Which Preventative Medications are Best for Your Practice?

Preventative medication is a topic that has changed dramatically in the last 10 years due to the introduction of dozens of new products. Some of these products are new formulations, whereas others are ‘new’ but like other pre-existing products. With the influx of products, how do you know which ones to use in your practice?

When making decisions about what products to use, there are a few things we should consider. The first thing we should ask ourselves is what does the pet need. The factors that are significant to preventatives are:

• What does the pet need in its specific environment?
• What are the common transmissible diseases in your area?
• Does the pet travel and to what regions?
• Does the pet take oral medication well?
• Does the pet have a skin condition that makes topical medication potentially ineffective?

Not every pet is going to be best served by the same medication. However, it’s expensive and unrealistic to stock all the sizes of all the effective medications. The ideal situation is to pick the medication that is most effectively going to represent the dominant population in your clinic. Because the number of products is so limited for felines, we will focus on canines in this instance – although the same principles apply.

Consider the Majority of Needs in Your Clinic

For canine patients, consider what is on the market to choose from today. We have combination flea/tick, heartworm/flea, single heartworm, and flea/tick with a range of intestinal parasites covered in some of them. Looking ahead, it’s likely manufacturers will produce a quadruple combination product that covers flea/tick/heartworm/intestinal parasites. In the United States, there is no environment that is devoid of fleas, where ticks aren’t a factor, and absent of heartworm. The maps posted on the American Heartworm Society website show that heartworm has been diagnosed in all 48 contiguous states, and the Companion Animal Parasite Council anticipates an increase in tick-borne illnesses as well.

The frequency of heartworm diagnosis specifically has increased in formerly lower incidence areas due to the high mobility of pets in the country today. Whether it is people moving across the country or the relocation of pets due to disasters, unfortunately with the mobility comes the increased spread of infectious disease. That means, in virtually all parts of the country, you need to look for an effective combination of flea, tick, intestinal parasite, and heartworm control that meets the typical demands of your clientele. Once fleas, ticks, and heartworms are covered, the product lines will also take care of roundworms and hookworms. Some will also deal with whipworms and tapeworms, so that needs to be considered as well in terms of the ideal product. The beautiful thing is today you can carry a two-product line that covers whipworms, hookworms, tapeworms, roundworms, heartworms, fleas, and ticks, with a very high safety profile. If you were in practice 20 years ago, frankly, that’s amazing.