Heartworm - Monthly Treatment?

[Doxmom]

Can you all weigh in on this one? My holistic neighbor is not using heartworm preventative on her puppy. Bree had his first vet visit (under my care) today and the vet wants to take blood for a heartworm check and then put him on heartworm preventative shortly. Is it really necessary?

 

[nola]

Yes, here in FL monthly heartworm preventative is vital. It's so much better to just give them the monthly pill than have to deal with the horrible and risky (not to mention expensive!) treatment if they get heartworms.
Nola's on Iverhart Max, 6-12lbs. She's been on prevention since about 12-16 weeks and we test yearly.

 

[Doxmom]

Thanks so much for your reply - then we will go with Heartworm Preventative. Appreciate the benefit of your experience!

 

[Wandering Man]

Our first dog was a rescued female mutt that my boys named Spike. Our first vet never spoke to us about heartworms, or heartworm prevention.

Our second vet diagnosed the heartworms at a pretty advanced stage. Spike died as a result of the treatment, but would have died eventually, anyway as a result of the heartworms.

That was a one-time lesson.

We've never failed to give our dogs monthly heartworm treatment since, and have no regrets.

Like Florida, mosquitos are a fact of life along the Texas coastline. And so is the threat of heartworms.

 

[southernlady]

Oh yikes, that is scary. My little boy was heartworm positive when I adopted him from the shelter. The treatment was treacherous, I literally cried because Reg hurt so bad. I wish folks would take heartworm treatment more serious. Reggie is now on Advantage Multi, it's an all in one treatment for fleas, ticks, heartworms and intestinal worms. You apply it once a month as you would front line. With this being so easy I don't understand why people make excuses to not protect their pets.

 

[Doxielove2012]

I live in the northeast so I do not use heart worm in the winter months. If I lived somewhere warm I would most definitely use it year round. Holistic is great I naturally rear my dogs but it has to be done smartly.

 

[DeafDogs]

Totally depends on where you live. We dont have heartworm here in Alberta, so don't need to do any preventatives... we also don't really have fleas here in Central Alberta, though other areas sometimes get them) And we dont have rabies here much either (in the last 15 years there is an average of less than one case per year and most of those have been bats) so I don't give rabies vaccines either (and there's no law saying you have to either)

So I gotta say it...........



NA NA NA NA BOO BOO

ha ha ha

 

[kbugusky]

Does anyone use any good natural heartworm prevention methods that they would recommend? I'm all about prevention but I don't always believe that using chemicals is the best way to prevent things from happening. If there is a good way to prevent them without giving her chemicals every month I will be all for it.

 

[Wandering Man]

By "chemicals," do you mean combinations of chemicals developed through research for the prevention of disease?

It is good you don't "always believe that using chemicals is the best way to prevent things from happening." Because that suggests that sometimes you do believe chemicals is the best way.

In this case, the medications they have developed (and continue to develop) are the best way.

Back when we lost Spike, the best treatment for fleas and ticks was to "dip" our dog in malathion. We've come a long way since then in terms of developing treatments that are less damaging to our pets.

For the full story on Spike's death, go here:
30 Years of Dog: Old Vets and Mosquitoes

WM