I saw this story in USA Today this morning, it actually had a detailed explanation of why this particular collar is so dangerous to dogs. My dog is not currently on any preventatives, but he’s 9 months old, the weather is getting warmer, and we now have heart worm in Western Washington, and I find myself wondering what’s the best thing to do. Protecting against heart worm is a no-brainer, but that preventative also kills fleas and other parasites, how much chemical burden does that come with. I’m a nurse and have a pretty good idea how to determine the risks to benefits ratio of human medications, but canine physiology and drugs are something of a mysterious realm to me!