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In the 5-1/2 years I have been here, I have not seen a flea or a tick. My daughter goes camping with their 2 dogs and she never puts anything on them and never came home with fleas or ticks. I will not put any of those chemicals on my dog, there have been too many problems with them. Those chemicals are more dangerous than the fleas or the ticks. IF I am going to use something it's going to be a natural product. One of my friends in Georgia is using Ark Naturals Neem Protect Spray or Mercola Healthy Pet Defense. She also uses Only Natural Pet Herbal Defense Oil. Aroma Paws also has a natural repellant spray. I do my own with essential oils.
no offense intended, but the post above is one reason you need to be very careful around other dogs (and it's not unique to Phoenix). I'd love to skip all the chemicals used to prevent the spread of fleas, ticks, heartworm, rabies, parvo, kennel cough & every other contagious pest or disease that dogs are subject to catching in an area where other dogs are present. It's very easy for your neighbors to convince themselves that vaccinations & treatments are "not necessary", whether for noble reasons, because they're cheapskates, or because they simply don't keep up on how long it's been since their animal actually went to the vet.
even if a particular condition isn't common here, doesn't mean we're immune to it - the wife and I were joking recently about a house down the street that's been "sold" as "rent-to-own" four times in the past five years - every one of those "homeowners" had dogs, and most were from out-of-state.
I lived in Phoenix for 20 yrs, had 3 chihuahuas, lived in ? 5 neighborhoods in Phx. The only time my dogs got fleas was once in my carport-- stray cats hung around (real bad). I solved that problem by carrying them to my pickup and after that I always sprinkled baking soda on the entire carport to kill spiders (we had a problem with them and crickets), worked out great.
In the 60s I had a German Shephard (Pittsburgh). My mother-in-law told me to wash her with fels napha soap, which I did. She never had fleas. You might ask your vet if you should wash your dog with the soap before going to Phoenix as a precaution.
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I found this on the net just now:
My son is a PhD chemist. 8 years Duke University, 8 years Federal government, now employed with a private firm. More money was offered I guess. He travels extensively for his employers, travels worldwide.
He says the safest and best way to rid yourself of a flea infestation is a very old fashioned remedy, can be used safely on your hair, your animals and your hardwood floors. Soap and water. Not detergents, real old fashioned soap, like for instance Fels Naptha. Hope this is helpful I TRIED everything before contacting him
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Should you find you have fleas in the house do a query on the net how to get rid of them with baking soda. I think I read somewhere you can get rid of them by putting out shallow ? lids with soapy water, they drown in it.
no offense intended, but the post above is one reason you need to be very careful around other dogs (and it's not unique to Phoenix). I'd love to skip all the chemicals used to prevent the spread of fleas, ticks, heartworm, rabies, parvo, kennel cough & every other contagious pest or disease that dogs are subject to catching in an area where other dogs are present. It's very easy for your neighbors to convince themselves that vaccinations & treatments are "not necessary", whether for noble reasons, because they're cheapskates, or because they simply don't keep up on how long it's been since their animal actually went to the vet.
even if a particular condition isn't common here, doesn't mean we're immune to it - the wife and I were joking recently about a house down the street that's been "sold" as "rent-to-own" four times in the past five years - every one of those "homeowners" had dogs, and most were from out-of-state.
no offense intended, but why would you subject your dog to flea or tick medicine if he does not have any of them ? Apparently you are not aware of the many problems dogs had after being treated with flea/tick chemicals or heartworm medicine. Just mentioning one of them, Trifexis. Do you even know that the kennel cough vaccine does not cover all the strains of kennel cough and that your dog can still come down with kennel cough even being vaccinated ? And by the way, kennel cough is a treatable disease. Heartworm is too. Do you even are aware that a lot of dogs are sick today because of overvaccination ? Do you personally get vaccinated every year since you were born ? I don't think so. So why should your dog get yearly vaccinations ??
I am not cheap. My dog has a yearly check up every year. He had all his initial vaccinations but will not get anymore of them. If I do anything it will be titers, who by the way are more expensive than the vaccinations. He will get his rabies shot because it is the law and I hope that my dog will not have a bad reaction to it like so many other dogs had. I am active in dog forums and we have lost quite a few young dogs lately in just one forum due most probably from bad reactions or triggered by vaccination. So frankly, I think I know a lot more than you do when it comes to use of chemicals on dogs.
no offense intended, but why would you subject your dog to flea or tick medicine if he does not have any of them ? Apparently you are not aware of the many problems dogs had after being treated with flea/tick chemicals or heartworm medicine. Just mentioning one of them, Trifexis. Do you even know that the kennel cough vaccine does not cover all the strains of kennel cough and that your dog can still come down with kennel cough even being vaccinated ? And by the way, kennel cough is a treatable disease. Heartworm is too. Do you even are aware that a lot of dogs are sick today because of overvaccination ? Do you personally get vaccinated every year since you were born ? I don't think so. So why should your dog get yearly vaccinations ??
