Fleas and ticks don't wait for a convenient moment, and a treatment that works from a single pipette rather than a course is easier to keep on top of than one that needs remembering across several days.

Bob Martin's Clear Plus spot-on is applied by splitting the pipette between two spots — roughly half at the back of the neck and half between the shoulders — and it's for large dogs, in the 20-40kg band, over 8 weeks old. Bob Martin say it kills fleas for 8 weeks and ticks for 4 weeks, also killing biting lice, and that it inhibits the development of flea eggs, larvae and pupae for 8 weeks, which is aimed at stopping the home environment being re-infested rather than just treating the dog itself.

• One pipette per treatment
• For large dogs, 20-40kg, over 8 weeks old
• Kills fleas for 8 weeks
• Kills ticks for 4 weeks
• Kills biting lice
• Inhibits flea egg, larvae and pupae development for 8 weeks

On application. Bob Martin's own instruction is to split the pipette between the back of the neck and between the shoulders — this is the manufacturer's guidance, not a dose to work out from your dog's weight, and the leaflet in the box carries the full instructions.

Who it's for: owners of a large dog, 20-40kg, wanting flea and tick cover from a single spot-on application rather than a tablet-based routine.