sanfordssj wrote:Don't give the female ANYTHING while she is with pups! if she has been treated with Ivomec up till this point than there is no reason to worry about it from the time bred until pups are 6 weeks. If you feel she needs it than give it to her, but don't come back on here when you have a few pups not make it, she has a small litter, or something odd happens that you cant figure out why. This stuff is poison and is lethal if given wrong, so common sense should tell you that it can do no good for a litter.
Don’t get me wrong i use it, but i don’t take chances with it either, and i use a smaller does than most because i believe it burns kidneys up, etc...it is something that works, but can be like playing a game of Russian roulette.
I know you mean well, but this is just plain mis-information. It is important in forums like these, when people who really haven't taken the time to read-up on meds, that they should just step back (and not up) to "give advice" on the finer points of what to do (and what not to do) when using meds.
Don't get me wrong, being cautious with medications is a good thing ... and it is true that ivermectin
can be poison (if given to the wrong breed, etc.), but to say,
"Don't give the female anything while she's with pups!" is just plain wrong and in point of fact is terribly bad advice. The key with dispensing any medications is to actually know what you're doing, and to actually know which drugs to use, and for what purpose, not to just shrink back in terror at the thought of using "any" drugs on a pregnant or whelping bitch. Because the exact opposite of what you have said is the truth:
it is critical to treat your bitches with
the right meds, to clean her out and to create a disease/parasite-free environment for her upcoming pups.
First of all, there are other wormers besides ivermectin. Second, even ivermectin is okay to give to most pregnant bitches. It is true that Ivermectin should NOT be given directly to pups until they're 4 months of age, but giving it to the mother prior to a breeding (or even while pregnant) won't hurt the pups. Still, if you are shell-shocked at the idea of using ivermectin, why don't you use a mild wormer like pyrantel or panacur? Because the truth is it is negligent NOT to worm your bitch prior to conception, during her gestation, and every 2 weeks after delivery until 8 weeks of age. And I will tell you why it is negligent.
To begin with, I don’t think people really stop to consider how bad roundworm (and even hookworm) can get in a bitch, while she’s bred, and how easily it is transmitted to the unborn pups. Even in the most regularly-wormed bitch, there will remain worms that are “cystic” in her muscles that
no wormers will get. When a bitch comes in heat, and gets bred, hormones are released which in turn cause the cystic worms to activate and spread. These liberated worms go right to the unborn pups as well as to the whelped pups via the milk.
One single female roundworm can lay 100,000 eggs a day! Can you imagine how many eggs get laid in the bitch, and in her pups, if a totally incompetent “owner” waits until 6 WEEKS to worm the bitch and her litter? This is terrible husbandry practice! You want to talk about “something odd” happening and losing pups, well no wonder! The pups are dying of worm infestation!
Proper animal husbandry practice would be the exact opposite of your advice, sir, namely: (1)
worm the heck out of your bitch prior to breeding; (2)
continue to worm every 2 weeks during gestation; and (3)
worm the bitch and her pups every 2 weeks after delivery. THAT is the way to keep the mama and her pups worm-free and healthy. Meanwhile, not worming a bitch at all during pregnancy, and then waiting until 6 weeks after delivery to worm her and the pups, is the way to make sure all of them are utterly miserable and bursting at the seams with worms.
Good luck,
Jack
.