We sure love our dogs and of course want to make all the best decisions for them. I also want to arm our puppy families with the best resources and advice I can find.

I was at the vet today with one of our dogs for a check up and our vet was recommending heart-worm, flea, and tick prevention. We live in Utah and thankfully the risk of these are low, so I politely declined and my vet was very respectful of my position. One of our puppy families was having constant diarrhea with her dog and she tried everything to help him including many visits to the vet. It finally boiled down to the monthly heart worm preventative he was eating. It would make him very ill for almost a month and as soon as he started to feel better…it was time for the next monthly chew and he was sick all over again. Poor guy!

Even worse, one of our 1-year-old dogs we sold got the heartworm shot called Proguard 12, and was very sick with Severe digestive problems. They thought it might be what she was eating, but when I found out the vet had given Proguard 12 recently I referred them to a holistic vet I knew. The holistic vet was convinced it was the Proguard 12 and put the dog on a liver detox protocol and thankfully the dog was able to recover. (I have a liver detox protocol linked at the bottom of this article to help detox from pesticides in flea, tick, and Heartworm medication.)

Here is more information about the dangers of Heartworm medication:

https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/risks-of-heartworm-drugs

I do know there are areas like Missouri, where I am from, that the risk is very high. In that case I may need to use the products my vet offered, but I will be sure to use when the risk is at its highest and that’s not all year, and detox may dog afterwards. It’s very important to be informed.

I study this topic a lot and being more of a holistic breeder and also leaning towards natural rearing practices, I avoid products with pesticides like Isoxazoline and fipronil because they are toxic. Studies and the FDA are warning these may cause adverse reactions and neurological damage that can cause emotional and cognitive changes.

Watch Rodney Habib explain:;

You might be thinking what can be done for prevention of these parasites? Remember that healthy, strong, vibrant animals generally repel parasites, and if contracted their body works hard to fight off parasites and discard them.

Do Provide superior nutrition, exercise, sunlight, and good hygiene for your dog and the sleeping areas. Diatomaceous Earth (DE) can be rubbed in your dog’s coat, around your yard, and even fed to your dog, just make sure you are buying specifically food grade. DE is a great natural preventative.
We also use PawTree Flea, Tick, and Mosquito spray that uses wonderful smelling, pet friendly essential oils to kill and repel (we actually use it on ourselves too) Mosquitoes carry heart worms so by repelling mosquitos we help to eliminate that risk.

We use a natural alternative to help protect our dogs from Heartworms from Amber Naturalz.com

Dr. Karen Becker and Rodney Habib, a great FREE guide to help with Flea tick and Pesticide support

I hope all this helps you as you make the best dog decisions!

Love, Michele