Anonymous
Post 04/09/2026 10:53     Subject: Flea, tick, heart worm prevention?
I am on both sides.

I don't do any flea tick etc. treatment for 2 of my dogs because they have their own isolated area of the house (a sunroom) but otherwise never go outside except for trips to the vet.

I have two other dogs that go on 3x 1 hr walks weekly and I'm sort of lackadaisical about them with medication, but they've also never had flea, tick or lime issues. They do test positive for lyme exposure every year, but so does every other dog and farm animal in this town.

The large ones are 12 and 10, the small two are both 7. They don't go to dog parks and we don't board them.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2026 15:31     Subject: Re:Flea, tick, heart worm prevention?
Anonymous wrote:Thank you all! Puppy's next visit is in 2 weeks so we'll get started on it then.

I thought it sounded strange, but the breeder was so strongly opposed I needed some additional reassurance.

And thanks for the heads up: Costco for the win!


There's a whole world of "maha for pets" - my dog walker is posting these videos all the time - anti-vax, anti-flea, etc, for dogs.
FWIW, my dog has Lyme disease, and it is distressing to see him weakened. Apparently, Lyme ticks are quite prevalent in the DMV.
I moved here from California, and Lyme disease in dogs wasn't common.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2026 15:13     Subject: Flea, tick, heart worm prevention?
I also use Simparica Trio for both my dogs and it's been great. One of our dogs is from a breeder. She's great but a lot of people in that breed community (including other breeders) are a little extreme. I've noticed that a lot of them are vaccine hesitant, recommend only diets of raw or home-cooked food and oppose spaying or neutering dogs. It's just not rational or evidence based. So, take it with a grain of salt and go with your vet's recommendation.
Anonymous
Post 03/23/2026 14:40     Subject: Flea, tick, heart worm prevention?
Anonymous wrote:I had a small terrier mix with a wiry, shaggy coat. We traveled to the Shenandoah a lot to see family. The topicals just didn’t keep the ticks off of him. We treated on a four-week schedule too. Got a lot of embedded ticks and crawlers that would come off in our bed. The rural vets were recommending a flea and tick collar in addition to the topicals, and my Kensington vet said that ticks are rapidly becoming resistant to them.

Our dog ended up getting ehrlichiosis despite topical flea and tick meds. We had much better luck with oral meds.


Same.
Anonymous
Post 03/23/2026 14:39     Subject: Flea, tick, heart worm prevention?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We currently use Heartgard Plus for heartworm and Frontline Plus for ticks. They’ve both been around for years and have a long-standing safety record, even for pregnant and lactating dogs. We’ve considered switching to an oral tick preventative, but in our experience, they don't seem to kill ticks as fast as Frontline does.

​My sister actually used Bravecto, and her dog ended up testing positive for a tick-borne disease, so we're cautious about that. While Frontline isn't always 100% effective against fleas, it’s been incredibly reliable for ticks. We also stay away from K9 Advantix and Nexgard because our dogs have had reactions to them in the past. One thing I really like about topicals is the peace of mind, if a dog does have a reaction, you can just wash it off immediately with dish soap.

Since we live in a northern state, I prefer monthly options. It gives us the flexibility to hit 'pause' during the winter months when the ground is frozen and ticks and mosquitoes aren't active.


Can you tell me about this? Do you put it on once per month? Is it repellant at all?

We've used Simparica trio, and it's worked just fine, but I don't use Simparica on me, lol, and we live in the woods and the darn ticks will crawl off the dog before they have attached and onto me.


Frontline plus does a very good job at killing ticks quickly once they bite. It kills the tick before they are able to transmit any diseases. It does not repel the ticks though. I'm not comfortable putting the repellent topicals on my dogs due to past reactions we've experienced. I believe Frontline Shield repels the ticks, and I'm pretty sure Advantix does as well. We always check our dogs after hikes, and I use a sticky roller on them to try to remove any ticks that have not already attached. I believe micro fiber cloths are also effective at removing the ticks. Regardless, we always check each other nightly before bed, and we do occasionally find them crawling on us. Luckily in over thirty years of owning dogs, I've only had to remove one attached tick from myself.


Does this work? I feel like the ticks are down near my dog's skin, and that a roller on the top would not get them?
Anonymous
Post 03/23/2026 13:45     Subject: Flea, tick, heart worm prevention?
None of my terriers has been able to handle the topicals - they act like it burns their skin, which my vet said is not unusual. No problems whatsoever with orals. Ticks just dry up! We do add a flea and tick collar when out in the woods to keep them off of sensitive ear areas.
Anonymous
Post 03/23/2026 13:38     Subject: Flea, tick, heart worm prevention?
My dog is on Simparica Trio. He's a rescue, and while his first heartworm test was negative he tested positive 6 months later (meaning, he was positive when we got him but it was so early he didn't test positive the first time).

Heartworm treatment is HORRIBLE. It's painful, it takes a minimum of 60-90 days, and it's really difficult on the animal and family. Prevention is so important.

Ask your vet how to recognize side effects from the Simparica Trio if thats the only you land on using (because nothing is 0 risk), and be in communication with them if you get concerned. But find a way to give heartworm prevention because treating heartworm is absolutely horrible.
Anonymous
Post 03/23/2026 01:35     Subject: Flea, tick, heart worm prevention?
I had a small terrier mix with a wiry, shaggy coat. We traveled to the Shenandoah a lot to see family. The topicals just didn’t keep the ticks off of him. We treated on a four-week schedule too. Got a lot of embedded ticks and crawlers that would come off in our bed. The rural vets were recommending a flea and tick collar in addition to the topicals, and my Kensington vet said that ticks are rapidly becoming resistant to them.

