How many of you use heartworm medication?

[rottielover2004]

use the heartworm medication on your dogs ????? I was just told my breeder that it is a waste of money if you live in the city. Just another money maker for the vet. I have normally done this every year with my other dogs. But she actually had valid points not too. Can you all justify using or not using the medication. Thank you Karen

[lblax]

unless you dont have city dwelling mosquitos you better use preventative..

[Brooke&Ryan]

We use it.... I've seen too many dogs in the SPCA where I volunteer who have heartworms & the treatment is really harsh on the dog. It doesn't cost that much & it gives me peace of mind.


Brooke

[RottiMomCT]

I use it year round - here in New England it is just too wierd weatherwise for me not to - for instance, we had a 55 degree day, and the following day we had SNOW - ALOT of it!

I'm not going to risk it - plus I've seen what dogs have to go thru for treatment - easier for me to give them a pill monthly (I get e-mail reminders to give them their meds!) than to risk them getting heartworm...cheaper too.

[MARYDVM]

Heartworm disease, and the treatment that cures it can both kill your dog. There are some areas of the country where your dog is less likely to be infected than others. If you feel lucky and like to gamble then don't use the preventative.

[LUVMYROTTNBOY]

I never skip using heartworm prevention, even in the winters I use it just because here in Indy we have odd warm weeks. Mosquitoes are everywhere. The heartworm medicine I believe kills only the larval stage, so the dogs do get infected, but the medicine kicks in and kills any larvae present. Also if your dog does get heartworms it will cost a lot more to treat then the preventative would cost. Its also very hard on the dogs to take in the poison treatments that have to be used to kill the worms.

[BostonRott]

I only give preventative when the mosquitos are out, and since the Interceptor that I use covers the previous 30 days, I start giving it usually in May or June (depending when the bugs come out), and give it through November or December (depending when they go away).

[PharmGuy]

Originally Posted by RottiMomCT

I use it year round - here in New England it is just too wierd weatherwise for me not to - for instance, we had a 55 degree day, and the following day we had SNOW - ALOT of it!

I'm not going to risk it - plus I've seen what dogs have to go thru for treatment - easier for me to give them a pill monthly (I get e-mail reminders to give them their meds!) than to risk them getting heartworm...cheaper too.

I'm curious, where do you get your email reminders from. I would like that too.

Mike

[Brooke&Ryan]

Originally Posted by PharmGuy

I'm curious, where do you get your email reminders from. I would like that too.

Mike

We do ours from Outlook.

[rottielover2004]

Around where I am there are barely any mosqitos. Why do you think the breeder would have told me not to do it. She is a very good breeder, and loves all her dogs.

[angel girl]

It depends on location. The only time Lucky or Shania ever got HW pills was when we traveled down to ON. When I asked the vet, she thought I was talking about just going out to the lake and that I wouldn't need it. I had to tell her that we were heading down to ON and then she agreed that I probably would need it. They were each on it for 3 months. The month we were there and each month bookending it.

[OWQ]

I never used it when I lived in Northern Coastal California -- no mosquitos there.

[MARYDVM]

When I practiced in NY state, less than an hour from Montreal, I saw a number of heartworm positive dogs. One of them, a 3 year old collie, died while undergoing the heartworm treatment. All of these dogs were loved, but it didn't protect them from heartworms.

[Roscoe's dad]

I live in wisconsin and if a breeder told me to save my money, there are no mosquitoses here I would find a different breeder and would probably look elsewhere. I dont think taking heartworm pills as a preventative is a waste of money, but I don't live in a bug free enviroment

[GraceAAA]

We use to use Heartworm preventative year round...living here in New England...that was back when we vaccinated and fed kibble. Since switching our dogs to a holistic life-style...we do not vaccinate (puppies or adults...we use homeopathic nosodes)...we do not feed kibble (feeding raw and/or cooked foods)...and we do not use heartworm (or other chemical intestinal wormers).

I say this...having lived with a dog who contracted heartworm disease WHILE taking heartworm preventative on a religous monthly basis year round!! She was not a candidate for the treatment because at the time it was arsenic poisoning which would have killed her as she suffered from epilepsy...however, she out lived the heartworm disease (the adult heartworm lives 5 years)...and survived no worse for her disease.

I say this also working at a veterinary clinic where we treat many dogs for heartworm disease...both who have been using preventative and those who have not...the treatment for the disease is now to give the very preventative (Ivermection) that we would use on a monthly basis...except it is a higher dose.

Our holistic vet (Dr. Martin Goldstein...world renowned author of The Nature of Animal Healing) feels (as do most other holistic veterinarians) that the side-effects (both acute and subtle degeneration of wellness) of monthly heartworm pills far out weigh both the risk of contracting the disease AND the disease itself. If contracted...the disease can now be treated with relative success.

And, this is not to say we do nothing...far from it...everything we do with our dogs...and everything that goes into our dogs is about supporting their health naturally...so that they can maintain wellness within their own bodies. There are also herbal tonics that can be used for those who are not comfortable going without any oral preventative...and homeopathic nosodes that can be used preventatively. We also test twice yearly...so, that if a problem does arise...it can be dealt with swiftly.

Also, the philosophy of natural approaches to heartworm preventative...stemmed from studies that indicated wolves in the wild...including those that lived in heartworm prevalent regions did not suffer from heartworm disease.