Flea and tick prevention in Spokane, plus heartworm

Flea and tick prevention for Spokane dogs and cats is not the same in every household. At Glenrose, on the South Hill, we match prevention to how your pet actually lives: the trails it walks, whether it travels, and who else is in the house. Then you can pick up what your pet needs from our in-house pharmacy before you leave.

Spokane seasons, from the exam room

Karen's advice for South Hill dogs, season by season:

• Spring and summer: ticks and fleas. The bluff trails are a big part of it. Check your dog after every walk up there, especially ears, armpits, between the toes and under the collar. Keep the prevention going through the fall, not just June.
• Late summer: smoke. When the wildfire smoke rolls in, keep walks short and keep older dogs and flat-faced breeds inside.
• Winter: de-icer. Wipe paws after walks. The de-icer on sidewalks irritates them, and dogs lick it off.

The CDC has a good page on finding and removing ticks that works for dogs as well as people.

Fleas and ticks

Modern preventives come as chews, topicals and collars. Which one is right depends on your pet's species, weight and habits, and on what you will actually manage to give on schedule. We will tell you what we would use and why. If cost is the hard part, say so; there is usually more than one reasonable option.

One warning worth repeating: some flea products made for dogs are toxic to cats. Never put a dog product on a cat, even a small amount.

Heartworm

Heartworm is spread by mosquitoes and damages the heart and lungs. Whether your dog needs year-round heartworm prevention depends on where it lives and travels, and we will talk it through rather than assume. The American Heartworm Society has clear background if you want to read more.

Our in-house pharmacy

We keep preventives and the medications we prescribe on hand, so you can leave a visit with what your pet needs instead of making a second stop. Refills go through the front desk. If your pet takes something long term, we will want to see them at their checkups to make sure it is still the right dose.

For puppies and kittens

Young pets start prevention early, and the right product depends on age and weight. We sort it out during the first visits; see puppy and kitten care.