Are we all just 'irresponsible owners'?

[JacksonsMom]

Not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing but...

I've never done any sort of heartworm, flea, or tick preventative on my dogs. It's always been drilled into my mind that in order to get heartworm the temperature needs to be consistently above a certain temperature for like 30 days or something?
Never had a problem with fleas.
And in 10 years and multiple dogs, I've pulled exactly 2 ticks, off the same dog, within 3 months of each other.



Although with that, we are planning a trip to PA in June and I am wondering if that is something I should consider? It will just be for the weekend but I'm not entirely sure?

Flea/tick meds, I can do without. I only use those when I know we're going to be in hot weather, long grass, etc, to try and prevent ticks.

Heartworm? TBH, I won't mess with NOT giving it. Not worth the risk to me. Something so easy to prevent, and curing heartworms once they have it isn't a walk in the park.

Here in MD, it ususally drops to 20 degrees for 2-3 months here on a yearly basis, sometimes colder. But I have personally seen mosquitoes in these winter months. Not a lot, but they're there.

But the problem with often stopping in the winter from my understanding is that the whole goal of prevention is to kill larvae before it hits an advanced, detectable stage. It can take six months to show up in blood. Treating with ivermectin monthly after larvae are confirmed is the slow kill method, which I personally wouldn't like the idea of.

And technically, "heartworm prevention" is the same thing used to kill heartworm, so... actually, in fact, a cure. Some don't like this and I understand the fear, but to me, skipping heartworm meds aren't the smartest in most climates. I have a friend who lives in Canada and her Black Russian Terrier died of heartworms. I would rather use the heartworm meds to kill L3 and L4 than wait until they turn into L5's, ya understand what I'm trying to say?

With THAT said, my dads dogs are not on heartworm preventative, not out of trying to be evil, or because they believe they don't need it, they're just kind of ignorant to the issue and aren't hip on dog care kind of stuff. I probably should tell them to start getting it, but their dogs don't get yearly vet visits unless they're sick, etc, so the prescription factor I think is the whole reason they don't in the first place.

 

[BostonBanker]

Not terribly on topic, but who the hell gives a SD vest as a gift? lol

My old boss (a professional trainer, alas) had them for a couple of her dogs. It was a former co-worker there that gave it to me. Well intentioned, I think. Just "You love your dog and she is well behaved so here now you can bring her everywhere like Boss did!". I don't think any of us knew the illegality of it at the time. I just never used it because I hate drawing attention anyway!

 

[meepitsmeagan]

Flea/tick meds, I can do without. I only use those when I know we're going to be in hot weather, long grass, etc, to try and prevent ticks.

Heartworm? TBH, I won't mess with NOT giving it. Not worth the risk to me. Something so easy to prevent, and curing heartworms once they have it isn't a walk in the park.

Here in MD, it ususally drops to 20 degrees for 2-3 months here on a yearly basis, sometimes colder. But I have personally seen mosquitoes in these winter months. Not a lot, but they're there.

But the problem with often stopping in the winter from my understanding is that the whole goal of prevention is to kill larvae before it hits an advanced, detectable stage. It can take six months to show up in blood. Treating with ivermectin monthly after larvae are confirmed is the slow kill method, which I personally wouldn't like the idea of.

And technically, "heartworm prevention" is the same thing used to kill heartworm, so... actually, in fact, a cure. Some don't like this and I understand the fear, but to me, skipping heartworm meds aren't the smartest in most climates. I have a friend who lives in Canada and her Black Russian Terrier died of heartworms. I would rather use the heartworm meds to kill L3 and L4 than wait until they turn into L5's, ya understand what I'm trying to say?

With THAT said, my dads dogs are not on heartworm preventative, not out of trying to be evil, or because they believe they don't need it, they're just kind of ignorant to the issue and aren't hip on dog care kind of stuff. I probably should tell them to start getting it, but their dogs don't get yearly vet visits unless they're sick, etc, so the prescription factor I think is the whole reason they don't in the first place.

I totally don't do flea/tick stuff regularly. I'll do a spray if we are going hiking and found fleas last year, did a bath and comfortis once.

