Pet Deworming Question

[MikePal]

Most of us keep our Dogs/Cats safe from 'worms' so the topic of de-worming isn't something that comes up often.

However my daughter called to ask if I could get her some dewormer out here because she couldn't find it in the stores in the city.

So after a few stops locally, I too found that NO...you can't get dewormers over the counter anymore.

Does anyone know when this was implemented ? I couldn't find anything doing a quick search on goggle.

Luckily I was heading to the US and picked up some there so she has the treatment for her cat.

Now I'm curious of how this is handled at the vets...do they expect you to pay a 'vet visit' charge to get dewormer, or will they allow you to buy it there based on a visual sample of your pets poop at the counter.

A $5 bottle of piperazine could end up costing $80+

[Longgun]

My vet will sell wormer as long as the dog in question has been in, in the last year. Or if I have a litter of puppies I will be brining in.
deb

[Sharon]

Pups I've bought have always been dewormed before purchase. Using a flea/tick meds = no worms ,so I've NEVER needed a dewormer.

I would think the vet visit would tell you what kind of worm it is , equalling meds needed. You need the right one. Perhaps why it is is not sold from the store shelf.

Same as in humans; one antibiotic does not cure all bacteria.

[MikePal]

I don't know Sharon...how many years I've lived on a farm that had a bottle of a 'Strongid T ' in the fridge. If we saw pieces of worm in the feces we treated the animal with it and problem solved. Since it took care of most common worm problems (roundworms and hookworms) there was no need to see a vet to tell us ..." it has worms"...that will be $80+.

What changed in the past decade or so that the most common parasite problem in yard pets (roundworms) requires a vet visit when it used be (and still is south of the border) treated successfully with an off the shelf treatment of piperzine ?

I sense over regulation, with vets benefiting by instilling fear in pet owners.

[Sharon]

Lot of truth to that!
I have such a great vet. Always charges less than I expect, and handles most drug needs just over the counter.

[Stuart22]

The control of medicine by the CVA is kind of amazing. A complete health exam, or a very expensive cost per pill. The Vet's are experts at both medicine and charging. They are powerful and a monopoly. Most or all have clinics that their medical doctors would die to own. Our medical doctor works out of a cubicle. Some livestock medicines are still available over the counter.
You can treat a 1000 pound horse but not a 50 pound hound.

[yellow dog]

It would be interesting to hear from a forum member who is a vet on this topic. For the first time in many years I have a Canadian vet rather than a U.S vet that charges very fair rates on worming , vaccinations and examination fee's. Because I have a very good relationship with my vet based on my many years of experience and he knows my dogs health background he will sell deworming medication upon my request. Most vets will want a fecal sample brought into the clinic for examination to determine if the animal has parasites and charge an examination fee as well as the fecal test.. Especially if you are not a regular customer/client.

[Noseyarentcha]

Is it veterinarians who determine the cost of medication or is it the pharmaceutical companies?

[yellow dog]

Is it veterinarians who determine the cost of medication or is it the pharmaceutical companies?

Generally from my experience purchasing a variety of animal medications from my previous U.S vet it is much cheaper so they must be purchasing from med representative at a low cost. For some reason Canadian vets charge in many cases much more $ for the same meds. Not sure why.

[bdog]

I think we get charged more because we have to go through the Vets to get meds, you can walk into any farm store/TSC in the USA and pick up meds, from worming to puppy shots, if we could do that here I think the Vets would charge less to get us in there and not buy our own else where.....