When it comes to travelling, it’s all about looking for products that are convenient AND keep our pets safe. We’ve compared a few popular parasite treatments currently available, which have the best effect on our target parasites, to help you decide on which one suits your dog best.

Which parasites are a risk for my dog?

The most important parasites to cover whilst travelling are Heartworm and Paralysis Ticks, as they can be deadly and may not be part of your usual preventative regime if you don’t live in these areas. Brown dog ticks transmit the bacteria causing Ehrlichiosis, found in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland (see our article on Ehrlichia). Generally, all dogs should use a preventative for fleas and intestinal worms year-round regardless of location (roundworm, hookworm and Hydatid tapeworm can be passed to people). Hydatid tapeworm is a risk for dogs eating raw meat or offal, and Tasmania requires dogs to be treated before travel to our island state (see our article on Travel to Tasmania). Mites can be an occasional issue, whilst Sarcoptic mange is more likely if your dog is exploring areas with foxes and wombats and can also be passed to people.

How reliable are parasite preventative medications?

It is important to recognise that preventative products are not a guarantee, especially with parasites like the Paralysis Tick. All dogs travelling or living in a Tick area should be checked daily (at a minimum) for ticks – see our Tick Check Guide for further information. The majority of preventative treatments only kill the tick after it has attached, so the sooner a tick is removed the less chance there is of infections or other complications. In WA, the NT and now Queensland, Ehrlichia is transmitted from Brown Dog Ticks to dogs in a shorter time than spot-ons or chews can act, so the Seresto collar is recommended as it repels and kills ticks on contact before they can attach.

Ensuring that preventative treatments are repeated as recommended is imperative to their success. Monthly treatments must be given exactly monthly (within a 2-3 day window). We know that time flies and treatments can be easily forgotten when busy or travelling so choosing a longer term option may suit better in many circumstances for optimum health, convenience and peace of mind. Studies have shown the injectable heartworm treatment, Proheart SR12, to be the most effective heartworm preventative, both due to it’s ongoing long-term action as well as the susceptibility of heartworm to it’s active ingredient.

Likewise, choosing between an oral, spot-on, collar or injectable treatment depends on your dog’s lifestyle as well as the parasites being targeted. For example, if your dog loves swimming then a spot-on treatment is less likely to be as effective as an oral or injectable one (Seresto collars are waterproof so can, and should, be left on whilst swimming or bathing).

Product	Bravecto spot-on	Bravecto chew	Nexguard Spectra chew	Simparica Trio chew	Seresto collar	Advantix spot-on	ProHeart SR12 injection	Milbemax tablet	Drontal chew
Heartworm
Fleas	(5-6 months)	(3 months)			(8 months)
Paralysis Ticks	(5-6 months)	(3-4 months)			(4 months)
Brown Dog Ticks	(3 months)	(2 months)			(4 months)
Mosquitoes Sandflies Stableflies