Heartworm Meds

[KellyJean]

Ok, here I am... I don't know what to do for heartworms for Sammy.

I know that I should start to give him the meds before the mosquitoes come out.

He'll be with 4 other dogs who are all at least 10 months old. None of them (as far as I know) have had the heartworm meds.

Can I give them the wormer without getting their bloodwork done? (They don't belong to me, and I can't afford the bloodwork.) I'm not in a high-heartworm-risk area... should I bother giving the other (not mine) dogs the wormer at all? I'm going to do Sam reguardless... but I don't know about the others...

Kelly

[GretaJack]

If the dogs have not been tested for heart worm, do not give them the medication, it could kill them.

Kelly, I hate to tell you but heartworm shows its ugly face more than enough in Wisconsin. The shelters and the rescues are dealing with it constantly.

My vet wants me to switch to the year round program just because of the fact that heartworm is becoming more and more of a problem here. And I only live a bout an hour and a half from you.

Hope that helps.

[spotteddrafter1]

Here in Ohio we are in a high-heartworm state too....I give Bailey her meds on a monthly basis. You can get the kind that have added flea and tick prevention, which might be beneficial to you since your guy is outside. However, my vet told me that that kind only kills the living fleas....doesn't do anything to the eggs. So, I just use a heartworm med and have Frontline on-hand for the summer months when we spend more time outside.


I will say this....I take my dog off of all meds in December and January....kind-of like cleaning her system out, you know?

[KellyJean]

Yup, what my vet said was that I should start to give him the heartworm meds before the mosquitoes come out, and continue until they all die. I was told that there was no need to give them when the mosquitoes aren't out, because the worms (eggs/larvea/whatever) are transmitted via mosquitoe.

I'm going to give my dog the meds, but in my area, they say that they don't see much of it currently. Now, just 30 miles away or so from my farm (in Pittsville, WI) they have a much higher incidence rate, but around me it's fairly low.

But, I'd rather not have to sweat it, so Sam gets the meds, and the other dogs go without. What would I do without you guys???

Kelly