrantel, when they picked up the hooks, so the Pyrantel may play a big part of keeping things at bay too. I had unfortunately used my HG+ on a foster and had it replaced by the group with just ivermectin, which I eventually used on my dogs.

 

Another possibility is that she had hooks/larval leak before we got her and they were wiped out through deworming, then kept at bay by the HG+, until it just couldn't keep up anymore. I still haven't heard a definitive answer and do not know if they vets know either. They seem to be figuring this out as they go as well, but recognize that the old methods aren't effective anymore with the new dogs.

 

My oldest has been hook free the whole time and the middle boy has had low level infestation that seems to now be under control. He was at the events with his sister, who hasn't been able to completely shake them. But this indicates that they aren't immune to the treatment or it isn't environmental, otherwise all three would have it. maybe these new dogs are just coming off the track so infested with eggs, it takes time for them to completely clear them.

Edited May 21, 2018 by GreytXpctations

[GreyhoundGuru87]

Hey All! I am happy to report that 24 hours after the administration of the topical Advantage Multi, my grey is doing so so MUCH better. He has his normal appetite and energy levels back. I think his tummy was just upset with the meds and the stress from the vet.

 

Fortunately, his infestation was considered mild so we are hopeful this three month treatment plan will do the trick. He has not lost any weight, nor does he have any hair loss so hoping we caught it early enough. Fingers are crossed (tightly).

[GreytXpctations]

Great news! It is always so much easier to only have to deal with one problem at a time. At least you know what to expect the next time around if he loses his appetite for a day with the next treatment. Mild infestation is good news too. I have the same here and am on a three round treatment plan as well. I haven't been able to get rid of the hooks completely yet, but only recently added the Advantage Multi, so hope that will make the difference.