Flea Treatments Necessary?

[MathieuX]

My dog is 3 years old and has never had fleas to my knowledge, should I still to use a flea preventative? What about heartworm? I'm in Victoria.

[persephone]

Hi -
if there is a heartworm risk in your area, then definitely use a preventative . Heartworm, unlike fleas, can be a killer .  
For fleas, treat your dog if you see a flea   ;)  Why add  extra chemicals  if they are not needed? 
I dislike filling my dogs with insecticide type things in case fleas jump on them .
Living where we do we DO get the rabbit/stickfast fleas, and in the warmer months, dogs are regularly treated to baths or spot-on applications  to  avoid these devils . In Winter, it is usually not needed, thankfully.

Edited April 16, 2019 by persephone

[Dogsfevr]

I don’t treat .

i researched the risk factor for heartworm and decided it was very small compared to the drug side effects but I’m in a lucky position ,different area and I would reassess the pros/ cons