Here is what you guys thought:
| Extremely important | 51.16% |
| Important | 32,56% |
| Somewhat important | 9.30% |
| Not important | 0.00% |
| I don't know | 2.33% |
| Other | 4.65% |
Answers under "other" included a note about exposure, and one suggested a holistic approach. That's interesting because the person made the assumption that by prevention it is meant conventionally only. Which it really isn't. Prevention can include conventional or holistic measures.
Nobody thought it wasn't important, but 2.33% checked they didn't know.
Preventing disease is, of course, the best thing without a doubt.
It becomes murky when the things you might need to do to prevent something might be unhealthy after their own fashion.
Why care about parasites?
Parasites can, actually, cause quite a lot of damage and under some circumstances even kill a dog. Parasites can be internal or external, some more dangerous than others but a large enough infestation can be fatal in itself. Further, some of the external parasites come with the added bonus of being vectors for infectious diseases.
External parasites include guests such as fleas, mites, and ticks. Internal parasites include roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms, giardia, coccidia, flukes, and the scariest of them all - heartworm.
Parasites can rob your dog of blood or nutrients and cause damage to the infested organ.
Unfortunately, the typical prevention or treatment comes in the form of chemicals and toxins.
There are natural alternatives to prevent unwanted guests. I am always open to consider or even try such things with the goal being to avoid exchanging one evil with another. Presently, we are testing a tick tag for tick prevention. So far so good, meaning we haven't found any ticks on Cookie so far. Which can mean the tag is working or there weren't any ticks ready to hitch a ride when she's gone by. Either way, works for me.
The only preventive medication we are using is a heartworm preventive.
These usually also provide protection against at least some of the intestinal parasites, though that is not my focus.
There are people who "worm" regularly but to me, that is one of the things I don't want to fix if it isn't broken. I elect to test a fecal semi-annually, and I would test it if my dog started having signs of a potential problem. But unless I had a clear evidence of infestation, I would not treat.
The level of diligence depends on your location and your dog's lifestyle.
If you live in an area where fleas or ticks are endemic, preventive measures make sense. If you live in a desert, it makes more sense to worry about scorpions than fleas or ticks.
Screening is non-invasive and safe and always a good idea.
Whether you're using any preventives or not, screening is essential. For example, even though we use heartworm preventive year-round, we do test every year. There is always the possibility something makes it through the defenses; resistance is on the rise when it comes to parasites too.
Parasites can rob your dog of blood, nutrients, and health.
Regardless of the methods and approaches you choose, staying on top of it does increase your dog's longevity.
Related articles:
Dog Longevity Survey Part I
Dog Longevity Survey Part II
Dog Longevity Survey Part I Results
How Important Is Weight Management for Longevity?