Pets need year-round protection from fleas, ticks, heartworms
Veterinarians are often asked, "Is it really important to give my dog preventions for heartworm disease, fleas, and tick-borne diseases every month of the year, even in the cooler and winter months?" The answer is yes, and here's why.
Winter months are not consistently frozen. There are periods of unseasonably mild weather with temperatures warm enough to wake up mosquitoes hungry for a snack of blood from you or your pet. Or an open door in the fall may give them the opportunity to spend the winter inside, where you and your pets are their only choice for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
According to the American Heartworm Society, heartworm disease is on the rise in the United States, and it is fatal if left untreated in dogs. The treatment is expensive for pet parents and unpleasant for pets. Unfortunately, there is no FDA-approved treatment for cats.
Most products available to prevent heartworm disease are also effective in treating your dog for roundworms, hookworms and other intestinal parasites that can cause vomiting, diarrhea and weight loss. Dogs can also share these parasites with their humans!
Fleas and ticks can survive throughout the year. They avoid cold weather by taking up residence in warmer areas, like crawl spaces, carpet, and maybe even your pet's bed. Cooler temperatures in fall prompt them to find a way inside.
Fleas can lay about 40 eggs every day. Eggs hatch in as little as two days or as long as two weeks, and go through multiple life stages until adult fleas emerge, triggered by signs there is a possible host nearby. Eliminating fleas from a home takes a lot of patience and time.
And flea bites can cause worse things than just scratching for your pet. Fido may develop an allergy to flea bites, and fleas can also transmit tapeworms.
By now, we all know the dangers ticks present. It only takes one bite from an infected tick to transmit Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, and other tick-borne diseases.
When considering the dangers posed by mosquitoes, intestinal parasites, fleas and ticks, the better question people should be asking their veterinarian is, "What KIND of preventions should I be giving my pet year-round to protect them against these diseases?"
There are many options when choosing preventions. No one option is the best for every pet. Heartworm preventions are available as topicals that are applied to the skin, oral chews or pills, and injections for dogs; parents of cats can choose from topical and oral medications.
Flea and tick preventions are available in topicals, oral medications, or collars that repel fleas and ticks.
Your veterinarian can talk with you about your lifestyle, home environment, and other factors to help you decide which form of preventions is best for you and your pet.
The American Heartworm Society and the Companion Animal Parasite Council both recommend pets receive year-round protection. These preventions ensure your pet doesn't ever have to suffer the treatment for heartworm disease, the allergic itch of flea bites, or the illnesses caused by intestinal parasites and Lyme disease.
• Diana Stoll is the Practice Manager at Red Barn Animal Hospital with locations in Hampshire, (847) 683-4788; and Gilberts, (847) 426-1000. Visit their website at www.redbarnpetvet.com.