I give heartworm prevention in the summer. We test in early May and give through October, maybe November if it is real warm. Everything dies here in the winter, so I don't see the point in giving drugs all the time when a simple blood test can tell me if we have issues.

 

[*blackrose]

Yey for people talking about heartworm prevention! I TOTALLY forgot to give mine to the dogs yesterday!

I start my dogs up a month before it thaws and keep them on it a month after it freezes. (Typically April-October.) I'm too paranoid to not give it, but not paranoid enough to give it 12 months/year. Now that we're in a warm climate, however, it likely will be 12 months/year. I made sure to start the dogs on it in February this year so when we moved they'd have it in their system.

I just remember this one client, who had a 9 year old Pit Bull. She'd had her all of her life, but the dog was very fear aggressive of strangers so she avoided taking her to the vet yearly. Did minimal vaccines, didn't HWT, and since she didn't have proof of a test couldn't purchase prevention, but she hadn't had any prior dogs with heartworm disease and she never gave them prevention, so she wasn't worried. Dog started acting oddly one day, came to the vet...heartworm disease. The owner was in tears. I don't want to be that person, so....I give the prevention.

And technically, "heartworm prevention" is the same thing used to kill heartworm, so... actually, in fact, a cure.

Be careful with what prevention you use, though. I'm fairly certain a non-ivermectin based heartworm prevention product can actually cause a LOT of issues if given to a heatworm positive dog.

 

[Fran101]

It's hilarious that with all the things going on in this thread, the only thing that even ruffled my feathers was not picking up dog poop.

Lol I guess it's different in the city but not picking up dog poop here should be punished by time in a midnight express style turkish prison '


that said...Merlin goes to daycare. So there's that lol people don't tend to like that kind of thing.
Jealous

 

[SpringerLover]

I give HW preventative sparingly and watch the weather like a hawk. Buzz's neurological condition made his vet recommend he not get any kind of medication that could cause/promote neurologic symptoms, so he gets tested every spring and every fall instead.

I give Heartgard every 45-50 days to the other two from roughly 30 days after the first thaw to one month after the first hard freeze. It's not a money thing but a drug thing. Bailey was on Sentinel while in Florida this winter, so that's what she'll continue on.

I use a flea/tick preventative even less than I give heartworm meds. Gabby will likely have it applied more regularly this year since we can DO MORE, but I don't think I even used all 12 doses between the three dogs last summer.

 

[teacuptiger]

It's hilarious that with all the things going on in this thread, the only thing that even ruffled my feathers was not picking up dog poop.

Lol I guess it's different in the city but not picking up dog poop here should be punished by time in a midnight express style turkish prison '

Same here. Especially people who don't carry it out/bury it on trails/camping. Cuz then park folks just end up saying no dogs at all. I think it's a pretty even dislike of people who don't pick it up there, as well in town. Getting sent home from your job (I work in dietary) because you stepped in some lazy jerks poo while walking to work is not cool.

 

[AmandaNola]

I:

Don't feed raw
Don't feed kibble
Let my hound/terrier off leash
She always has a collar on
I almost never crate
I let my dog on the furniture
I let her in the yard alone
Use flea and heartworm meds year round
Don't titer
Don't vaccinate yearly
Sometimes feed her from my plate
Never brush her
Don't make her interact with people and dogs

Obviously some of those aren't irresponsible from a well educated owner's perspective, but are for the majority of owners.

 

[Paige]

Bandit and I share nearly everything I eat. Obviously he is only getting a small amount but yeah. I always save the last bite for him.

I don't really consider myself a bad dog owber. I love my dogs. I treat them well. I give them attention and they get exercise. Obviously I feed them and they aren't a public nuisance. The rest if the details are just simply different strokes for different folks.

 

[StillandSilent]

I gleefully use both boys to prewash my dishes before I take them to the sink. Even worse, I let them lick the same dish at the same time. Horrors!

 

[Torch]

For what it is worth, my judgement is reserved for a few things that affect other people, not just "you" (general) and your dog. I actually think it is funny (and that was probably the point) that we have people admitting to being irresponsible both because they feed raw and because they feed kibble; because they crate their dog when they aren't home and because they leave them loose; because they let their dog off leash and because they don't let their dogs off leash. "Irresponsible" is pretty relative, depending on your dog. Like I said, I assume that was kind of the point.

