Freefallin~>Yes the great thing about Shelties compared to many other breeds is their diverse background. I believe because there are so many breeds behind them that that they have less problems with genetic disease than many other purebreds. And I've heard horror stories about the flea problem in Florida.
Hi Freefallin (I love that song btw)
Yes the fleas get worse in areas where the winter is so mild and if the temperature doesn't drop often enough to kill them they just continue to multipy. Eating a flea is what causes tapeworms in pets too. The topical flea treatments are great (Advantage and Frontline, with the latter being the more waterproof one) but those topical ones in the stores like Harts are not worth even buying. Also the Harts drops can be dangerous and we have seen many cats and some dogs come in with seizures due to using that product. Harts has issued NO warnings for that either and that makes me mad! So any of you reading please don't use those Harts flea drops on your animals and especially your cats. It's not worth it and it takes sometimes 2 days to stabilize them. They are not even much cheaper then you can get the tested flea and tick control from your Vet or online ordering. Many skin alergies are from fleas and even one bite can send a dog into fits and hair loss. Advantage paralyzes the mouth of the flea so they cannot bite as well as killing them.
~Bugs