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Another flea/tick question: moving mid-summer
We currently live in southern/central CA where fleas and ticks are not a huge thing here - our vet and all the others in the area do not advise flea or tick or heartworm prevention and our dog has not had an issue with any of these things.
In July, we are moving cross-country to Massachusetts where obviously fleas/ticks are a bigger problem. We are relocating to Boston, so we'll be in an urban environment come September (not sure if this matters), but will be spending all of August in rural Western MA, so lots of grass, woods, etc.
When we get to MA we'll find a new vet who is more knowledgeable on this topic but I don't want to wait too long and not do what I should be doing to prepare. I know I've complained here about our current vet and he is not at all helpful with advice on this front. He's like 95 years old and has only practiced in So Cal.
What do I need to do before we move to prepare so that she is fully protected when we arrive in MA? Should I start her on a flea/tick and heartworm medication? (and which one do you use?) And how long before we move do I need to do that? I've thought about using something natural like neem oil as well, but I've heard mixed reviews about it's effectiveness in high-flea/tick areas so any thoughts you have about that are welcome. Chessie is also allergic to grass and a bunch of other environmental stuff, so she gets baths often to help keep her skin from getting irritated so that might influence the effectiveness of something topical.
Re: Another flea/tick question: moving mid-summer
Do you not have mosquitoes in CA?? Maybe its because I live in Northern Michigan but not recommending flea/tick & heartworm preventatives just seems weird to me. Anyways.....
You have a few options as to what to do and I would start sooner rather than later. It is often easier to prevent a problem then to treat one. We most often suggest frontline plus for fleas and ticks and heartgard for heartworm preventative. The Frontline is a once montly topical application once applied you should wait 24 hours before exposing your pet to water. Heartgard is also once a month but it is taken orally (it comes as a 'treat' for dogs to enjoy) and it prevents heartworm (which is transmitted by mosquitoes) as well as intestinal parasites.
If you don't live in a heavily wooded area or you don't feel that you will have a tick problem where you live, Trifexis might be the way to go for you. It is, again, a once monthly treatment that comes in pill form so you can give it to your pet hidden in something. It treats fleas, heartworm, and intestinal parasites. Many people with children prefer the Trifexis over Frontline and Heartgard since you it is taken orally and they don't run the risk of their children running their hands through the Frontline. Trifexis (in our clinic) is $6 a month cheaper than doing FL and HG however, if you start noticing ticks or hearing about it in your area you can apply the topical frontline (since they work on two different systems) but then you are going to pay twice as much. If price isn't an option to you then I would go with whatever makes you the most comfortable.
I would start researching vets in that area now so when you area at your new home, you can set up and appointment to have your pet checked over and to discuss your options. They might suggest something completely different than what I did but these are what I am most familiar with. I would also suggest purchasing a good flea spray and spraying your home before you have all of your furniture settled in. I am super paranoid about fleas so that was the first thing I did when we purchased our home!
Weird. We lived in the South Bay and always kept our dog on flea/tick/HW preventative. There were definitely ticks there...I can't remember about mosquitoes though.
Anyway, I think you should start something before you leave. When we moved from Maryland to California, we took our 3 cats with us. They are indoor-only, so they've never been on any preventative stuff. We dosed them all with Revolution a few days before our departure, just in case.
You'll be OK if you don't start HW preventative until you're established with a vet in MA. But fleas/ticks...do that asap! We mostly use Frontline Plus, but others here can recommend other products, including holistic/natural ones.
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Ditto starting something sooner rather than later. I think it's ridiculous for your vet to not recommend using a heartworm preventative, no matter where you live. There are mosquitoes everywhere, even if they're not as prevalent in some areas.
We've been giving Zoey Interceptor for HW prevention and have been happy with it; on the other hand we've been using the K9 Advantix II topical for flea/tick/mosquito control, and are NOT happy with it's total lack of fully month-long prevention because it always seems to peter out at least a week before we're due to reapply.
I'm planning on switching to Trifexis (combo pill as PP mentioned, using the Comfortis pill's flea prevention and Interceptor's hw prevention). The only thing I'm worried about is it's lack of tick prevention, but she's not often exposed to high-tick areas, and I have neem oil spray and DE I can apply to her every now and then to help keep those away/kill them if they get on her.
I think with the frequency with which you bathe your dog, an oral preventative is your best bet, since you definitely need to wait a couple of days after bathing to apply it and then a couple of days after applying it to bathe again. You don't want to do either too soon or it won't be as effective. If you get started on hw preventative, you'll need the green light from your vet, so I suggest you get on his ass about making sure you can at least start that now.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
I would research the shot for Lyme disease. Some people are against it, but I've seen many dogs get very sick or die, when it could have been prevented with a simple shot.
Mosquitos are also tough around here. Some can carry the EEE virus, which can be rough for anyone (people or animal) that gets bit. Get the heartguard for your dog & protect yourself outside.
I forgot about mentioning this! Definitely consider getting the Lyme vaccination; I didn't hesitate to get it for Zoey during her puppy shots because Lyme can be so bad here in PA, too.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
I would also start on flea/tick preventative sooner rather than later. I'm in Boston, and my dogs are on flea/tick year-round (based on vet advice regarding the very hardy bugs we have here). However, I've never had a problem with fleas or ticks in the city. We go out to the Cape a few times a year, though, and we always do a thorough check of the dogs when we come in from a walk (and generally don't allow them in tall grass areas).
If you're looking for a vet rec, feel free to PM me - we've been with our vet for 4 years and love him (and the practice in general). Congrats on the move!
Thanks so much for all of the helpful information and suggestions! We moved out to CA from MA a few years back (pre-dog) and I was shocked when we moved here how few bugs there are in general. No mosquitoes in our area, either, although I'm not sure whether that's just a weird microclimate thing or what. Also no ticks. Everyone else here swears it's normal not to have their dogs on this stuff and so far we haven't had any issues. I'm going to go ahead and just start her on the suggested preventatives now, though, just to be safe. We have to go to the vet for her airline health certificate anyways.
LOVE the idea of spraying our new apartment pre-furniture, definitely going to do that. Also going to ask about the lyme vaccination.
Caz, YGAPM! I'd love a vet rec in the area, I have no idea where to start.
Anyone in the Boston area or New England area in general have thoughts about whether the Trifexis combo pill for fleas, heartworm, and parasites would be enough combined with neem oil or another natural or topical tick repellant as needed? I've never lived in a city before so I don't know what to expect as far as likelihood of tick exposure, but I know they're a huge problem in the NE.
We do bathe her quite a lot so I'm sort of concerned about a topical treatment given what people here are posting about it not lasting the full month.
Also, I just looked at the lyme disease shot and it is definitely something we'll consider unless our new vet is adamantly opposed for some reason... in case that impacts responses to the above question.