Heartworm Prevention Questions

[RottnDogs]

Hello, My dogs are currently on Revolution (topical heartworm/flea/tick/mange/etc...) I live in Montana, and my vet says that I don't have to use any preventative from October to March and to start again in April.
So my questions are: If I stop the prevention, do I have to do the blood test again in March before I re-start? Do any of the rest of you that live in northern states (or any place it gets really cold in the winter) do this? And what is the general opinion on Revolution?
Thanks much, all replies are greatly appriciated!
Jen

[Judi W]

The quick answer is yes you sure should. Most of us use heartworm preventative year round. I use a monthly product

[BostonRott]

I do not use preventative year round, my guys will get their last dose in November. Remember that preventative works backwards, so the dose you give in November covers infestations from October. Mosquitos can't reproduce when the temp drops below 57F.

Here's a table which shows when HW preventative needs to be given, based on yearly temps: http://www.citadeltm.com/Heartworm.html

My guys get HW meds from May-November, we live just outside of Boston. They do get retested for HW each spring, this is a condition of the vet if the dogs are not on year-round preventative.

[BostonRott]

As to Revolution, for me, it's way too much poison. My guys get Interceptor, and as of next year, they'll be going on the low-dose regimen (kills HW but not intestinal parasites). Here's the government data on Safeheart dosing: http://www.fda.gov/cvm/efoi/section2/140915s060498.html

You just buy the smaller pills and give them to your full size dog.

[frontierrots]

Originally Posted by BostonRott

As to Revolution, for me, it's way too much poison. My guys get Interceptor, and as of next year, they'll be going on the low-dose regimen (kills HW but not intestinal parasites). Here's the government data on Safeheart dosing: http://www.fda.gov/cvm/efoi/section2/140915s060498.html

You just buy the smaller pills and give them to your full size dog.

My opinion exactly.

We do the Safeheart dosage here as well. My guys get the 11-25lb Interceptor. We've done it for 3 years now and everyone I've tested has been neg so it works in Nh anyway :)

Because we are out and about alot and because this is a boardingkennel (200' from my home) we do , do a full dose in May (51-100lbs) and then the Safeheart dosage (Interceptor 11-25lb)June, July, Aug, Sept, Oct and Nov. My vets are 100% in agreement in this protocal even though they don't tell their clients about it!

[Karinka200]

Every time this question comes up, I have noticed that very few people use Heartgard. Is there a reason for this???

[majicka]

In my area (western PA) heartworm is NOT a huge problem..however the other intestinal parasites are. Our vet feels that since we live in a very dense wooded area with lots of critters the interceptor is a better choice.

When we lived in South Carolina, the vets down there highly recommended the Heartguard because heartworm was a HUGE problem in our area whereas other intestinal parasites were not.

[RottnDogs]

Thanks for all of your help. I'll talk to my vet about it next week. I guess in Montana you could possibly only use it from June - October! Boy would that save me some money Is the Interceptor about the same price at Heartguard? And since it is given orally, it would protect for the upcoming month as opposed to Heartguard which covers the previous month??

[BostonRott]

No, Interceptor also protects for the previous month.........that's how they all work, it has to do with which part of the HW lifecycle they kill the HW in. The early stages are affected, the later ones are not (by typical HW doses).