Several Questions: Baths, Fleas/Ticks, Heartworms, White Boxers

[boxrfan]

Hello! I just love this site! There is so much information and everyone seems so helpful. I've been browsing for a bit, and decided I might as well just ask my questions. My puppies are 17 weeks old and we're giving them their first baths today. (First baths since we've had them). How often do you bathe your puppies?

We've also been discussing worm medicine, Frontline, and heartworm treats. Since we live in Kansas where it can be 25 degrees today and 50 degrees with flies tomorrow, we're very inclined to treat with Frontline and heartworm medicine year-round. These are the pups eating dirt clods, so I'm also leaning toward having them dewormed quite routinely. Any thoughts on this? We're going back to the vet for puppy shots round 2 on the 24th.

Now, as for my white boxer, she's neither deaf nor blind, seems very smart and is such a joy. I've read different things on multiple sights talking about the white boxer having more health problems, but can't seem to find anything more than they're usually blind or deaf. Anyone have any information on this? I talked with my vet and he agreed he hadn't heard of the illnesses to which they are more prone.

Again, I love this site and this is a fantastic breed of dog!! I'm really thrilled with them.

 

[Matt S]

Hi & Welcome to BW.
We generally bath our 2 maybe 2 or 3 times a year, with the occasional wipe down in between times.
Heartworm can be a problem in our climate as well, so we do treat for heartworm all year round. We also treat for intestinal worms as well.
We don't treat for fleas at all, but we do feel their diet helps with the prevention of fleas. Fortunately we are not considered to be in a tick area.
As for white boxers well there's heaps of misinformation available on them, as you've found out.
Whites are more prone to deafness than other boxers, but I think it's thought that about 18% of whites are either partly deaf or fully deaf, so it's certainly not the majority of whites that suffer from any form of deafness.
As for blindness, as far as I'm aware there has never been any proof that whites suffer from blindness any more than any other boxer.
One thing you should be aware of with your white boxer is that they are more susceptible to sun burn, so that's something to keep in mind.

 

[Sabrina Jay]

For our area that we live, I would recommend the following, but talk to your vet to see what they recommend.

1) heartworm prevention year-round. This will also take care of other intestional parasites. (If your pups are parasite free right now, I wouldn't do regular dewormings)

2) flea/tick control - I will assume that your pups don't have fleas right now, so just start it in the spring (probably March or April, depending upon the weather and if you live in the country or suburbs). I have to start mine generally early March because of the ticks. (I live in the country).

3) White boxers will be harder to keep clean so more frequent bathing might be needed. Just depends upon your particular dog. I also use baby wipes for the inbetween bath times. Make sure you use a good doggie shampoo and rinse throughly!

4) White boxers & health issues - you will get mixed comments on this. Whites have a higher chance of being deaf & blind (but I have as of yet to meet a blind one). About 50% - 75% of the whites we get into our local rescue are deaf. (This might be why we get so many of the deaf ones in...because they are deaf and the owners don't want to take the time to train them). They will sunburn easier. As far as health - 2 from a previous litter of mine are healthy with no problems, the other 2 (from the same litter), do have some health issues. {Before you even ask....the litter had 10 puppies in it - 50% colored/50% white (or checked). }

Good luck and enjoy your pups.

 

[JulieM]

From the left....

My dogs get baths as needed. The ones I'm showing get them more often, generally about once a month or so. The others have gone years between baths - they keep themselves pretty clean, and since we're feeding raw they don't get that "doggy" odor.

Heartworm - visit www.heartwormsociety.org for information on the lifecycle and etiology of heartworms (I think it's now under the Veterinary AHS Guidelines section). In order for the larvae to mature to an infective stage, there must be 30 consecutive days and nights with temperatures of 64 F or higher; any drops below 59 F for more than a few hours retards maturation and you have to start over again at 1. If you're getting 25 F temperatures, you don't need to worry about heartworm. Also, remember that the heartworm pills kill any larvae that might have been contracted by the dog in the previous 30 days - so you don't want to give the pill the day you hit the 30 temperature days, because there won't be anything to kill.

Flea/tick - this is a regional thing, if you're in a high flea or tick area you may need to be more diligent about medications than you would be in other areas. Personally, we use a proper diet and good health to prevent parasites. Lots of people have luck with adding garlic and/or brewer's yeast to the diet. If you feel you must use a chemical, Advantage is generally considered one of the safest.

Intestinal worms - my feeling is that there is no reason to treat a dog for worms it doesn't have. Have fecals run on your dogs - if they have worms, treat them - if they don't, don't. Coarsely ground raw pumpkin seeds or raw carrots can "scour" the mucosa from the intestinal lining, which is what the worms attach to.

The only problem specifically linked to white Boxers is an increased risk of deafness. Other than that, they are prone to the same conditions, at the same rates, as colored Boxers.

 

[boxrfan]

Thank you! This is very helpful information.