Parasite Control

[atcwag]

Would like to get some insight into what preventive action you take with your pets? My vet strongly suggests that I use flea/tick/heartworm control - specifically pushes Revolution.

Don't get me wrong, I love my little furbaby, however she is a dog. I don't fault people who treat their pets as people, however I do not. She is a member of our family, but I would not spend thousands and thousands of dollars on her medically if needed. Oh man, this sounds harsh - but I hope you know what I mean.

She goes to the vet regularly, has all her vaccinations, and eats food that isn't a bunch of fillers and crap.

After about 6 months of having her, I quit doing the Revolution. It just got too costly. I did some research and there is much debate on whether this is needed/not needed - good for pet/not good for pet. She is an inside dog, has never had fleas or ticks. She is a pomeranian, so a few laps around the house each day and she's worn out . She goes outside for maybe 20-30 min. total each day to do her business. We live in town, but have a backyard - so she's not out in the woods and such.

What are your thoughts? Is some sort of parasite prevention needed? If so, what do you use and how do you keep costs down?

[JulieDB]

I actually don't know what you mean when you said you wouldn't spend thousands and thousands of dollars on her. I had a cat that lived to the age of almost 18. She was on two expensive meds each month for thyroid and kidney trouble. She had to have a couple of teeth removed when she was younger. And literally just prior to having to be put to sleep because of kidney failure, she had an eye operation. If you're not willing to do stuff like this then IMO you shouldn't have a pet.

When she was younger she did have trouble with fleas and subsequent worms. They were treated and she had constant preventative care for many years.

When we moved to this house I did not allow her outside at all. Only because on the way to moving here she was lost in the woods on Staten Island for 10 days. Thankfully she did not get fleas.

My current two cats are totally indoor cats and have no fleas. But the baby did have lung worms when we got her. These were treated and mom was treated as well.

I don't have a dog and wouldn't have one. Too much work for me. But if I did have one, most likely I would do the preventative stuff. Dogs generally do have to go outside even if for a little while. They do get fleas and they certainly can get worms. I had two dogs as a child and I know people who have dogs. In this area they almost always get fleas so they need treatment.

[atcwag]

I actually don't know what you mean when you said you wouldn't spend thousands and thousands of dollars on her. I had a cat that lived to the age of almost 18. She was on two expensive meds each month for thyroid and kidney trouble. She had to have a couple of teeth removed when she was younger. And literally just prior to having to be put to sleep because of kidney failure, she had an eye operation. If you're not willing to do stuff like this then IMO you shouldn't have a pet.

If my dog got cancer or was hit by a car and treatment was going to cost thousands of dollars, it wouldn't be something we would go through with. I can enjoy my pet for the length of their healthy life, but I am not going to provide the same medical treatment to keep them alive like I would a human. This is what I meant. Obviously, we are going to provide any necessary medical treatment needed that is normal aging or the like. I don't buy into the fact that pets should be kept alive like a person by any means possible.

[momof2inohio]

I would definitely do the heartworm preventative. It can be expensive but much cheaper than if your dog got heartworm. The flea and tick preventative you don't NEED but I always have use it for my dog because I do not want fleas in my house or on her. We live in a suburban neighborhood and my dog only goes out to potty or for walks but fleas can still happen.

I am with Julie....I would do whatever I could to keep my dog alive if something unforeseen happened unless of course our dog was in too much pain and her quality of life was not good then we would have her put to sleep.

[momof2inohio]

For heartworm..Heartguard plus should only cost around $60.00 for a years supply for a dog that is small like yours. I think there is an over the counter flea/tick preventative that is sold at Walmart now. I haven't checked it out but I saw a commercial about it.

[lakies]

I just posted on the dog food thread and if you read that you will see my approach is high quality food, filtered water, no pesticides, and no vaccines. My dogs are now 15 1/2 and 16.

And I stopped with the flea and tick meds a few years back. I no longer do vaccines (see food thread for the post about that).

One of my dogs got a really bad lung infection, psuedomonas, from drinking some standing water away from the home that likely had bacteria and fungus in it that gave her the infection. I used antibiotics to clear the infection but found her immune system was weakened from the infection.

In dealing with that I went through a revision of all of the things I was giving to or doing for the dogs. I am as natural as I can be without doing the raw diet.

I add a bit of minced garlic to their food once a day during the summer to help make them unattractive to the mosquitoes.

One of the dogs picked up a small white worm last year. I added garlic (larger amount than the less than 1/8 a tsp I would give every day) to her food twice a day every day for about 6 weeks and the worms went away. They were expelled naturally from her system. I also used an herbal formula that contained black walnut hull in it. I did not go to the vet and have her poisoned to rid her of the worms (read up on what they give your dog to kill the worms).

I have had the dogs tested for heartworm but do no longer give the heartworm meds. In my research, I have found more than one natural formula that will eliminate the heartworms from the dog if they do contract heartworm.

