Why Does My Dog Need to Be on Heartworm and Flea/Tick Medications

One of the most common questions that I get asked as a veterinary technician is why we recommend that their dogs be on heartworm and flea/tick medications all year-round. Everyone sees the cost of the medications and wants to try to save money. Others don't want to give their dogs anything more than they need. 

However, skipping these medications can be a mistake. Here are some reasons why you should keep your dog on heartworm and flea/tick medications all of the time. 

Fleas can be a problem, no matter what the season is. Though many people think that fleas go away in the fall and winter, the truth is that the fall is usually when they are at their worst. They are doing everything they can to find a warm place to survive the winter, and we see fleas regularly during the fall and winter months.

Even worse, many dogs and cats have a severe allergy to fleas. Even one flea can set off a reaction that leaves them absolutely miserable! They itch, scratch, and bite themselves all day long, even after the flea has jumped off! 

Ticks can also be a problem all year round. Ticks can live outside until the ground freezes. This means that they are also looking for somewhere safe to live. They hide in tall grass and bushes, attaching to any dog (or person) that walks by.

Even worse, if your dog has a tick attached for more than thirty-six hours, he or she may get a disease transmitted by the tick. Most people think of Lyme disease, but there are many others out there. These diseases can become crippling if not caught early. 

If you take your dog off of heartworm medication, you will need to test him or her every year before starting back up on it. This will ensure that your dog didn't get the disease in the few months that he or she wasn't on the preventative. If you give a heartworm-positive dog heartworm preventative, the results can be deadly! 

Heartworm disease can kill your dog. If your dog gets heartworm disease, it means that he or she has worms that live in your dog's heart. These worms can cause a lot of damage to your dog's heart and lungs.

Even worse, the treatment can be fatal. Though you need to kill off the worms in your dog's heart, you can't do it too fast. If too many worms die quickly, it can be deadly for your dog. This is another reason why you can't give preventative to dogs who have heartworms! 

Most heartworm preventatives also protect your pet (and your family) from intestinal parasites. Your pet probably comes into contact with many intestinal parasites during his or her lifetime. These include tapeworms, hookworms, roundworms, and others.

Worms can give your pet diarrhea and vomiting. You may also notice weight loss. If you give your pet preventative, it will help keep him or her parasite-free!

And though you think that preventative is expensive, the truth is that it is much more expensive to treat! If your pet gets heartworms, you will be dealing with multiple treatments, which can be fatal to your pet.

If your pet brings in fleas, you may have to treat every one of your pets in the household, along with the house. Even worse, it can take up to three months to eradicate fleas once they get inside your home!

Then, there are the tick-borne diseases that your pet may be facing. He or she may need to be on antibiotics for a month or longer. And once your pet gets Lyme or another disease spread by ticks, he or she is more likely to get it again. You can also get them.

Though you may not want to spend the money (or give your dog more medication than he or she needs), the truth is that it is better to give preventatives all year long! With the weather changes, we see fleas and ticks all year. They are really bad in the fall as they start to look for warm places to live. Even better, these preventatives will take care of any intestinal parasites that your pet may have, which will help to keep your family healthy!

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Previously published on Medium and/or Newsbreak.