Preventative treatments for dogs in Dallas? (Howe: house, neighborhood, live)

[seattlerain1]

Hi-
What meds/treatments are your dogs under regularly? We are moving down there soon and here in the Northwest I havent needed to use heartworm meds or flea/tick meds. My vet recommends that we start those treatments right away. Is there any other parasite we need to worry about?
Thanks.

[mysterymachinebl]

Heartworm and flea/tick treatments are the main things you will have to worry about. Usually, the heartworm pills take care of other types of parasites and worms that your dogs can be exposed to.

[RonRut]

It may depend.....are your dogs in-door or out-door. We have always had indoor dogs who ago out to romp and play. We have never used heart worm meds and have only HAD to use tick/flea meds when our back yard backed up next to another backyard that had outdoor dogs. We just watch from warm season to warm season to see whether or not we need flea/tick treatment. . . . . . . . then apply IF needed. Most warm seasons we do not have to use anything. It may depend on where you live, whether your dogs or outdoor or indoor and how is the yard environment, etc. I might wait and see, then medicate if needed ???

[bookworm2768]

Originally Posted by RonRut

It may depend.....are your dogs in-door or out-door. We have always had indoor dogs who ago out to romp and play. We have never used heart worm meds and have only HAD to use tick/flea meds when our back yard backed up next to another backyard that had outdoor dogs. We just watch from warm season to warm season to see whether or not we need flea/tick treatment. . . . . . . . then apply IF needed. Most warm seasons we do not have to use anything. It may depend on where you live, whether your dogs or outdoor or indoor and how is the yard environment, etc. I might wait and see, then medicate if needed ???

I'm leaning to that conclusion myself. However, to control the entry of pests into your back yard you may want to consider having your lawn treated for ticks, fire ants, etc.
The basic recommendations for dogs seem to be heart worm meds and flea/tick treatments. A difference from up north is that fleas and ticks don't disappear during the winter down here so you have to watch for it year round.

[seattlerain1]

Thanks for the info. We have a small indoor dog who just goes outside to potty and maybe to sit in the sun. I would prefer not to put frontline on him as I dont like having pesticide on him or in my house, but I think I dont like having fleas/ticks in my house more. I think I'll ask the landscapers about treating the yard for fleas/ticks.

[mysterymachinebl]

You can get away with not using flea or tick treatments if you have indoor dogs and they don't spend too much time outside. Heartworms, however, are spread by mosquitoes, so it only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to cause problems.

[LQQKOUT]

Originally Posted by mysterymachinebl

You can get away with not using flea or tick treatments if you have indoor dogs and they don't spend too much time outside. Heartworms, however, are spread by mosquitoes, so it only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to cause problems.

I agree with that! I also treat my yard twice a year once in spring and once in fall. I have five dogs and don't like using flea stuff. But the heartworm I would totally recommend.

[yellow rose]

When I lived in Florida, fleas, ticks, etc. were an ongoing problem, particularly when our neighbors moved away. They had four dogs that had flea/tick issues, and when they moved those hungry pests came looking for new hosts in my back yard!
I had older dogs and didn't like the idea of having to load them up with pesticides either, especially after all the vaccinations they'd had over the years. Just more poison on the poor animals. After one of my dogs died from cancer, I ended up transitioning the other onto a raw food diet, and suddenly, no more fleas. I found just one tick on her, which I picked off and killed. And that was it!
In the short time we lived here before she passed two months ago (cancer, but she was quite old) I never used flea/tick preventive. Only heartworm med monthly and the required rabies shot ( 1 x every 3 yrs). I can't confirm it was due to the raw food, but I find it interesting that it seemed to coincide with the change in her diet. Just thought I'd share.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by seattlerain1

Thanks for the info. We have a small indoor dog who just goes outside to potty and maybe to sit in the sun. I would prefer not to put frontline on him as I dont like having pesticide on him or in my house, but I think I dont like having fleas/ticks in my house more. I think I'll ask the landscapers about treating the yard for fleas/ticks.

Originally Posted by mysterymachinebl

You can get away with not using flea or tick treatments if you have indoor dogs and they don't spend too much time outside. Heartworms, however, are spread by mosquitoes, so it only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to cause problems.

I've always had dogs and only once did we have a problem w/ fleas. It was from a neighbors cat they let roam freely that would come over. It FREAKED ME OUT! I even told them especially after our large 80lb Dalmatian almost got ahold of it IN MY FENCED IN BACKYARD! The idiots were like, "oh well". I was like, "uhm, I'm pregnant and I'm NOT going to clean up dead kitty so keep YOUR cat in YOUR yard as required by law". They never got it..... Anyway, I HATE fleas and ticks and we don't have them EVER and I don't treat my dogs either, just the yard. My dogs don't even go for walks around the neighborhood or to the parks because of what can be in other yards and out in the parks. We DO take them to our lakehouse in East Texas where fleas & ticks are more prevelant but the yard is treated there as well.

If your dog is an indoor doggy and only goes out in your own backyard I would not worry about treating them for fleas & ticks but would have the yard treated. Then your good to go and should be fine. DO take the heartworm meds though. No big deal and a LOT better than your baby suffering from them.

However, ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS make sure your baby has on a collar w/ contact tag info. We do get a lot of high winds around here and fences can and DO blow down all of the time. It is not uncommon for even house dogs to get out when this happens. My mom found one a little too late the other day after the bad storm last week and the only collar on it was a flea collar. Poor thing had been well groomed but no collar and had gotten out....... You can get them at any of the local pet supply stores like PetSmart or Petco for less than $10. Your address and a phone number need to be on there.

[usexplorer]

Hi, I moved here from Seattle in late Feb, so was in the same situation as you. I have 3 dogs, none of which were ever on heartworm medication. It is however, important for dogs to be on heartworm prevention here due to the high risk. As much as I hate loading their little bodies with chemicals I think in this case prevention is better than cure. All it takes is 1 infected mosquito to bite them. So before leaving Seattle, I had all my dogs tested for heartworm. After the tests came back negative, I then started them on heartworm meds. I understand it is important to start them on the meds as soon as you get the test results, and definitely before you get to Dallas.

As for flea/tick treatment, I only did this in the summer when I was in Seattle and am doing the same in Dallas. I started their flea/tick treatment in March and plan to stop in August. I don't apply once a month though, as I really do hate the idea of subjecting my babies to a pesticide. I apply the treatment every 6 weeks, and have had no flea/tick problems at all. I am also careful to use a soap free shampoo when bathing them so that the flea treatment is not washed off. I take my dogs out for a walk every day, and with the weather being so warm here I have noticed a lot of bugs around, so flea/tick treatment is a must. It also gives me peace of mind when we go to the park and they romp around in the grass. But as the above poster mentioned, if your dog spends most of its time indoors and only goes out in your backyard, then just having your yard treated should be ok.

And fire ants is something you should watch out for. I have seen a lot of fire ant mounds around and have to be careful my dogs don't get near them after a bad experience. I stepped on one and my dog and I were both bitten. Ouch! But this shouldn't be a problem in your yard if you have it treated.