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Who uses Advocate and any bad reactions from it?

4.8K views 40 replies 28 participants last post by  toffee44  
#1 ·
Flynn's bloods have come back and it looks like he's clear of hypothyroidism but his white cells are slightly raised which apparently could be a sign of parasitic infection. So Van says he needs Advocate. I'm really scared because I've heard some dogs don't do well on it and have only ever used Drontal in the past.

Also I'm a bit scared because for his weight (63kgs) he needs two doses - ie; two weight ranges to make up the dosage which will come to £118.08 :eek: :eek: I use Drontal every four months but I know that doesn't cover everything. He's not a greedy dog by any means and so far today has still refused any food so why isn't he hungry if he has worms?

Added to that Bruce had bloods done today because he's drinking, peeing and hungry more than he used to be, kidneys are being checked but the vet (different practice) suspects cushings disease, :( although will test further pending results as Bruce isn't insured so we're taking it in stages due to finances. He's being wormed too but with Drontal. Blimey I am so fed up with all this but at least Flynn doesn't appear to have hypothyroidism and is just a bit fat!

I've always avoided Advocate because it's so strong and they don't have toys, bowls, bones etc left in the garden for slugs and snails to infect, neither do any of them ever eat them - why does he need such a powerful product as I hate using chemicals at the best of times?

If I google it there seem to be a lot of cases where it has caused bad reactions! I know I shouldn't google though!
 
#3 ·
I won't use it on my two, but they both have BC in them. I can't remember what Jake got as a puppy, probably advocate but he hasn't had anything since. Arrow was given advocate by the vet shortly after coming home, and while he didn't have a severe reaction like some dogs do, he wasn't too well. He had mucus all over his poo and he was being sick with mucus type stuff... it was horrendous. I won't let the stuff touch him now, as I am convinced it was the advocate that caused it.

I hate putting chemicals on them too.
 
#4 ·
That seems an awful lot of money. Izzy is only 20kg but it only costs £30 online for 6 months worth (and we don't treat her every month so it lasts longer than that). Would this be a one off dose or is he wanting you to start Flynn on a course over a few months? It might be cheaper for you to pay for the written prescription and buy online instead?

Some people dont like advocate but I think the main breeds to suffer from sensitivity are collies so I'm sure Flynn would be fine with it, we've never had a problem with Izzy, we tend to put it on her before bed so its mostly gone by the morning. If you have any leather furniture then don't let him near it until its gone from his fur ;).
 
#5 ·
I use it regularly on my two, no bad reactions. £118 is obscene though, how much exactly are you getting for that? You could always ask for a prescription and get it online, it's usually much cheaper. I'm meaning to do the same myself as a six pack of XL Advocate at my vets is over sixty quid.
 
#8 ·
I have only used it on two dogs so not a great research sample but both have been fine. The first, a Labrador cross golden retriever, had a reaction to Frontline (very itchy for a couple of hours afterwards) but was fine with Advocate. Alfie will eat snails if he gets the chance and our garden is full of them so I use it every 5 weeks or so.
 
#12 ·
My chi has had reactions with it, he never had problems when he was a puppy and didn't mind having it on either but would literally have to pin him down now to get even remotely anywhere near him with it, he literally foams at the mouth and goes into a craze - the side effects I had was he seemed to loose all bladder control with it and wetted himself mutiple times in the night whilst asleep and would zoom around like it was burning him when put on him.

Drontal makes him throw up :( at the moment I'm just using DE and worm counts.
 
#16 ·
I've used it on all the dogs and cats here except the kitten, so 6 dogs and 5 cats. Everyone was fine except for one cat who developed a bald patch where it had been administered, which took a couple of months to grow back.

I'd probably still use it but only because I've found frontline to be totally ineffective the past few times I've used it.
 
#18 ·
I use it every three months or so, I know its strong but I prefer to use it less often but be sure of its efficacy. Pix takes it in her stride, Ambam also, Nibs is a little quiet for the rest of the day but I have to wear gloves as it has made me physically sick when I've got it on my skin before. It's not on the list of side effects and my vets hadn't heard of it and nor had the company- but I'm quite sensitive to chemicals soooo maybe I'm just a wuss? :lol:
 
#20 ·
Our vet usd it once on grizzler and he had a bad reaction, sickness, diarhea, hair loss, lethargic.

It wasnt until i read up that it should be used on collies and other pastoral breeds including oes.

I was then told by the vet that due his reaction we should not use it on zelda either as with them living together it could still affect him, shows how strong the chemicals are.
 
#22 ·
I use advocate. Not at that price though! Wow! Don't buy from the vets, buy online and make sure they request your prescription and don't buy the cheapest you find as there are fakes out there. Rossi has two tabs to make up for his weight and raven has one and a half tablets so have to buy double for her too. I have never ever even spent close to £100 more like £50 for the pair so I'd would definitely recommend you looking somewhere else.

Rossi isn't great on it and both times he was sick and feeling sorry for himself the day after. On the second day was 100% back to normal! I am thinking about giving him something else though as I don't like making him poorly.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Thanks for the replies, at least I know most dogs are okay with it. ;)

Goes totally against the grain for me though because I don't even use flea treatments, I use garlic in their food and spray the house with Indorex, never had a flea problem in eight years.

The dogs aren't interested in slugs/snails, toys, bowls and bones are never left in the garden because I know they can be contaminated and heart worm is so rare that I only treat for tape/round worms with Drontal plus. I have never treated for heart or lung worm with any dogs I've had and to my knowledge never had a problem.

He said his white count is slightly raised and asked if he was due worming, which he is this month - had I said he'd been treated I bet there would have been another cause, because raised white cells can mean any hint of infection but as all the other counts were within a healthy range he suspected it could be worms!

At least he doesn't have hypothyroidism which I am pleased about but now Bruce looks like he's got a 'condition' goodness when does it all end?
I should feel happy but I feel like I've been punched in the stomach and so fed up with neutered, sickly dogs! :( Feel like I've given it to them all!

ETA - It's in packs of three pipettes, plus one free in both of the packs, so that's why it's so expensive. Wish they just did single doses though!
 
#24 ·
You can get it way cheaper online, but you would need to get prescription from your vet and send it in

Bestpet have the xl for 25-40kg 3pack for £19.60 and a 6 pack for £39.90 delivery is free
Advocate for Dogs XL 25-40kg

If you want/need the 6 pack then vetuk have it cheaper at £34.50 free delivery as over £29
http://www.vetuk.co.uk/pet-meds-pre...escription-only-advocate-for-dogs-c-21_701/advocate-for-extra-large-dogs-p-1623

Most of the pet medicine sites have the 3 pack at around £19-£20:)

Can't help with if its any good or not as I have a collie so would never use it even on the others:)
 
#25 ·
I would get a worm count done - I had Rufflea done last month and its very quick!

Wormcount Home Page
Oh wow I didn't know you could do that. I'm going to give him his usual Drontal plus then use that service to see if he's clear, I'm so against using strong stuff if its not needed and never heard of this before.

Thanks for that. :)
 
#26 ·
I'm not sure why all the collie owners avoid advocate, it's milbemax that can cause a reaction in collies?

From the Milbemax website: Special Precautions and Warnings
Studies with milbemycin oxime indicate that the margin of safety in certain dogs of Collie or related breeds is less than in other breeds. In these dogs, the recommended dose should be strictly observed.
The tolerance of MILBEMAX in young puppies from these breeds has not been investigated.

I've used Advocate with no problems in the past, I also switch between that, Drontal Plus and Panacur, so as to cover the whole spectrum of parasites, and occasionally use frontline plus if it's a bad year and I haven't used Advocate that time round.