I have seen good results with the Scalibor collar, but I do not know what kind of absorption takes place and what kind of concerns there would be with an immune compromised animal. The best thing to do is to zip-tie the tick collar to the inside of the dog's regular collar. One thing about the collar is that it takes 1 to 3 weeks to reach maximum effect, and then it is supposed to kill ticks withing 24 hours. My issue is that under no circumstances do I leave my dog in his kennel with his collar on (I have seen more than one dog strangle itself to death and I am a huge advocate because many people do not even know that it can happen), SO I do not know if it changes the effectiveness by taking the collar on and off. The dogs that it works well for wear their collars all the time. Also client reviews seem to agree that the collar is not very effective against fleas. Something you may want to look into is Certifect (http://www.cert.....fault.aspx) It is a newer product marketed by Frontline that is effective against fleas, and has even more protection against ticks than Frontline Plus. Once again, I would check with your vet about what kind of absorption takes place and make sure that it is safe for your pet. All the clients that get Certifect say that it works wonderfully, and as with Frontline we see very few problems/reactions with it. When we do see a reaction it is a skin irritation that resolves on its own. One bad thing about Certifect is that it STINKS really bad for a day or so after you put it on. Some people actually stop using it because it smells so bad. Good luck with your search for the best product!

Sentinel is JUST coming back on the market, their company had an issue on their human side and had to shut down production. A lot of people do love it and it should be available as soon as your vet orders it. The only problem is Sentinel doesn't do anything for ticks

Roundworms are the most common intestinal parasite in dogs. There are two ways that Jackson could have gotten them: 1) He ate poop, or grass that had at one point had poop on it from an animal that had roundworms 2) He are a mouse or some other rodent that was carrying roundworms. Unfortunately, no medication is 100% effective, 100% of the time, which is how he may have gotten them even though he was on prevention. Also, it is possible that his last fecal test was "negative" but he still had an internal parasite. This is possible because what we see in the fecal test is the parasite's eggs. It is possible that the parasite(s) did not shed any eggs in the one sample that was checked. I'm not sure how the vet hospital that you go to handles fecal tests, but if the do in-house testing, rather than sending specimens out to a lab, human error could result in a false negative. If the sample was checked in the vet office by an inexperience technician, or someone in a rush, they could have missed an egg.

On a gross note: You can get roundworms from Jackson. They do not mature in the human like they do in the dog, instead they migrate into the lungs and/or skin. Symptoms include coughing and/or skin rash. If a young child contracts roundworms it can even lead to blindness.

Anyway: Do a "poop patrol" of your yard and pick up any feces. For the next few months you should also pick up any new feces that Jackson produces. Always practice good hand washing after clean up to prevent possible human transmission.

One question: What heartworm prevention is Jackson on? All heartworm preventions that I know of are guaranteed if you are getting it from your vet, and the vet can send the company the records that show that you have been buying the amount you needed and not missing doses. Your vet should help you with contacting the manufacturer, because with the proper paperwork, they will reimburse you for the cost of the dewormings. The products are NOT guaranteed through the manufacturer if you get them from 1-800-pet-meds and online sites like that, and the companies that make the product will not reimburse you for anything. Some of the online pharmacies have their own guarantees for products, so you would have to deal with the actual website to try to get a reimbursement.

I definitely understand your frustration, I would feel the same way. With roundworms you most likely will not see the actual worms in the stool. Usually you only see that in kittens and puppies that have a major population of the parasite. Again, because what is seen in the fecal is the parasite's eggs, I would still be wary if the new fecal test comes up negative. If the new test does come up negative I would consider testing once more to make absolutely sure that the dewormer isn't necessary (or just do the dewormer to be safe if Novartis will still pay for it with the one positive fecal). I know this also depends on if and how much the vet is charging you for these retests. I'm not sure if your vet carries it or not, and how comparable the price is to Sentinel, but have you heard of Trifexis? If you are planning on switching products, Trifexis is also a pill and it does all the same things as Sentinel, the way the flea prevention works is just a little different.

Wow Pam thanks! We don't do any in house fecal testing at the practice I work at now so I totally forgot about that! I remember when I first started, the practice did all in house fecals, and yes, pollen could easily have been mistaken by someone inexperienced as a roundworm egg.