[ SHOWGSD-L ] Ivomec for dogs
- From: diwri@xxxxxxxxxxx
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 16:10:21 +0000
On one of my sheep lists, there has been a good deal of talk recently about the
use of ivomectin, in particular it's lack of effiacy when given orally.
There is a parasite common to white-tailed deer, menigeal worm, that gets into
the nervous system, spinal cord & brain of sheep, goats, llamas, and kills
them. (It doesn't kill the deer.) There are treatment protocols, but not many
animals survive once they've been infected.
Anyway, the point to dogs, who cannot be infected with menigeal or brain worms,
I have learned this about Ivomec:
Ivermectin does not easily pass from the bloodstream to the nervous systems,
neither does it easily enter the bloodstream through the stomach lining.
Ivermectin has three properties worth noting:
1. It is slower acting that other wormers is is therefore most
effective in animals with a slow metabolism (llamas) and less
effective in animals with a fast metabolism (goats). Sheep are in
the middle. I think dogs are considered "fast" - I read a specific
article about dogs, and it said that all traces of Fenbendazone were
excreted within 24 hours.
2. It does not easily pass through body membranes - stomach lining,
blood/nerve interface, etc. That can be good if you want to treat
parasite *in* the digestive tract, but bad if you are trying introduce
a whole-body medication orally. I think its the same for all animals.
3. Because it works by paralyzing the parasites, it can been given in
much higher doses than usually needed to kill the more common pests,
without harming the host animal. (When used to treat Meningeal Worm,
the recommended doses seems to be 5X "normal" for at least 3 days in a
row.)
For those who protect their dogs against heartworm with Ivomec instead of
Heartgard... do you give it at a higher rate than what's in Heartgard- to
'offset' the drug's inability to easily move into the bloodstream from the
stomach? Or are you injecting the dog with Ivomec?
I give Heartgard, even tho I have Ivomec around for my sheep. Now I wonder
what makes it work...
Diane
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