Don't get it, not worth the risk.

=)

starting around March thru about October...and same for Frontline Plus...I have never had any of the dogs have anything show up in their stool before and have never seen one flea on any of them and they live right under our noses all the time...I appreciate so much all your advice and I take it very seriously...I appreciate you understanding the expense factor...it does add up...but I'm really afraid of heartworms, so I do try to keep them on preventive meds during the hot months..thanks again!

something can show up in that..you would never expect..had a worm issue show up in a older pug..and never had issues with it before..until the stool sample.
but the lepto I am far to nervous
like I said I almost lost a dog years ago to it
I will not use it here..at all

and we are right with them...so I don't allow them to drink anything except from their water bottle...I also read that most cases of Lepto are not life threatening anyway and can be treated with antibiotics...so hard to make these decisions..geeeez..thanks so much for your input

We do not have the Lepto vaccine done here. I'm in FL and whenever we take our litter of puppies in for their health check & health certificates, My Vet put's on their health cert's "Not in best interest of the dog" right next to the Lepto column.

and that is heartworm infestation can only come from bites of an infected mosquite...it is not transferable by saliva, blood or feces, as other diseases may be.

IMHO it is not necessary for your dogs to have Lepto vaccine now or in the future, especially if your vet can confirm honestly that he has not seen any increase in local cases of this disease...probably NOT. As to the annual stool sample, again we look at the incidence of roundworm or hook worm in your yard...have any of the children playing barefoot (or bare bottom) been infested by worms that live in the ground? Have any of the previous fecal exams shown infestation? Do you give heartworm medication monthly (which does kill off some worm types)? Do you give your dogs flea protection yearround or at the start of Spring (April thru October perhaps) or do you wait until you begin to see a flea problem? Annual fecals are advisable as part of an annual exam and I include blood panel in that...but it is NOT IMHO necessary, and if you have multiple dogs (as you do) the cost can run up very quickly.

I did a study on heartworm prevention and medication 1-2yrs ago and found a great deal of conflicting information. While most everyone agrees that heartworm infestation is a natural threat to those people living in a tropical or semi-tropical climate, such as the southeastern USA, there is considerably less threat if you live in the colder climates, where there are months of frost to breeding areas/still poluted water and to kill off mosquito larvae as well as few reported cases from dogs born/living in the semi-arid southwest where I live. So the question becomes whether heartworm prevention monthly is necessary or just advisable, and we should also consider that Americans are a very mobile people, and they relocate their pets/sell them across country, take them to dog events across state borders and so all that needs to be factored in when deciding if you want to provide this for your own dog. And no less important is the knowledge that treating a dog for heartworms, besides being dangerous, can be as expensive as all the preventive care given that dog during a lifetime...its just a personal 'gamble' which each owner decides upon. HTH

It is my understanding that dogs get lepto by drinking stagnant water or somehow ingesting urine containing leptosporosis. When you guys are camping are they ever off leash or anything like that? Same goes for the dog parks, are they off leash and able to go anywhere they want? If they are off leash especially when camping I would maybe think about it. But as Cathy said, if it isn't prevalent in your area you may not need to give it. We do not give it but our vet specifically asked if we are ever in any forest preserve areas, etc. We are not and our dogs are always on a leash so we know they won't get into any stagnant water or anything.

and my vet does not give it. I was freaking out when poor Cooper died and I checked Audrey's record carefully and it is NOT anywhere on it. I really don't think it's prevalent in our area. If you are concerned about your dogs getting it, ask your vet about the symptoms so you can get them checked out right away if they show any signs of being sick.

Cathy
when she first came home