Every spring, I seem to find myself wrestling with the same decision.
What should I use to protect my dogs from fleas and ticks?
This came up again when I brought Thunder in for his rabies shot and checkup.
The vet asked what we were using for flea, tick, and heartworm prevention. They already knew from his file that I’ve usually taken a more natural approach.
But this time… I hesitated.
And they noticed.
Last year made me question what I was doing
We had a bad tick year here in Wisconsin, and it was also the first time we ever had to deal with fleas.
Ticks are especially hard for me to shrug off because Thunder and Wizard have both had Lyme disease. Wizard has also had anaplasmosis.
So this isn’t some theoretical concern for me.
I’ve seen what tick-borne disease can mean for my own dogs.
At the same time, I’ve always been cautious about what I put on and in their bodies.
And that leaves me in this uncomfortable middle ground…
I want to minimize unnecessary exposure to products I don’t feel good about, but I absolutely don’t want my dogs getting sick either.
I realized “natural” can’t be the only goal
Over the years, I’ve tried different natural flea and tick products and combinations.
But the more I learn, the less interested I am in choosing something simply because it has the word natural attached to it.
The real question is:
What level of protection does this particular dog need based on where we live, their health, and their lifestyle?
Our dogs spend a lot of time outdoors. We have five acres, including a large wooded area. We hike. We encounter ticks.
That matters.
A dog living a very different lifestyle may have different risks.
This is one of those decisions where I think it’s important to keep asking questions, keep learning, and talk with your veterinarian about what makes sense for your individual dog.
Current parasite-control guidance recommends consistent flea and tick protection because these parasites can transmit disease, with the specific prevention plan taking the dog’s lifestyle and exposure into account.
One important distinction about heartworm
When I originally wrote about this, I grouped flea, tick, and heartworm prevention together.
I want to be clearer about that now.
Heartworm prevention is different.
Mosquitoes transmit heartworm, and the American Heartworm Society recommends year-round use of FDA-approved heartworm preventives. They also state that no natural products are proven to prevent or treat heartworm disease.
That’s something I think is important to separate from the conversation around flea and tick products.
Then I asked Rescue Dogs 101 readers what they were doing
After that vet appointment, I sent an email asking readers what they used.
Natural products?
A flea and tick collar?
Prescription medications?
Some combination?
I loved reading the responses because they were all over the place.
And it reminded me that we have different dogs, different environments, different experiences, and different comfort levels.
It also got me thinking about something much bigger than fleas and ticks.
Sometimes we focus on one piece of the puzzle
I’ve caught myself doing this plenty of times with my own dogs.
I’ll focus on food.
Or supplements.
Or training.
Meanwhile, something else may also be going on.
Maybe stress has increased.
Maybe their routine changed.
Maybe there’s pain or another medical issue that isn’t obvious yet.
Maybe something in their environment changed.
It’s easy to see one symptom and immediately assume there’s one cause.
But dogs aren’t always that simple.
Behavior changes, for example, can have medical, behavioral, or environmental contributors. Pain and other health problems can show up as anxiety, withdrawal, irritability, reduced activity, or other changes that might initially look like “behavior problems.”
Look at the whole picture
If your dog suddenly seems more reactive, itchy, tired, uncomfortable, has digestive issues, or simply doesn’t seem like themselves, I think it’s worth stepping back before deciding you already know why.
What changed?
When did it start?
What was happening with food?
Stress?
Routine?
Environment?
Health?
That doesn’t mean every symptom has some complicated hidden cause.
It just means we can ask better questions instead of immediately chasing the first explanation that comes to mind.
That’s become one of the biggest lessons for me as I’ve learned more about holistic health.
Our dogs’ bodies, behavior, environment, and everyday lives don’t exist in separate little boxes.
And the more closely I pay attention to all those pieces, the better questions I can bring to my veterinarian and the better I understand my own dogs.
Originally sent to Rescue Dogs 101 subscribers on March 26 and 31, 2026. Published online in September 2026.
