Keep pets on regular med schedule

Dear Dr. Forsythe:  I was wondering if it is that important to give heartworm prevention to my dog every single month.  I try to remember to look at the calendar, but things can get pretty busy around our house, and sometimes we are into the next month before I realize there is an extra chew in his box.  Also, it seems like there are fleas now and then whether or not I am really punctual with the monthly flea medication.  How much do I need to worry about that?

Myriam, Sonoma

Dear Myriam:  It is very important to guard against your dog getting the heartworm parasite, which is spread by mosquitoes. If, by chance, you live within a few blocks of an infected dog, there is an excellent chance that up to 75 percent of the mosquitoes in your close vicinity are infected with the immature larvae in their saliva — so I can’t impress upon you enough the importance of keeping your dogs and cats protected by giving the monthly preventative every 30 days.

Notice that I said every 30 days, not every calendar month: if you merely promised to get a pill into your pet once every month as you look at your calendar, you could dose him on January 1 and then again on February 28. According to “calendar scheduling” you “didn’t miss a month”.  But in actuality you did, because while you let two months go by between doses.

Because of the maturation process of the larvae inside the infected mosquito and the ongoing maturing of the larvae once the mosquito bites your dog, a gap over 30 days lets the immature larvae grow to dangerous levels.  Ideally, you should give your dog the preventative dose of heartworm tablet every 30 days to prevent development of mature forms of larvae inside your dog.   Even letting 45 days go by permits stages of the larval development to become dangerous inside your dog, and places a big burden on your pets immune system and on subsequent anti-heartworm doses to prevent disease.  Since heartworm disease in dogs is fatal, I suggest marking your calendar for the first of each month and being very vigilant in administering the dose like clockwork.

As for fleas, these are another parasite that cause ill health and disease in dogs and cats alike.  Fleas have such a prolific reproductive life cycle that anything less that very regular monthly topical with an excellent product such as Frontline is probably sub-standard in this area.  Because many cats go out at times and many homes have dogs that go out to potty, it is very easy for a flea life cycle to establish itself inside a household.

This 60-day life cycle can be very difficult to eradicate unless all animals are treated regularly with an adulticide and insect growth regulator (such as Frontline). Although this is another monthly preventative cost for your pets and another item to “apply,” the savings in terms of improved health and wellness to you and your pets is immense: fleas spread tapeworms, cause terrible allergy and are responsible for many other infectious diseases.

I urge you to prioritize both flea and heartworm prevention in your pets so you can worry less in the long run about your health and the cleanliness of your home.  Thanks for the question!

Dr. F