Clueless about dog care and medications--info needed!

[daisymommy]

We're adding a dog to our family this Summer, and I have no clue about dog care. We always had dogs growing up before I went away to colleg, but my parents always took care of everything I just enjoyed snuggling them.

So, I don't know how often you're supposed to take them to the vet. for check-ups, about food and how much/how often to feed them during the day, flea & tick meds + heartworm meds., licensing laws...and the list goes on.

Of course my family wasn't very crunchy, so we just used Frontline and Advantix, and when I Googled them for prices a minute ago it dawned on me...DUH! They're pesticides I just wasn't thinking about that. We don't use anything like that around here; we're a totally organic/green family, and I don't want stuff exceting out of my dog's skin that my kids will come in contact with, or that will poison my dog either. So, what else can I use? We have a grassy and slightly wooded backyard.

I guess I should also ask about shots for your dog...do I need to be worried about that issue as well? Sheesh...here I was just thinking about getting a dog; never knew I'd have to research all this non-toxic living when it came to my pets too!

[subtle]

dog care

Good for you for doing your research! You have so many questions it might be a good idea for you to hire a dog trainer in your area to guide you...
The Whole Dog Journal is a great source of info about all kinds of things. There are more natural alternatives to flea/tick meds but they are not necessarily as effective as necessary depending on what you use and where you live. A healthy dog needs to see his vet at least once a year. Puppies go through a series of shots like babies and then go onto a 3yr schedule or you can opt to titer for antibodies. Look into the WDJ and see if their stuff helps you.

[SquishyKitty]

Start looking now for a vet in your area that you're comfortable with, before you get the dog.

They will provide great guidance on heartworm meds (so, so necessary) and all of the vaxing and stuff like that. You can generally buy the meds through them, too.

We use advantix on our dogs, but we live in a very heavily wooded area, with both deer and dog ticks, and it's a lyme endemic area so we don't want to take that chance. The dogs come in the house and bring the ticks in with them, you know?

We also brush the dogs every time the are outside, and do tick checks once the season starts on everybody and the animals every couple of days. DS got a tick bite last year that ended up infected, so we don't want to take that chance again.