It depends on the age. When we start, the first ones we typically give are what we call distemper parvo. Most dog owners have heard of distemper parvo, but when we use that term, we're protecting against several different diseases in that one vaccine. Those two diseases are highly contagious and life-threatening viruses. We're also protecting against a disease called adenovirus, which is an upper respiratory disease and a liver disease. And another one is called parainfluenza, which is a form of kennel cough in dogs. Those are the primary ones. And then there's another one called leptospirosis, which we highly recommend in this part of the country because it is a bacterial infection that they get from contaminated water sources, like backyard puddles and such. The then is also the rabies vaccine, but we don't start that until they are three months of age, excuse me. That one is required by law because of the potential for human health because it is a deadly virus and a deadly disease. Another one is called Bordetella. Bordetella is a form of kennel cough as well. Those are the three that we always recommend. Other ones are going to be based upon their lifestyle, like Lyme disease vaccines and canine flu vaccines.

The more time they spend outside, the greater the risk. It's really important to recognize that a lot of people go through their entire lives with their dogs and say, gosh, I've never seen any fleas. They've used a terrible flea product, and they're convinced that this product is working. But understand that fleas are not everywhere. They migrate. They move from neighborhood to neighborhood. They'll expand their territory one year to the next year because of weather conditions. They'll contract their territory, but they do continually migrate. So keep that in mind. You might go years without seeing any fleas, and all of a sudden, you have an infestation. Don't blame your neighbor. That's just the nature of the fleas' lifestyle and biology.

Of course, the more time pets spend outside the greater risk of getting exposed and the greater risk of getting fleas and ticks. With tick, there are a couple of considerations. They like more wooded areas. If you have hunting dogs or dogs that have some pasture, or you've got woods behind your house, and your dog is able to go back there, that's going to be prime ground for ticks. Obviously, that's going to increase the likelihood. It's not a bad idea to do a tick check on them. Check between the toes and the ears. Check pretty much everywhere. With hair, it's not always going to be easy to see the ticks, but it's certainly worth doing the check. It's easier to see ticks than fleas because they're a little bit bigger, and once they latch on, they don't move because they're sucking. Fleas will move around, but once ticks are attached, they're going to be stuck there for some days while they're continuing to feed.

Absolutely. As we mentioned, ticks are a year-round problem and this part of the country. Here in North Carolina, we do see ticks year-round, and there are seven different species of ticks in North Carolina. I think there's an introduction of a new one that we're more concerned about. With fleas, typically, once we have a killing frost outside, meaning if it gets down 25, 26 degrees for two nights back to back, that will be the end of our flea season outside. But still, fleas can thrive inside the house in the wintertime. Let's face that. You've got the thermostat set at 65 or 68 degrees, and fleas are pretty happy. They've got a meal with the dogs or with a cat inside the household. They're not going to be as active because the humidity is lower.

Three different conditions help fleas thrive, which is why we see more problems in the autumn. The three conditions include that they need a certain amount of rain. So if we have an extraordinary dry type of a year, we're not going to see as many fleas. For reproduction purposes, they prefer temperatures of more than 80 degrees. If we have consistently high temperatures in the nineties, scratching around a hundred degrees, we're not usually going to see as many fleas. The other criterion is humidity. Humidity is a given here all summer and into the autumn. That condition is never going to change. Drought conditions and overly wet conditions can change from year to year, but, in general, that's why we see more problems in the autumn because the temperatures are starting to let up a little bit. It's going to be more consistent in the 80-degree range. We might get a hurricane that can drop some rain here, but the more rain, the cooler the temperatures, relatively speaking. That's why we see more fleas in the autumn than at any other time of year.

Not really. It's just easier for us to identify them if they get on a short-haired dog, but they're not necessarily going to be more susceptible, especially when it comes to ticks. Fleas, on the other hand, in my many years of experience doing this, I tend to see the shorter hair dogs being more likely to be infested than a long, thick-coated dog, like a chow or a Husky or something of that nature. A hair coat can make a difference, but I wouldn't buy a dog based on that information.

Fleas and ticks lead to different diseases. With fleas, our primary concerns are anemia, which puppies can get. Puppies can get so many fleas on them that they can actually die from blood loss because the fleas suck so much blood from them. We can see what we call tapeworms, which is not a true disease, but can create a debilitating condition. These tapeworms can get to be about two feet long inside the intestinal tract, and they get those primarily from ingesting fleas. As far as ticks go, we're concerned about Lyme disease, Ehrlichia, anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. We see Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease in people as well. Your dog can get those two diseases just as people can.

There are some. There is the Diatomaceous Earth that people use or have even heard of apple cider vinegar combinations, garlic oil, and clove oil. It helps in some cases, and in most cases, it does not, based on what people have reported, because fleas and ticks are so sturdy, and it's not easy to kill them. It works better when you use something stronger.

Unfortunately, they won't because they're opportunistic and they like to stay. If they like the host, they will stick around for a long time. Imagine every flea lays about 50 eggs a day. Those eggs will hatch, more eggs are laid, and more fleas are created. So unless we actively seek to prevent them or get rid of the ones that are there, then, unfortunately, they will stick around for a long time.

The one vaccine that I know of is the Lyme vaccine for tick-borne diseases. That's the one that is used, but I believe that's the only vaccine available right now for tick-borne diseases.

The fact that you're using the flea preventative on a regular basis will help after two or three cycles. Regular use will control the environment, but because we take our dogs in and out all the time, there may be fleas that get on them when they come back from their walk, and they can be deposited back into the environment. So we recommend you treat the house. Sometimes there are sprays and powders that you can apply that can help you with controlling the environment and control those hitchhiker fleas. That's what we were talking about.