Fleas

[Karen]

The good thing about Buffalo is you don't have to worry about bugs during the winter months - they're all frozen until spring. And ask the landlor about any previous pets in the place and if they've checked for fleas, they can infest carpets if a pet brings them in. But yes, topical flea treatments are usually all you need, and for ticks, a thorough brushing and check after any romp in tall grass or the woods is best, just to check. And check inside ears, too, an easy spot to forget about, especially with flop-eared dogs.

When will you move?

[Varga]

Thanks so much guys! I really appreciate it. Especially all the info you linked me to Freedom. Thanks!

So using those topical treatments once a month should cover it? Or am I still missing something?


I didn't think about asking if the apartment has been treated for infestation, so that's very good advice. Thanks! I'll have to look into that first thing tomorrow.

And same about the heart worm. I hadn't even thought about heart worm!
Oi vey, there is so much I have to get used to. Getting the dogs overseas is really only half the battle.


I was thinking though, that as soon as we're settled, I'll either call or schedule and appointment with a vet in the area and explain him/her my situation and let him/her help me with making sure everything is in order and I'm not missing something that other dog owners there have in check.



I'm leaving the Faroes on October 12th but making a stop in Denmark, so I won't be in the US until the 17th.



...Oh and I just thought about something else. Do all dogs in the US have a tag that says they are vaccinated against rabies? I've seen that before somewhere but I don't know if that's like a law or whatever. Do you think I should get my dogs one of those? They've already been vaccinated recently, so hopefully just showing the document stating that should be enough.

[Freedom]

Rabies: when you get the shot here, at the vet, THEY are the ones who issue the tag. So you can't just "get" one when you are here.

The certificate will be sufficient until your dogs need another vaccine. It is the law here, they need to be current on a rabies shot. Since they just got their first one, that will be good for ONE YEAR. You must get the dog in to the vet prior to the one year for the next shot. The next one is good for THREE years.

I LOVE your idea to go to a local vet and get the scoop!

If the apartment never HAD a flea problem, they won't have needed to treat it. So no worries if they tell you they didn't do it.

Yes the topical treatment once per month should do it for the fleas. And the once per month heart worm pill will cover you on that bit.

[Varga]

Yeah, I was thinking of trying to get a tag by showing a vet the documents. But if it's not a law that they carry that tag, I guess it doesn't matter. As long as they ARE up to date on their rabies shots, of course.
The vaccine they have now expires three years from now however (the vet wrote that in their passports when he did the vaccine. Maybe it's a different kind of vaccine?... I dunno. I'm going to trust him on that though) so I won't have to think about re-vaccinating anytime soon.

[Freedom]

Three years, GREAT!

Take this with you when you make that initial vet appointment. They will photocopy it and place the copy in the dogs' files.

You KEEP THE ORIGINAL.

[IRescue452]

I live in WI. I haven't given my dogs regular flea protection for two years. They've picked up a few (about a dozen) fleas last year which I easily got rid of with a bath and flea comb.