Do You Use Flea Treatment/heartworm Year Round

[Guest longdogs]

A poll won't tell you anything because you need to know other factors as well.

 

Flea treatment: Only when necessary. For the last several years that's just meant a Capstar for collected 'travellers'. I keep Frontline+ spray as a backup.

 

Heartworm: All year round. We only get a few frosts per year and this is a medium risk heartworm area. Much better safe than sorry.

[Guest LindsaySF]

We do heartworm every month and flea treatment only in the warm months... or at least that's what we had been doing. We don't like treating unnecessarily, but last month one of our indoor only cats picked up a tapeworm.

Do you have any mice in the basement or anything? There is another type of tapeworm that is transmitted by eating infected rodents. It might indeed be the fleas, but something to think about.

[Guest neworleansmama]

We walk the dogs daily so they pick up flea hitchhikers all the time except perhaps in December through February, so we use Advantage year round. How does Capstar work? Perhaps we could use that in the dead of winter.

 

Heartworms are everywhere here and almost every stray has them so there is no way we will go one month without heartworm meds; too risky since we can see mosquitos occasionally in winter..

[Guest meakah]

I couldn't answer your poll....I don't use either here....ever..... The few vets in town that I have spoken too say it is so uncommon here that they only use it when symptoms are present and do not recommend it for common use.

[Guest pjsjazzy]

yes to both all year long. We live in Florida and the climate makes it necessary.

[gracegirl]

No heartworm where we are...so no preventative necessary. Both dogs were on Interceptor for the first 6 months I had them, as they both came from heartworm areas (and Fenway came as a puppy). I'll also look into something if I take the dogs traveling with me out of state at all. Not sure if Oregon has heartworm so I should check into that.

 

We don't have a much of a flea or tick problem, so pretty much year round I dose with Frontline plus ever two months or so, less in the winter. If I'm going hiking or camping I'll do it more often though.

[Guest Tigonie]

Frontline flaked up Emma's skin something awful. I stopped using it her first winter we had her, when I realized that was what was flaking her skin. I never got a new product for her, and (knock wood) she's never had fleas. She's been with us 5 years so far. I figure if she gets fleas, we'll deal with it then.

 

I treat for heartworm year round. Those meds don't seem to bother her (she loves the taste, too). They tell me heartworm is an especially nasty problem and that it is a problem in VA/MD where we've been living. I really don't want to take an "we'll deal with it if it's a problem" approach on heartworm.

[Guest sanshelb]

For our family it is a economical decision to keep all the dogs on flea and heartworm preventative all year round. With a multi dog home if one would pick up something we would have to treat all of them. Even though we are in a cold weather climate it has worked for 10 years.

 

 

[Hubcitypam]

When I lived in IL it was standard to test for heartworms in April and then dose for 6 months. In Dallas it is year around. In some very arid areas in the Southwest many vets do not even recommend HW preventative. I had one tell me I was crazy to want to give it...oh well.

 

As far as flea/tick we have never had a tick in our neighborhood so I only use Advantage when I see a flea on someone (maybe twice a year) then dosing them all, washing the bedding and a dose of Adams spray on the furniture seems to take care of things ASAP. I use a single dose of Frontline on Buck before we go to KS every year as the road to Abilene seems to be lined with potential tick hitchhikers.

[Guest greyhounder]

No selection for No, we don't use flea/tick prevention. We don't usually have them here.. If we get fleas its from a foster that came from another part of the country and came to us via Tucson.. We've only had to treat once.

 

We use HW preventative year round even though they're not prevalent here.

I had a foster that was HW+ and we went through the treatment with him so I NEVER want my hounds to go through that..

[Guest DorianGreyhound]

God of COURSE for HW... it's a condition of adoption too if you get a dog from me... flea stuff? Yes, usually but not if its not needed

[smday]

I use heartworm preventative all year around. I rarely have a flea problem. I think it's been 2 or 3 years since one of my dogs has had a flea. I treat when necessary.

[Guest D_MansMommy]

Heartworm all year. Flea/tick stuff only as needed. I really don't like over treating with meds. I have Frontline on hand if needed but we really don't have a flea/tick problem. I've had Donovan for 5 years and only found 1 tick on him. TC and the 2 indoor kitties are flea and tick free.

[Guest MountainHounds]

Heartworm preventative April through November most years. I used to do year round for Kamin, but it wasn't really necessary, we don't have mosquitoes in January.

 

As for flea and tick preventative, I don't use it at all. I've never seen a flea here and in four years, Kamin has only had one tick, after traipsing through some tall grass in the mountains.

[Guest MyCody]

Interceptor all year long, haven't needed flea treatments for two years, SSSHHHH, don't want them invading.