Yes - a wide variety of parasites can infect dogs, affecting their health and wellbeing. All puppies and dogs are at risk from parasites – to find out how much your dog is at risk, why not take our parasite risk checker? 

Take the Parassess^® risk checker now >

Parasites can cause a number of diseases in dogs and, in some cases, even, death. Important parasites to protect your dog against include fleas, ticks and worms (such as roundworms and lungworm).

The answer is, unfortunately, yes. For example, roundworms can infect humans and cause major health concerns – they have been associated with epilepsy, asthma and reduced learning ability in children.^1-4 They can also cause blindness.

Your dog can pick up ticks in their home or outdoor environment. For example, from other household pets or from gardens and parks. Fleas, and roundworms too, can be picked up these ways. Your dog can pick up lungworm by accidentally licking or swallowing slugs and snails – or even their trails!⁶

This can be a concern, especially when you consider every single female flea can lay up to 50 eggs a day.⁷ Multiply that by the fleas on your dog and that’s thousands of eggs in a month – with most of these falling off your pet and contaminating your home and carpets!⁸ Thankfully, the good news is that flea infestations can be effectively managed by treating your home and dog. Your vet can provide more information on this.

Puppies by their very nature love to sniff, slurp, lick, and gobble up everything in their paths including dirt, rubbish, and (unfortunately) poo. These behaviours put them at risk of picking up worms. Also, through exploring their new environment, puppies can pick up fleas, ticks and worms lurking in homes, gardens and parks.

Unfortunately, yes. Your dog can pick up lungworm accidentally by even just drinking contaminated water.⁶ Preventing this parasite is important since it is becoming increasingly common.^9-12

Lungworm may be more common than you imagine: its numbers are on the rise^9-12 and it is considered endemic within several countries in Europe, including the UK, Ireland, France and Spain. It is always best to check with your vet for more detailed information about your region.

The signs of worm infections in dogs will vary according to the type of worm, and it is worth pointing out that each worm can affect dogs differently. For example, roundworms can cause problems with puppy growth.⁶ Lungworm can also cause breathing difficulties and can be fatal. If you have any questions about worms or notice any in your dog’s poo, you should contact your vet.

Continuous cover throughout the year, with a preventative medicine (for example given monthly) is the best approach. Regular prevention is especially important since dogs do not always show symptoms when they are infected with parasites. You should contact your vet for advice if you miss giving a dose to your dog.

Only monthly worming can prevent deadly lungworm disease in dogs, as well as stop dogs shedding harmful roundworm eggs into the environment (which can infect people).^9,13 Your vet can recommend the best parasite control for your dog.

The best parasite control programme will be the recommendation your vet provides after considering your dog’s particular lifestyle. Find out how much your dog is at risk from parasites by completing our risk checker. 

Take the Parassess^® risk checker now >

Yes, Nexgard Spectra^® can be used in pregnant, breeding and lactating bitches.

Please note that use in breeding male dogs is still a decision for the prescribing vet according to a benefit-risk assessment.