Dogs
All about dogs - dog breeds, dog training and behavior, news affecting dog owners or handlers, puppy pics, etc.
Rules (Will be refined later on).
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Don't be a dick. This should cover most things, just keep in mind that everyone started somewhere and try to be helpful rather than rude or judgmental.
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No personal attacks based on training style or tools.
Discussion of balanced training including proper use of aversives is allowed here. -
All breeds and mixes are welcome. You can criticize backyard breeding practices but don't pile on people because they own a specific breed or prefer purebreds or mixed breeds.
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Do not support backyard breeders or puppy mills. Please do not link to or suggest buying from high volume breeders or those with an obvious lack of standards and testing.
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Do not help or support fake service animals. Please do not encourage people to buy fake service dog vest or ESA letters to get around rental or other restrictions & do not give advice on how to misrepresent a dog as a service or support animal.
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@FlyingSquid Good read. Thoughts on the vaccinations for things like fleas, ticks, heart worms?
I didn't know you could vaccinate against those. Are the vaccinations effective enough on their own or would you need to supplement? We give our dogs Trifexis, which seems to work really well (they hate it though). Never had a flea or a tick or any heartworm detected. Now our dogs don't socialize with other dogs, which I'm sure helps, but I don't think that's the sole reason.
If my vet recommended vaccinating my dogs for those... well, I go to my vet because I trust her judgment. Or I wouldn't go to her.
There is a seasonal medication for flea, tick, and heartworm. I just get the medication as part of my dog's yearly checkup. It's just a tablet I need to feed him once a month for the warm months. IDK if they are technically vaccines, but they are preventative.
Yeah, that's how Trifexis works. Not sure if that's what you're using.
I think your general point stands that preventative medicines of all kinds have high value. From a technical standpoint, they are different types of medication.
Vaccines teach immune systems how to recognize and attack diseases and pathogens. These sorts of medications and treatments directly poison the parasites. They're similar in effect in that the pets are defended against unwanted aggressors, but differ in the mechanism.
@FlyingSquid there are a few I believe. I trust my vet as well. She has always been amazing with all of my dogs and they’ve all had long, healthy, happy lives.
She mentioned ProHeart 12 for heartworm prevention. Doing research I came across the other vaccines for fleas and ticks. And a LOT of people pushing ideas on how bad they are for dogs long term. She was able to satisfy all my questions and I trust her completely, just was curious about community thoughts on it!
Fair enough. I have honestly heard nothing about them, but considering we have to buy expensive soft food and crush the Trifexis into it to get them to eat it each month, that sounds like a pretty good alternative.
@FlyingSquid You might ask your vet and see if it’s a good fit for you! Like you my dogs socialize with each other, other family members dogs - never random dogs and I’ve never really had flea or tick issues, certainly never worms. So it’s hard to speak to any efficacy but from a preventative standpoint it seemed right for us, I had a hard time with my dogs and the oral treatments as well.
I was already planning on asking her next time I brought one of them in. Thanks!
There are drugs and topical solutions that are designed to help mitigate pest/parasites in pets. They’re quite commonly available.
That's what I use. A drug called Trifexis.
Flea, ticks and heart worm preventative measures are not vaccines since they don't protect against a virus since fleas, tickets and heart worms are considered parasites. They use a different biological method to control than vaccines.
However you really need to get them and most importantly keep them up to date. Most need to be given monthly for chewables and injectables need to be redone every 6-months or 12-months. You're vet will help determine what is needed
Minor quibble, vaccine protect against more than just viruses. Tetanus, for example, is a bacterial infection and there is a vaccine.
@dumples right, I should have used the word injections. My bad. I’m referring to the 12 month injection.
Easy mistake but people might be confused