You are damned if you do, damned if you don't in the dog world.
I have done a complete 360 because I feel like I probably used to "look down" on people who fed their dogs Purina and yada yada. Now I'm just very "meh, do what works for you and your dogs". But I still won't get myself to ever feed Beneful or Ol' Roy and I won't pump my dogs with vaccines EVERY year and I still will support certain "holistic" companies just like I support more "science based" or whatever you want to call them.
I'm very in the middle, still, myself with regards to a lot of dog issues ranging from training to food choices. But I've learned there is ZERO reason to judge dog owners on what they are doing *unless* it is causing actual harm or neglect to the dog, of course.
In regards to the heartworm meds, it is something I believe in strongly. I prefer to keep my dogs on heartworm preventive year round. That said, I know plenty of dogs here in MD who are not on it (family dogs etc) and never have been and they've always been absolutely fine. So again, who freaking knows? lol.
Flea and tick meds I'm a little more uneasy over and always have been but ticks are disgusting and carry diseases. I am still trying to figure out what to give Jackson because since he potentially has IBD now as well as pancreatitis, my vet does not want me to give Nexgard or an oral chew since if he has a reaction it will be in his system for 30 days. So I am looking into Seresto possibly or maybe even something more "natural" that I can just spray when we go outside on adventures. I usually only give flea/tick meds anyway from around May through September or October. |