Hey,

Almost every time I'm out with my lab, people compliment him on his shiney coat and say how healthy he looks, they then ask what I do with him.

Truth be told, nothing!

I make sure he always has fresh water, I feed him twice a day with Wagg, and when he's good he gets a treat (gravy bone or marrow bone), sometimes he has a big old bone to knaw at.

What I'm getting at though is I have never washed my dog with shampoo etc, I didn't know you had to worm them untill I just read a post about it so I'm off to buy some deworm tablets today, he's around 18 months old and hasn't had any problems. I also have never brushed him.

Lots of walking, swimming and a good diet I find keeps him looking fit and healthy.

Should I be brushing him?

Should I be deworming him every 6 months? (I'm guessing it's to prevent getting worms, not getting rid of worms, so although he has been fine up untill now I'm guessing that it's a good idea to give him a tablet?)

Should I wash him with dog shampoo? (He has, if i say so myself, an amazing coat and does not smell at all, so is there any need?)


Also when I get worm tablets, they will be the bob martin 500mg pack...how much should I give to a big male Labrador? (he's not fat, just well built), I don't know his weight though.

Thanks

We barely ever bath ours, they go swimming in either the river, ponds or lake nearly every day and that does seem to keep their coats nice along with a raw diet.

We only worm our dogs every 6 months not the recommended 3 months and have never had a problem.

Yer was thinking that because he swims in clear water it keeps it nice and clean without having to use dog shampoo and trying to lift him into the bath which is pretty impossible.

I've also been reading comments around the net with some people deworming their dogs every 3 months and some say that's a bit OTT and 6-8 months is fine, so I might do as you say, every 6 months.

How long would a 500mg of Bob martin worming tablets last?

Is that 1 dosage?

Thanks

We do our labs with stronghold every 6 weeks , it covers worms , mange , fleas ect i always find prevention better than cure .we do bath both the dogs but must say since feeding raw niether of them smell doggy and only if they roll in fox poo or get really dirty will i use shampoo usually baby shampoo just have to make sure you rinse well .

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It should have a guide on the box that tells you the dosage depending on the dogs weight.

Thanks guys, got down town today and instead of spending 5mins in the job centre I ended up spending nearly 2h and by the time I came out the shop I was going to had closed, so picked him up 3 big bones @ 70p each, bargain

Will pick up his worming stuff in the week.

He is regularly dosed up with flea stuff, frontline I think it is (unless that's just the cat one).

Is it really worth me getting a brush for him?

Or is that more what girly girls do with their dogs?

I have never bathed my dog in the whole of her 10 years! She is spotless - her coat is clean, shiney and she dont pong one iota.

ANd hey dont be chauvanistic brushing your dog is part and parcel of dog owner ship. The dog gets used to being handled and touched, gets rid of loose hair and skin and dirt.

Get brushing!!

Bob Martin Wormer and alike are next to useless,ask your vet for some wormer.Mine are wormed with Drontal every 6 months.

Hmm not sure about them being "useless" otherwise they wouldn't be allowed to sell them?

Yer I wonder why some people wash their dog every week, some one down the park said they was their lab every week and I really should too and was shocked when I said I never washed it, and they said I must do something because like yours he is spotless.

Every week?

Jeesus me thinks one has nowt better to do

Think I'll leave the washing then unless I need to for whatever reason.

The wormers you can buy in the pet shop aren't as strong as the ones that the vet sells. I suppose it's a bit like the paracetamol you can buy at the corner shop and the pain killers the doc writes out a script for or the pharmasist can sell you.
You can now get Drontal wormers from Pets at Home - don't know how much they are just noticed the big sign outside it when I was going past the other day.