Dogs
All about dogs - dog breeds, dog training and behavior, news affecting dog owners or handlers, puppy pics, etc.
Rules (Will be refined later on).
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Don't be a dick. This should cover most things, just keep in mind that everyone started somewhere and try to be helpful rather than rude or judgmental.
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No personal attacks based on training style or tools.
Discussion of balanced training including proper use of aversives is allowed here. -
All breeds and mixes are welcome. You can criticize backyard breeding practices but don't pile on people because they own a specific breed or prefer purebreds or mixed breeds.
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Do not support backyard breeders or puppy mills. Please do not link to or suggest buying from high volume breeders or those with an obvious lack of standards and testing.
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Do not help or support fake service animals. Please do not encourage people to buy fake service dog vest or ESA letters to get around rental or other restrictions & do not give advice on how to misrepresent a dog as a service or support animal.
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@FlyingSquid Good read. Thoughts on the vaccinations for things like fleas, ticks, heart worms?
I didn't know you could vaccinate against those. Are the vaccinations effective enough on their own or would you need to supplement? We give our dogs Trifexis, which seems to work really well (they hate it though). Never had a flea or a tick or any heartworm detected. Now our dogs don't socialize with other dogs, which I'm sure helps, but I don't think that's the sole reason.
If my vet recommended vaccinating my dogs for those... well, I go to my vet because I trust her judgment. Or I wouldn't go to her.
There is a seasonal medication for flea, tick, and heartworm. I just get the medication as part of my dog's yearly checkup. It's just a tablet I need to feed him once a month for the warm months. IDK if they are technically vaccines, but they are preventative.
I think your general point stands that preventative medicines of all kinds have high value. From a technical standpoint, they are different types of medication.
Vaccines teach immune systems how to recognize and attack diseases and pathogens. These sorts of medications and treatments directly poison the parasites. They're similar in effect in that the pets are defended against unwanted aggressors, but differ in the mechanism.