For fleas, it depends. Diatomaceous earth, food grade, can be sprinkled around the dog bed to help kill fleas. Find it at a livestock feed store or mill. Or use a combo borax and baking soda. If the fleas are bad get Capstar from the vet or a specialty pet store--a pill that will kill the fleas within an hour and lasts for a day or so. You probably need a few days of this while getting rid of the fleas around the bed. That way, you aren't dosing the dog month after month with a pesticide just in case.

In my area the fleas don't crop up until late summer and early fall. Vacuuming, Capstar, etc. gets rid of them. The key is to have a plan and implement on it right away.

To find these solutions, like garlic, etc., I googled up "dog flea natural treatment" or "Dog worm natural treatment" .

Natural can work. Some of these tips and tricks seem to get lost over the years but thank goodness for the internet! I just saw a museum exhibit that included showing what sugar cane looked like and the snippers they used for it. The description included that the homeowner would tie the sugar cane up and hang it by some string with aluminum around the string to keep the ants away from the sugar cane. ! I was impressed with the ingenuity! So google up your area of interest and find out what people used to do or have done recently to combat the issue. :)

[lupus]

Heartgard is the absolute minimum you should be doing. It's very cheap and safe, and heartworms are a huge problem that will kill your dog. I used it on my dog instead of revolution so I didn't have to do the flea stuff over the winter.

[Lori63]

My cat is almost 17. Hubby decide to leave in April, and with my mind being gone because of that I forgot to give her the flea meds for a few months. She is rarely outside, but need less to say we got fleas in the house and it was hell getting rid of them. I def will not skip that again.
She is also on thyroid meds-a necessary expense in my book. She has an overactive thyroid which means she got very thin. I have a thyroid that doesn't work at all, so I'm on meds but have a hard time losing weight. Where's the Karma in that? Not fair :)

[CLN123]

I always used the Frontline Plus for fleas/ticks. Whether you have a dog or cat, inside or out, a flea preventative is always a good thing. You will be doing your dog a favor and it's worth the money.

Now I know not everyone does the heartworm thing, but if a dog gets heartworms it can be deadly. Heartguard is a good preventative.

[motherofmolly]

I just posted on the dog food thread and if you read that you will see my approach is high quality food, filtered water, no pesticides, and no vaccines. My dogs are now 15 1/2 and 16.

And I stopped with the flea and tick meds a few years back. I no longer do vaccines (see food thread for the post about that).

One of my dogs got a really bad lung infection, psuedomonas, from drinking some standing water away from the home that likely had bacteria and fungus in it that gave her the infection. I used antibiotics to clear the infection but found her immune system was weakened from the infection.

In dealing with that I went through a revision of all of the things I was giving to or doing for the dogs. I am as natural as I can be without doing the raw diet.

I add a bit of minced garlic to their food once a day during the summer to help make them unattractive to the mosquitoes.

One of the dogs picked up a small white worm last year. I added garlic (larger amount than the less than 1/8 a tsp I would give every day) to her food twice a day every day for about 6 weeks and the worms went away. They were expelled naturally from her system. I also used an herbal formula that contained black walnut hull in it. I did not go to the vet and have her poisoned to rid her of the worms (read up on what they give your dog to kill the worms).

I have had the dogs tested for heartworm but do no longer give the heartworm meds. In my research, I have found more than one natural formula that will eliminate the heartworms from the dog if they do contract heartworm.

For fleas, it depends. Diatomaceous earth, food grade, can be sprinkled around the dog bed to help kill fleas. Find it at a livestock feed store or mill. Or use a combo borax and baking soda. If the fleas are bad get Capstar from the vet or a specialty pet store--a pill that will kill the fleas within an hour and lasts for a day or so. You probably need a few days of this while getting rid of the fleas around the bed. That way, you aren't dosing the dog month after month with a pesticide just in case.

In my area the fleas don't crop up until late summer and early fall. Vacuuming, Capstar, etc. gets rid of them. The key is to have a plan and implement on it right away.

To find these solutions, like garlic, etc., I googled up "dog flea natural treatment" or "Dog worm natural treatment" .

Natural can work. Some of these tips and tricks seem to get lost over the years but thank goodness for the internet! I just saw a museum exhibit that included showing what sugar cane looked like and the snippers they used for it. The description included that the homeowner would tie the sugar cane up and hang it by some string with aluminum around the string to keep the ants away from the sugar cane. ! I was impressed with the ingenuity! So google up your area of interest and find out what people used to do or have done recently to combat the issue. :)

this is great that you do this...but unfortunately vaccines can be required by law in certain areas. i know in our county it is required by law at least the rabies.

which, i had a rabid racoon in my bad yard two days ago. you could tell he was sick and it was daylight. he was 2 feet from my dog. without that vaccine, i would of had to put him either down or tried the expensive treatments to try and save him.