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We're arriving in NC on Monday, coming from upstate NY. I just had the dog's final vet visit so she's all up to date on things, but the vet recommended that I ask a couple of questions of NC and CH dog owners, so here goes:
1) when do you give heartworm preventative medication? Here, it's only used April-Oct because there aren't any mosquitoes at other times, but I understand that it's a longer season in NC.
2) What about flea treatments? It's cold enough up here that we only dose the dog March-Nov. Is it a year-round issue in NC?
3) does CHapel Hill have a dog licensing requirement?
4) what are the requirements for rabies vaccinations in Chapel Hill? Here, it's 2 shots a year apart then a booster every three years. The vet said that some municipalities require a shot a year.
and finally: are there any other parasites that dog owners should be aware of? any regular treatments other than flea and heartworm?
Not a parasite, but you will have to look out for ticks in the summer months - so I'd definitely recommend and flea and tick preventative. We had a long-haired dog, and he did occassionally bring ticks indoors. IYou should also do heartworm preventative year round.
I give heart worm preventative faithfully year round. It's not worth the risk to do otherwise, imo, no matter where one lives.
I do flea prevention year round. Fleas do not take vacation.
I do a yearly rabies shot for two years if it's a pup. One at four months, one a year later and then 1 every three years after that. You might peruse the link to find out what the ordinances are. For my adult dog, I still did the one/one/three because I wasn't convinced the dog had been properly vaccinated when I got him.
Last edited by second right; 01-26-2011 at 09:22 AM..
Reason: Added/removed/changed/loopy
Yes! Frontline all year long is essential. I skipped Jan and Feb one year thinking the same thing (too cold for fleas) and my cat still got them. It cost way more to kill the fleas rather than just preventing them. Now my dog and cat get frontline year round. Also, do heartworm preventative all year long...plus there are dewormers in them. I do check my dog for worms every 6 months because hookworm is down here especially if you take your dog to the beach. I deworm him after boarding just in case (most boarding facilities don't make sure the dogs are worm free). I think rabies is year round.
We give heartworm pills monthly. Fleas can be hideous one year and no problem at all the next; supposedly it depends in part on how cold the winter was. We generally have no flea problems from October to May or so, and my two dogs go outside several times a day in a backyard full of pine straw.
I give both heartworm preventatives and flea treatments year round.
One of my current dogs came from the shelter at age 8 with heartworms-- the prior family learned she had them and decided to give her up instead of paying to treat her. After seeing how hard the treatment was on her, I don't want to take any chances.
I actually find fleas to be more abundant in the late fall/early winter months because any flea your pet comes in contact with will want to colonize your pet immediately. It's too cold outside for the fleas to live, so any source of warmth will attract them. I tried to skip Frontline for Jan, Feb, and Mar my first year here, but I now do it year round.
It depends on where you live, yes heart worm monthly, but in 5 years (and two different houses in Cary), we've not needed flea or tick medication. I know it's a wide spread problem, but we've been lucky.
We've maybe picked 3 ticks off the dogs in 5 years and that's not worth it to me to expose them to chemicals. I've had two on me in that same period of time.
Fleas I would treat, but there have never been any to treat.
It would also be more needed if your dogs are outside most of the day vs inside.
well we have more problems with ticks than fleas but our lot is next to a major deer trail and they are in our yard all the time.
Elizabeth be warned your kids will probably turn up with ticks as well. Don't panic- just read up on the best way to get them off, what NOT to do and instruct your kids to tell you the minute they might see something tiny crawling on them. Ticks come in different sizes and colors but they are all evil.
We do a body check at least every night in warm months. Ticks love tight places like under collars, waist bands, socks, etc. NC is a very buggy place but we all learn to cope. There have been threads about insects in N.C. so check the archives.
I know you are very busy getting ready for the move. Hope all goes well and check in to let us know what else we can help you with. CD groups here is very helpful.....if not a little weird.
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