Pets need heartworm, flea and tick prevention | Pet Peeves
I’ve had some interesting conversations about heartworm prevention lately. One that really stands out is a pet owner who is not giving the pet heartworm prevention because their previous dog died of cancer of the spleen. The pet that passed away was an older pit bull. I believe the dog was about 10 years old. Because the owner thought that something had caused this tumor, they decided not to put their next dog on any heartworm, flea or tick medicine.
This is a thought process that is not entirely uncommon, but it is misguided. It is not at all unusual to want to blame something for causing cancer, but the fact is some cancers just occur independently of anything we do. Some breeds are genetically predisposed to getting cancer. Bulldogs are one of those breeds. Splenic tumors, often hemangiosarcoma, are commonly seen in many large-breed dogs.
With the advent of safer and more effective flea, tick and heartworm medicines, dogs are living longer. The longer a pet lives, the more likely it is to get cancer because, as pets age, their cells break down and are more prone to mutations that result in cancer. If anything, using the flea, tick and heartworm medicines we recommend will prolong a pet’s life, resulting in possible cancer diagnosis in old age. Before effective heartworm and flea medications were available, it was not unusual to see dogs dying of congestive heart failure at 4 and 5 years old. Puppies were dying of flea and hookworm anemia.
We are routinely seeing small-breed dogs live to be 14 and 15 — or more — years old, and large-breed dogs are living to be 12 to 14 years old. Many years ago, these lifespans were rare. I get it when the cost of prevention makes the product difficult to give, but if one can afford it but is not giving it on principle, I want to tell you, a lot of research, work and study has gone into developing these medicines for the benefit of pets. They are here to help and not hinder the health of your pet.
Heartworms are carried by mosquitoes. The mosquito bites a dog that is carrying the heartworm larvae in its bloodstream, and then carries the larvae with it so that when it bites an uninfected dog, the larvae are injected into the new dog’s blood stream. It is a very efficient process. There is no way to avoid the exposure of your dog to these mosquito bites.
Lyme’s, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia disease are carried by fleas and ticks. Florida is a fertile area for these parasites. Our winters are just too mild to kill mosquitoes. I have seen them in December and January here in Niceville. Thick hair coats do not protect from mosquitoes. They can bite around the eyes and mouth, and inside ears.
Heartworm prevention is as easy as a pill given once a month or a topical application applied once a month. Most heartworm preventatives also work for hookworms and roundworms. By worming for intestinal parasites once a month, we are improving the quality of our pet’s life and keeping the potential for human zoonotic disease under control.
Starting your dog on a preventative before it is 6 months old allows you to avoid the preliminary testing that is required to put it on the prevention. Starting when your pet is older is still feasible, and you should contact your local veterinarian about getting your pet tested and on prevention as soon as possible. The sooner you do this, the greater your chances are that your pet is not infected.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Pets need heartworm, flea and tick prevention | Pet Peeves
