The extremes of a Texas summer challenge us to keep up with routine health maintenance on our dogs. Bugs, worms, reptiles, and pathogens burgeon with unrelenting heat and, in most of Texas, humidity. Here are some reminders for the long hot summer.
Fleas: Omnipresent as the weather warms up, with Ticks common in non-urban areas. Fleas are a nuisance to people, but keeping dogs free of ticks prevents the spread of tick-borne illnesses like Lyme Disease and Rocky Mt. Spotted Fever, which also afflict humans.
Once-a-month flea/tick preparations like Frontline do a good job. A new entry, once-a-month pill Comfortis, is an “organic” alternative to the standard chemicals. Its main ingredient, spinosad, is also an organic insecticide for garden use and fire ant bait.
Worms: Heart, hook, round – small and large, whip — sounds like the beginning of a dog-unfriendly alphabet song, doesn’t it? All of these worms aren’t everywhere in TX, but a good number are, especially the deadly heartworm.
While many worms, roundworms, for example, sap the dog’s vitality without doing permanent damage, heartworm is a killer. Treating a heartworm-infected dog involves a fairly dangerous multiple-day regimen of medication and a vet stay and can cost over $500. A trauma for the dog and for the owner’s pocketbook.
Heartgard Plus is probably the most commonly used heartworm preventative. Its main ingredient, ivermectin and the secondary ingredient, pyrantel, are also used in horses and other livestock. Several other heartworm meds also use ivermectin. Interceptor, another common wormer, is effective against a particularly wide variety of wormy enemies.
Snakes: Warm weather brings out the many snakes of Texas, several of which are poisonous. If your dogs are like mine, they will attack any snake, any time. Suburban and country dogs, more at risk from snakes than city dogs, in rattlesnake country are particularly lucky, since dogs can now be vaccinated against rattlesnake venom.
Leptospirosis: This nasty bacterial infection used to have a vaccination which was notorious for its dangerous side effects – so dangerous that I never had my dogs vaccinated. Lately, however, the strains of lepto which are prevalent in this area have changed and the vaccine has been vastly improved. Dogs which are not likely to come in contact with possum or raccoon urine (a prime source of contagion) probably don’t need this vaccination, but owners should consider it for wider- ranging suburban and rural dogs. I’m never one to encourage vaccination for its own sake, but this disease, unlike others which affect dogs, can be transmitted to humans. I think the lepto vaccine is in my dogs’ future.
Heat: Impossible to avoid in Texas, but easy to combat. Air conditioning works for everyone, human and animal, but dogs outside need to stay cool, too. They are wearing fur coats, after all! Water, as in always-full water bowls, baby pool, sprinkler and hose spray keep the heat at bay. Many WTs also love to swim, if water is available. Hydrogel-filled crate mats soaked in water can provide hours of coolness, as do little battery-operated crate fans. And everyone knows how quickly cars heat up in the Texas sunshine – even if windows are partly open.
Everybody have a happy, healthy summer with your Welshes!
Becky Eterno
