Author: Dr. James Davis, Arlington Heights Animal Hospital, Fort Worth, TX
Keeping Your Dog Healthy and Parasite Free – Year-Round
As pet parents, we all want to give our dogs in Fort Worth TX the healthiest, happiest lives possible. That means protecting them from preventable parasites that can cause serious—and sometimes life-threatening—diseases. The two most common, dangerous and PREVENTABLE threats to dogs are heartworms and fleas & ticks.
Heartworm Prevention: Protecting Your Dog’s Heart and Health
Heartworm disease is a potentially fatal condition caused by parasitic worms that live in the heart, lungs, and blood vessels of infected animals. Transmitted through mosquito bites, even one missed dose of prevention can leave your dog vulnerable.
Heartworm disease can cause coughing, fatigue, weight loss, and heart failure—and treatment is difficult, costly, and risky. The good news? It’s completely preventable.
By staying consistent with prevention, you can protect your dog from heartworms all year long—no matter the season or weather.
Flea & Tick Prevention: More Than Just Itching
Fleas and ticks are more than a nuisance—they can cause serious health issues for your pet and your family. Fleas trigger allergies and skin infections, while ticks can transmit dangerous diseases like Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis.
Even indoor dogs are at risk. Fleas can ride in on clothing or other pets, and ticks can hitch a ride after a walk in the park or a quick potty break.
Why Year-Round Protection Matters
In Fort Worth, Texas and much of the southern United States, parasites never truly take a break. Mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks can survive and stay active through mild winters, meaning your pet is at risk every month of the year. Even a few warm days in winter can be enough for mosquitoes to reappear or fleas to reproduce indoors.
Stopping prevention during cooler months creates dangerous gaps in coverage—leaving your dog exposed just when parasites start to surge again. By keeping protection consistent all 12 months, you ensure your pet stays fully protected and avoid having to “catch up” once parasites reemerge.
Year-round prevention means no guessing, no gaps, and no risk—just continuous protection and peace of mind for you and your dog.
Monthly Oral/Topical Preventatives vs. Injectables: How To Choose
Preventing infestations is much easier (and safer) than treating them after the fact. Consistent, year-round protection is the best way to keep your dog safe and your home pest-free. There several ways you can provide heartworm, flea & tick prevention for your dog (view our chart: Comparison Chart of Long-Acting Injectible Preventatives vs. Monthly Oral or Topical Medications):
Oral Preventives: Convenient, but Easy to Forget
Oral preventives are a popular choice for many pet owners. These chewable tablets are given monthly and can protect against heartworms, fleas, and ticks depending on the brand. These chewable tablets work by releasing ingredients that kill immature heartworms in the bloodstream or releasing an active ingredient that gets absorbed into the bloodstream which kills fleas and ticks each time the pill or chew is given. When given consistently each month, pill prevention prevents these baby heartworms from growing into adult heartworms that cause serious damage.
The positives:
- Easy to administer for dogs that enjoy flavored chews.
- Effective when given consistently, the same day each month.
- Some combine multiple parasite protections in one product.
The negatives:
- Protection lasts only 30 days, so missing a dose leaves a gap in coverage.
- Some dogs spit out or refuse the chew, making dosing tricky, especially if you do not see or realize your dog has spit out the chew.
- Forgetting even one month can increase the risk of heartworm infection or allow fleas and ticks to reestablish.
While oral preventives can work well, the key is perfect consistency—something that can be challenging for busy families or multi-pet households.
The Smarter, Easier Way: Long-Acting Injections for Year-Round Protection
If you’ve ever struggled to remember monthly doses—or found that your dog spits out pills or rubs off topical treatments—you’re not alone. Many pet owners find it challenging to stay consistent with monthly preventives, and even one missed dose can leave your dog at risk.
This is where long-acting injections come in.
Bravecto® Quantum and ProHeart® 12 offer a full year of continuous protection against fleas, ticks, and heartworms—without the hassle of monthly dosing. These veterinarian-administered injections work quietly in the background, providing safe, reliable protection you can count on all year.
About Bravecto® Quantum
Bravecto® Quantum is the world’s first and only 12-month flea and tick protection for dogs delivered as a single, veterinarian-administered injection. It provides continuous protection for an entire year, killing fleas before they can lay eggs and preventing tick infestations that can spread disease.
Unlike topical or oral monthly treatments, Bravecto Quantum doesn’t wash off, rub away, or rely on remembering monthly doses. One simple injection keeps your dog protected from fleas and ticks all year long—so you can say goodbye to messy applications and missed doses.
About ProHeart® 12
ProHeart 12 is an innovative once-yearly heartworm prevention injection that provides 12 months of continuous protection against heartworm disease and treats existing hookworm infections. Administered by your veterinarian, it eliminates the need to remember monthly heartworm pills while ensuring consistent protection.
ProHeart 12 slowly releases medication over time, keeping your dog’s system protected against heartworms for a full year. It’s a safe, effective option for pet owners who want peace of mind knowing their dog is protected every day, all year long.
The Bottom Line
Preventing heartworm, flea, and tick infestations is one of the most important things you can do for your dog’s health. With long-acting injectable protection available at Arlington Heights Animal Hospital, staying on top of prevention has never been easier or more effective.
Talk to your veterinarian at Arlington Heights Animal Hospital about the new Bravecto Quantum and ProHeart 12—the smart, simple, and worry-free way to protect your best friend all year long.