I am not cheap. My dog has a yearly check up every year. He had all his initial vaccinations but will not get anymore of them. If I do anything it will be titers, who by the way are more expensive than the vaccinations. He will get his rabies shot because it is the law and I hope that my dog will not have a bad reaction to it like so many other dogs had. I am active in dog forums and we have lost quite a few young dogs lately in just one forum due most probably from bad reactions or triggered by vaccination. So frankly, I think I know a lot more than you do when it comes to use of chemicals on dogs.
ok great - in your previous post, you stated you had lived here 5 years, and not even seen a flea or a tick here. Two years ago, I took in a stray dog who was covered in live ticks. It was the dry season, hadn't rained for months beforehand, and there were no grassy or wet areas anywhere around where I found him. Not even sure how he survived, as daytime temps were over 100, and there were lots of coyotes prowling the same area. The vet said he was badly dehydrated, and he didn't poop for three days after I found him, despite eating & drinking like a horse.
So there are ticks in Phoenix, even though you haven't seen them yourself.
ok great - in your previous post, you stated you had lived here 5 years, and not even seen a flea or a tick here. Two years ago, I took in a stray dog who was covered in live ticks. It was the dry season, hadn't rained for months beforehand, and there were no grassy or wet areas anywhere around where I found him. Not even sure how he survived, as daytime temps were over 100, and there were lots of coyotes prowling the same area. The vet said he was badly dehydrated, and he didn't poop for three days after I found him, despite eating & drinking like a horse.
So there are ticks in Phoenix, even though you haven't seen them yourself.
if you choose to ignore that, whatever happens to your animal is on you.
Yeah, stray dogs have ticks. There are ticks here. It snows once in a while too. But snow is infrequent and ticks are pretty rare in these parts as well among well-cared for dogs. In forty years of owning dogs I have had one who had ticks and he got them on a trip to Texas. None have ever gotten a tick in the desert. Tick meds are nasty chemicals and if you don't need to use them they are best avoided. By and large, there is no little need for preventive treatment of ticks among most house kept dogs in the Phoenix area. Certainly someone visiting for a short time would be well-advised to avoid their use. In the highly unlikely event that the dog got a tick visiting here, it could be dealt with after the fact.
no offense intended, but why would you subject your dog to flea or tick medicine if he does not have any of them ? Apparently you are not aware of the many problems dogs had after being treated with flea/tick chemicals or heartworm medicine. Just mentioning one of them, Trifexis. Do you even know that the kennel cough vaccine does not cover all the strains of kennel cough and that your dog can still come down with kennel cough even being vaccinated ? And by the way, kennel cough is a treatable disease. Heartworm is too. Do you even are aware that a lot of dogs are sick today because of overvaccination ? Do you personally get vaccinated every year since you were born ? I don't think so. So why should your dog get yearly vaccinations ??
I am not cheap. My dog has a yearly check up every year. He had all his initial vaccinations but will not get anymore of them. If I do anything it will be titers, who by the way are more expensive than the vaccinations. He will get his rabies shot because it is the law and I hope that my dog will not have a bad reaction to it like so many other dogs had. I am active in dog forums and we have lost quite a few young dogs lately in just one forum due most probably from bad reactions or triggered by vaccination. So frankly, I think I know a lot more than you do when it comes to use of chemicals on dogs.
So how do you get the license for your dog if you don't keep up with the vaccines?
If I was going in the high country out in the woods with a dog, I might consider protecting the dog against them though as this bulletin states, Tick borne-diseases are rare in all of AZ. If the dog is going to be in a suburban home/outside in a suburban backyard in the valley, I wouldn't give the dog anything. We never have with our dogs with zero issues.
Another advantage of living in a dry/hot area like the valley is that it's hostile to ticks and the diseases they carry as they can't survive with things like Lyme disease that is rampant in other parts of our country. I've learned to appreciate this as I have a sister who got lyme disease visiting the northeast that went chronic and she has a large host of medical issues for decades now as a result. One reason to perhaps complain a little less about our dry/hot summers in the valley.
If I was going in the high country out in the woods with a dog, I might consider protecting the dog against them though as this bulletin states, Tick borne-diseases are rare in all of AZ. If the dog is going to be in a suburban home/outside in a suburban backyard in the valley, I wouldn't give the dog anything. We never have with our dogs with zero issues.
Another advantage of living in a dry/hot area like the valley is that it's hostile to ticks and the diseases they carry as they can't survive with things like Lyme disease that is rampant in other parts of our country. I've learned to appreciate this as I have a sister who got lyme disease visiting the northeast that went chronic and she has a large host of medical issues for decades now as a result. One reason to perhaps complain a little less about our dry/hot summers in the valley.
The brochure you posted doesn't say anything about animal diseases & ticks, in fact it mentions several animal treatments to prevent ticks. If you think your animal is safe without vaccinations & the like, that's your decision & I only hope it doesn't cost you an animal.
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