Flea and Tick Prevention (continued)

Last time I wrote why using flea and tick prevention, especially at this time of year, is important.

I would urge those of you who read my blog, to check out some very informative articles regarding flea and tick product on the www.PetHealth101.com website.

Articles pertaining to treating the pet that should be read include how to apply flea and tick products and what to do when medications fail.

Because it is so important to also treat the house and grounds when a flea infestation does occur, articles that pertain to flea and tick control for the indoors and flea and tick control for the outdoors are also available.

Flea and Tick Prevention

Many veterinarians have begun to recommend that flea and tick prevention products be used every month year round. There are two major reasons for this: Firstly, flea larva and ticks can survive indoors even when the weather is cold outside. Secondly, by getting used to using the preventative, pet owners increase compliance and more easily remember that the product needs to be used every month.

Why is using a flea and tick product so important? The short answer is it keeps the pet healthy. Fleas can cause flea allergy dermatitis, hot spots, skin infections, and tapeworm. Ticks can cause Lyme disease, Ehrlichia, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

There are many types of flea and tick products. The choice of which product to use can be difficult but we can help overcome this difficulty if you use the comparison chart available on the 1-800-PetMeds website. Our customer care and pharmacy department staff is available to answer your questions as well.

If you live in an area where ticks are prevalent, you should use a flea and tick preventative such as K9-Advantix or Frontline Plus as opposed to a strictly flea preventative such as Advantage or Frontline Top Spot. You may also want to consider trimming your pets fur or maybe even giving the pet a "puppy cut". These products are over the counter (OTC) and DO NOT require a prescription.

For the health of your pet and to keep your home flea and tick free, I highly recommend you use a flea and tick preventative on your pet.

Car safety

I was driving home the other day and came behind a car in which the driver had her window open, her dog on her lap and the dog's head was sticking out the window feeling the breeze and smelling the smells that dogs do.

I wanted to say something to this lady but really never had the opportunity, and then, with the way some people are on the road these days, I probably would have come out the bad guy.

What were my concerns? Here they are:
1. I was concerned as to how a driver could safely operate a vehicle with an animal sitting on the owner/drivers lap?
2. I was concerned that if the car were involved in an accident, aside from potential injury to the driver, the poor dog would almost be guaranteed being injured because the pet was not secured.
3. I was concerned that because this was a fidgety toy poodle the dog could easily have squirmed out of the drivers hands and out of the window.
4. I was concerned that if this had happened, that the driver would have taken her car directly to the scene of an accident in trying to grab her dog as it was squirming out of the window.

I know we all love our pets and want to hold them and hug them. But we need to respect the fact that when we exercise the privilege of driving we need to be considerate of the other drivers on the road as well. For our safety and that of our pets I would suggest:
1. When we drive, lets not keep pets on our laps. As much as we love them, they are a distraction.
2. When we drive, let's use a harness to keep the pet safely in his/her own seat.

Have a safe summer.