Advocate is a topical treatment designed to kill fleas on your pet’s fur. Additionally, it protects against heartworm disease, treats intestinal worms (roundworms, hookworms [larvae and immature adults], whipworm) and controls ear mites and sarcoptic mange in dogs.
An annual application will help keep parasites under control, even after bathing, shampooing or swimming. Its targeted treatments work even after taking showers, baths or doing other physical activities that expose people to parasites.
Fleas
Advocate is an effective, user-friendly spot-on solution designed to protect dogs against fleas and prevent itchy skin as a result of flea bites (flea allergy dermatitis). One treatment lasts four weeks and kills existing fleas while also disrupting their lifecycle in their environment by eliminating immature stages of flea parasites.
Fleas are common pests found throughout homes and outdoor spaces, including carpets, rugs, pet bedding, cracks and crevices. Female fleas lay up to 40 eggs each day; from egg to adult takes 21-28 days; this larval stage may then develop in places your dog spends time.
As soon as a flea bites a dog, histamine is released, potentially leading to anaphylaxis – an extremely severe allergic response requiring medical intervention and sometimes leading to death. Histamine causes your pup to itch which often results in scratching leading to tiny red spots or sores on his body from itching and scratching.
Advocate is composed of imidacloprid and moxidectin, two neurotoxins which work by interfering with nerve impulse transmission in a parasite’s central nervous system to paralyze them before they eventually die. Simply use the correct weight indicated on the package when applying this product directly onto your pet’s skin using parting their fur where possible for application; no shampoo should be applied prior to administering as that would wash off medication too easily; to be effective, at least 24 hours must pass between bathing or exposure to rain events before administering or bathing or exposure to rain, for best results.
Heartworms
Heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) can be a serious and even life-threatening disease for your dog, caused by long thin worms living inside their heart and lung vessels. Mosquitoes carry microfilariae that mature into adult worms; warm, humid environments provide ideal breeding grounds. Once inside their heart and blood vessels, heartworm infections cause irreparable damage which may eventually lead to heart failure and pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the arteries that supply the lungs).
Veterinarians usually prescribe Melarsomine dihydrochloride for heartworm-infected dogs, which works by blocking blood flow to the lungs. While this drug can cause soreness and swelling at injection sites, it has proven successful at killing adult worms while discouraging future heartworm growth.
Advocate, with active ingredients Imidacloprid and Moxidectin, can help prevent heartworm infestation through monthly preventative medication. The active ingredients work by disrupting parasite neurotransmissions by interfering with their central nervous systems – thus killing fleas, roundworms, hookworms, heartworms, whipworms as well as stopping growth of ear mites and demodex mites.
Your veterinarian will test the blood of your dog for signs of heartworm disease, such as soft, dry coughing and exercise intolerance. If the disease has progressed further, additional symptoms related to their heart and lungs such as weight loss, distended abdomens and fluid accumulation in legs and abdomen may appear.
Intestinal Worms
Roundworms (ascarids) are among the most prevalent intestinal worms for canines, living in their gut where they feed on partially digested food and can cause diarrhea as well as lack of energy in affected pets. Roundworm infestation is also prevalent among human infants and high worm loads can result in slower rates of growth.
Helminths are commonly mislabeled parasites; however, their proper term is “helminth”. Helminths play an integral part in ecosystems as they benefit from living off of their hosts, which allows them to survive even where other worms cannot. For instance, these beneficial parasites thrive where drinking water from contaminated sources, failing to wash hands regularly or having poor sanitation levels exist.
Many intestinal worms can be spread by drinking contaminated water, sharing personal items, walking barefoot in contaminated soil and eating unwashed fruits or meats without washing first. Children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems may be especially vulnerable.
Advocate’s ingredients – imidacloprid and moxidectin – target the parasite’s central nervous system by interfering with neurotransmissions. Paralyzing and killing them ensue. With just one monthly spot-on treatment, Advocate kills between 98-100% of existing fleas within 12 hours while simultaneously stopping their reproduction, as well as treating heartworm disease, intestinal worms (roundworms, hookworms (larvae, immature adults and adult stages), whipworms and whipworms as well as external parasites such as ear mites, sarcoptic mange and demodex mites.
Ear Mites
Ear mites (Otodectes cynotis) can be an annoyance that causes your dog to shake his head frequently and create scratched-open ears, leading to scratched-open wounds which allow bacteria to enter. Heavy infestations may lead to the development of aural hematomas – large blood blisters in the ear caused by ruptured blood vessels – which in extreme cases, rupture the eardrum and can even prove fatal for your pet.
Your vet will conduct an exam of your dog’s ears to confirm the presence of ear mites and prescribe treatment accordingly. Topical medication applied directly to the ears usually works effectively against mites; environmental treatments to kill off egg sacs could prevent reinfection after initial treatments have taken effect.
Once your pet is free from ear mites, it’s crucial that they use a broad spectrum parasite preventative like Advocate. This monthly spot-on treatment offers protection from fleas, heartworm, major intestinal worms and ear mites, among other parasitic infections. Unlike over-the-counter topical treatments that contain only antiparasitic medication like ivermectin or selamectin patches on its skin; Advocate offers one of the most effective options to safeguard them against parasitic infections.
Lungworms
Lungworms (Filaroides hirthii, Eucoleus aerophilus and Crenostoma vulpis) are parasitic nematodes that cause coughing, breathing difficulty, pulmonary capillary disease granulomatous lung infection as well as enlarged lymph nodes. If left unchecked they can also lead to more serious heart conditions including abnormalities with valves, an enlarged right ventricle and fluid accumulation within the lungs.
Lungworm infection typically spreads via infected slugs and snails that dogs consume while chewing or drinking from puddles, and these infected organisms then pass their parasites in their faeces which infect other dogs who later consume their waste. Dogs may also become exposed to lungworm through eating soil contaminated by house plants or garden areas.
Your veterinarian may suspect lungworm infection based on your dog’s symptoms and transmission patterns, or finding larvae in stool samples. A Baermann test is usually the gold standard in diagnosing lungworm infection; x-rays or bronchoscopy exams may also prove helpful in making an accurate assessment.
Lungworm is considered an “emerging” parasite, meaning that its prevalence was previously low but has recently seen an upsurge due to increased mobility for both pet owners and their canines. More contact between domestic canids and wild canids may also play a part in its spread.
Ticks
Advocate’s active ingredients provide powerful multi-spectrum protection from fleas, ticks, heartworms, roundworms, hookworms and whipworms – far more effectively than sprays, shampoos or combs in ridding your pet of pests and keeping him or her healthy and contented.
This monthly spot-on treatment for both dogs and cats is easy to administer and comes in both forms; dog and cat versions alike. Simply apply it using a disposable applicator tube on a clean, dry pet with Imidacloprid killing any existing fleas within 12 hours without them biting your pet, while breaking their lifecycle cycle and breaking their lifecycle of larvae development. Moxidectin works similarly by interfering with their nervous systems, rendering them paralysed so they are vulnerable to attack by both ingredients.
As it is best practice, administer the product while your pet is standing using a full pipette of solution on each neck section. Once applied, this pipette should be taken off immediately and removed using an applicator before wiping away any excess medication with another surface (for instance polished floorboards or leather). Note: it may discolour certain fabrics or surfaces (eg polished floorboards or leather), in which case avoid contact between your pet and these surfaces until after treatment has dried completely.
When applying the product, make sure your pet is completely dry in order to maximize effectiveness. Bathe your pet 48 hours post application and do not allow them to swim; if needed after that period it is recommended using mild soap shampooing.