The stuff that makes me cringe and yes, make judgement, is the "I do illegal stuff and don't care". Maybe because I've been an animal control officer. I've dreaded walking around a "dogs must be leashed" park and writing tickets to people who have lovely, well controlled dogs. I've been bitter that I had to spend half my day in court, because those people chose not to pay the ticket (and then 9 times out of 10 also don't show up to contest it, so my day was wasted). I've spent my shift picking up dog crap from all over the place, because I once again spent an hour pleading my case to the city manager that they should not completely ban dogs from city parks, or make the off-leash legal places on leash, but he's fielding complaints from all over about the fact that nobody is picking up after their dogs. I've been cornered by one of the police officers because once again, he got chased by "friendly" dogs off-leash (legally in that park) but not under their owner's voice control. I've been yelled at by people when I pick up their unlicensed, loose dog, and take it to the holding kennel, so they have to pay to get it out and pay for a license. They just got more angry when I explained that I always check the license book before driving a dog there, and called anyone whose dog I think it may be, because I would drop the dog back at home for them.

So yes, I hate it when people break the laws over such stupid things. I judge.

If I were to come on here and admit that I have a service dog vest for Meg (I do - it was a gift, and no, it isn't used) and said I used it, I'd be run up one side and down the other. It's illegal, it ruins things for others. It results in more legislation and more restrictions for the people who are following the letter of the law with their service dogs. The same thing is true for taking dogs off-leash where they aren't supposed to be or leaving their poop (or their full poop bags on the side of the trail - thanks, I love carrying that out with me when I go hiking).

I pass not judgement on what you feed, how your dogs travel in the car, what they wear for gear, or what you chose to do with their body parts. I trust that people do what they think is best for themselves and their dogs. And I think the vast majority of dogs here live fantastic lives.

Great post. And as hard as it is for most of us to believe, not everyone likes dogs, and that alone can impact us.

 

[JustaLilBitaLuck]

-I feed a ton of different things all the time. Kibble, canned, raw, freeze-dried, grain-free, grain-inclusive, different brands, whatever.

-I will always vaccinate for rabies, every three years as required by law. My dogs are all "current" on their distemper vaccines (my vet recommends rabies/distemper every three years), but I don't know if I'll do it again.

-I'll go through days/weeks when we're exercising (going for walks or hikes) every day. And then I'll go through days/weeks when we lay on the couch and watch Law & Order re-runs. Same with training. Sometimes we'll do tons of training sessions...and then I might not pick up the clicker for a week.

-My dogs wear collars. All the time, with the small exception of baths. To me, the fear of them getting their collars caught on something (or each other) is less than the fear of them getting lost with no identification.

-I'll leave Heidi in the car for short periods of time when the weather is nice. I would leave the other two as well, but they're both car guardy, and I don't like stressing them out.

-I don't crate my dogs in the car. They either ride loose (Missy) or seatbelt-restrained (Jack and Heidi).

-I have two dogs that need regular grooming, and I would much rather shell out the money to have them groomed every 6-8 weeks then learn to do it myself. I just have no interest. I'll do nails and some VERY LIGHT trimming (I trim around Jack's face so he can see), but that's about it.

-I give heartworm prevention regularly, but I just use a natural flea/tick spray when we're going somewhere woodsy. No topicals like Frontline or anything. It's not about the money...I just don't feel it's necessary.

I also want to add that this is all "relative", so to speak. For example, the food mixing/rotating makes some people cringe, but no one would bat an eye if I said that at work (pet store), because we all do that. On the other hand, if I mentioned that I leave my dog in the car, some of my co-workers would go bonkers - if I said that amongst some of my show/performance friends, they wouldn't care, that's normal to them.

In the end, I feel like as long as what you're doing works for you and your dog, and no one is getting hurt, and you're not affecting me/anyone else directly, then go for it. Sure, there are definitely things that I'm really adamant about, but it's not my place to judge someone else when they're not equally as adamant about it.