Deworming Schedule Calculator

Risk Level sets the base treatment frequency before any age or fecal-count adjustment is applied, and the difference between Low and High risk is substantial -- moving from Low to High exposure roughly doubles to quadruples the base treatment frequency depending on species: 3x for dogs and horses, 4x for cattle, and 2x for cats, whose high-risk interval stays at 45 days. This reflects how much more often pasture, multi-pet, or kennel-exposed animals encounter parasites compared to a strictly indoor pet.

No -- both only ever shorten it. Age under 6 or 12 months caps the interval at 30 or 60 days respectively regardless of what the species/risk-level base interval would otherwise allow, and a Fecal Egg Count reading above 200 or 500 EPG caps it further still. Neither one can push the interval longer than the species/risk-level base value.

No -- it only estimates a monitoring and treatment schedule (how often to deworm), not a medication dose. Actual anthelmintic dosing depends on the specific drug, your animal's precise weight, and in some cases documented breed sensitivities (ivermectin- class drugs, for example, can be dangerous at otherwise-routine doses in MDR1-mutation breeds like collies). Get dosing from your veterinarian or the product label.

A tested Fecal Egg Count above 200 or 500 eggs per gram (EPG) caps the recommended interval down to 60 or 30 days respectively, regardless of what the species/risk-level/ age combination would otherwise suggest -- letting an actual lab result take priority over the generic risk-based schedule when real parasite burden data is available.

Because that's what the real guidance for each says. For dogs and cats, the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) -- the standard-setting body for U.S. companion animal parasite control -- recommends administering year-round broad-spectrum parasite control against heartworm, intestinal parasites, fleas, and ticks, with fecal diagnostics at least two to four times a year, rather than triggering treatment off a single EPG number. For horses and livestock, fecal egg counts remain a core planning tool for stratifying animals by shedding level, which is what this calculator's Fecal Egg Count input is built for. Treating a dog or cat's parasite prevention like a horse's -- skipping months of protection while waiting for a high fecal count -- runs against CAPC's own year-round recommendation.