Our dog ended up getting ehrlichiosis despite topical flea and tick meds. We had much better luck with oral meds.
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2026 15:07     Subject: Flea, tick, heart worm prevention?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We currently use Heartgard Plus for heartworm and Frontline Plus for ticks. They’ve both been around for years and have a long-standing safety record, even for pregnant and lactating dogs. We’ve considered switching to an oral tick preventative, but in our experience, they don't seem to kill ticks as fast as Frontline does.

​My sister actually used Bravecto, and her dog ended up testing positive for a tick-borne disease, so we're cautious about that. While Frontline isn't always 100% effective against fleas, it’s been incredibly reliable for ticks. We also stay away from K9 Advantix and Nexgard because our dogs have had reactions to them in the past. One thing I really like about topicals is the peace of mind, if a dog does have a reaction, you can just wash it off immediately with dish soap.

Since we live in a northern state, I prefer monthly options. It gives us the flexibility to hit 'pause' during the winter months when the ground is frozen and ticks and mosquitoes aren't active.


Can you tell me about this? Do you put it on once per month? Is it repellant at all?

We've used Simparica trio, and it's worked just fine, but I don't use Simparica on me, lol, and we live in the woods and the darn ticks will crawl off the dog before they have attached and onto me.


Frontline plus does a very good job at killing ticks quickly once they bite. It kills the tick before they are able to transmit any diseases. It does not repel the ticks though. I'm not comfortable putting the repellent topicals on my dogs due to past reactions we've experienced. I believe Frontline Shield repels the ticks, and I'm pretty sure Advantix does as well. We always check our dogs after hikes, and I use a sticky roller on them to try to remove any ticks that have not already attached. I believe micro fiber cloths are also effective at removing the ticks. Regardless, we always check each other nightly before bed, and we do occasionally find them crawling on us. Luckily in over thirty years of owning dogs, I've only had to remove one attached tick from myself.


It is a monthly treatment.
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2026 15:06     Subject: Flea, tick, heart worm prevention?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We currently use Heartgard Plus for heartworm and Frontline Plus for ticks. They’ve both been around for years and have a long-standing safety record, even for pregnant and lactating dogs. We’ve considered switching to an oral tick preventative, but in our experience, they don't seem to kill ticks as fast as Frontline does.

​My sister actually used Bravecto, and her dog ended up testing positive for a tick-borne disease, so we're cautious about that. While Frontline isn't always 100% effective against fleas, it’s been incredibly reliable for ticks. We also stay away from K9 Advantix and Nexgard because our dogs have had reactions to them in the past. One thing I really like about topicals is the peace of mind, if a dog does have a reaction, you can just wash it off immediately with dish soap.

Since we live in a northern state, I prefer monthly options. It gives us the flexibility to hit 'pause' during the winter months when the ground is frozen and ticks and mosquitoes aren't active.


Can you tell me about this? Do you put it on once per month? Is it repellant at all?

We've used Simparica trio, and it's worked just fine, but I don't use Simparica on me, lol, and we live in the woods and the darn ticks will crawl off the dog before they have attached and onto me.


Frontline plus does a very good job at killing ticks quickly once they bite. It kills the tick before they are able to transmit any diseases. It does not repel the ticks though. I'm not comfortable putting the repellent topicals on my dogs due to past reactions we've experienced. I believe Frontline Shield repels the ticks, and I'm pretty sure Advantix does as well. We always check our dogs after hikes, and I use a sticky roller on them to try to remove any ticks that have not already attached. I believe micro fiber cloths are also effective at removing the ticks. Regardless, we always check each other nightly before bed, and we do occasionally find them crawling on us. Luckily in over thirty years of owning dogs, I've only had to remove one attached tick from myself.
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2026 14:04     Subject: Re:Flea, tick, heart worm prevention?
Anonymous wrote:OP your concerns are valid.

We live in the DC area which, for those of you who are not here, had an extremely cold winter. That reduces the population of fleas and ticks substantially in the summer months.

I give our sweet dog the Trio preventative but only in the spring/ summer/ early fall months. I'll start him on it around April 1 and will give it to him throughout the summer, stopping when the weather gets cold again.

No matter how you slice it, it is poison designed to kill insects. There is no way that ingesting that substance more than is absolutely necessary is good for a dog.


I'm already finding them on my dog a couple of times per week, and it's only March. "Reduced" or not, they are already legion.
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2026 14:03     Subject: Flea, tick, heart worm prevention?
Anonymous wrote:I would trust the breeder who's not making money off big pharma.

I had a small dog that never had ANY and I mean ANY problems until I gave them prescribed flea/tick meds and heart worm preventive. Shortly there after the seizures started within days and they continued. The dog died. I have now spoke to a few vets who will tell you they give these things to your dog to prevent illnesses that aren't even prevalent. A dog getting bit by a mosquitoes that carries the infection and gives it to a dog is rare. A dog who lives outside 24/7 maybe a house dog out on a walk 1/2 day-not so much. Same with all the vaccine, sure they're needed but really when you ask your vet when the last time they saw an active case of rabies in a dog they will tell you never in their 30 year career. The lepto vaccine is get if your dog is lapping up a puddle of deer urine, it's not really a huge worry.

Do the research and decide wisely for your pet.


Heartworm is not at all rare, and it's horrible for the dog and expensive to treat. And even though we were talking about preventatives here and not vaccines, you mention rabies ... so ... ok, many vets don't ever see it -- that's because dogs are required by LAW to be vaccinated in most places. But it is probably the worst disease your dog, and you fwiw, could ever get. It's a truly horrific way to die, and your dog will die from it if they get it. And there are absolutely rabid animals in this area, foxes for example.