@ Lora J
Whatever method you decide to use for a heartworm/flea/tick/Lyme preventives, I just wanted to stress the importance of testing.
“Using a single test, your veterinarian can check for any combination of the following diseases, including all of them: heartworm disease, Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis”.
“SNAP” testing refers to a group of quick, convenient, blood tests that can be performed at your veterinarian’s office. There are various SNAP tests for different purposes:
SNAP Heartworm RT Test—screens for heartworm infection
SNAP 3Dx Test—simultaneously screens for heartworm disease, Lyme disease, and ehrlichiosis
SNAP 4Dx Test—simultaneously screens for heartworm disease, Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis.
above 2 paragraphs are excerpts from: http://www.vetstreet.com/care/heartworm-disease-lyme-disease-ehrlichiosis-anaplasmosis-snap-testing-in-dogs
I once had 3 dogs test negative for Lyme in April, when one showed symptoms in September I had them retested. All 3 were positive for Lyme.
It is important when this happens to start the antibiotic protocol ASAP
Good luck.
@ Lora J
Whatever method you decide to use for a heartworm/flea/tick/Lyme preventives, I just wanted to stress the importance of testing.
“Using a single test, your veterinarian can check for any combination of the following diseases, including all of them: heartworm disease, Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis”.
“SNAP” testing refers to a group of quick, convenient, blood tests that can be performed at your veterinarian’s office. There are various SNAP tests for different purposes:
SNAP Heartworm RT Test—screens for heartworm infection
SNAP 3Dx Test—simultaneously screens for heartworm disease, Lyme disease, and ehrlichiosis
SNAP 4Dx Test—simultaneously screens for heartworm disease, Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis.
above 2 paragraphs are excerpts from: http://www.vetstreet.com/care/heartworm-disease-lyme-disease-ehrlichiosis-anaplasmosis-snap-testing-in-dogs
I once had 3 dogs test negative for Lyme in April, when one showed symptoms in September I had them retested. All 3 were positive for Lyme.
It is important when this happens to start the antibiotic protocol ASAP
Good luck.
Hi Amanda-
Asking on here you are going to get a wide range of opinions that will only make your choice more difficult. Once you get the puppy and find a vet that you trust, I would recommend asking them for advice on flea and tick prevention. Especially if you live somewhere that is heavily populated with fleas, ticks, mosquitos etc. They will know the area best and the statistics on how often people are getting fleas and dogs are coming up heartworm positive or positive for lyme from ticks.
Why not have him tested? I never tested my shelties but only used Interceptor for heartworm and onky natural stuff for fleas/ticks.
Hello all, I have 2 Aussies, one is MDR1 mutant/normal, and one is untested. One was a rescue dog and was on Sentinel aready, and doing fine with it, so I plan on keeping her on it. My other has been on Heart Gard plus and parastar, and doing fine with that. But I want to get away from the parastar topical because I feel like our family is getting the chemical residue on us, even days after application his shoulder fur is stiff from it. What do you all do for your MDR1 dogs, and what experiences have you had with meds? I would like to put him on Sentinel but I am worried about side effects. From what I have read on the Washington State Univ site, Sentienel should be safe for him (note that they recommend against Trifexis). I am just a nervous nelly and I want to get a lot of input before I change his meds from a pill+ topical to a combo product. Thank you!
You can get Ivermectin compounded for your dogs by weight at any good compounding pharmacy that does pet meds. And it’s 100% effective if you only give it every six weeks (not four). That way your dogs aren’t getting de-wormed for every conceivable kind of parasite — just heartworm. As long as they aren’t boarded, don’t drink puddle water, or eat dog poop or road kill on the street, all you really need is heartworm protection. I’ve been having Ivermectin capsules made for my dogs for several years now. For two or three days prior to Ivermectin and two or three days after, I also give them liver support drops — in my case Senior Support by Animals Essentials, which I get from my local holistic vet (but it’s available from Amazon). Ten drops added to food twice a day. This helps the Ivermectin pass through the liver. My dogs still get a tiny bit lethargic, I think, but this whole system is gentler than using Heartguard Plus or any of those other powerful deworming meds.
I have three Yorkies and likewise one of them has an issue when I give the Heartworm med. I have ordered meds for my dogs for numerous years anad never had a problem with 1-800-PetMeds online. My dogs have been on Interceptor before but I think there was an issue with getting it at one time and I swithched to Sentinel. He still seems to have a problem with this one so my Vet told me to cut in half and give half then give the other half 72 hours later. So far that seems to work for him.
My yorkie has been on Heartgard plus but every month when I give it to him it makes him sick. He is a rescue and when I got him he had heartworms. We also live in South. I have been thinking about switching him to interceptor. My vet does not sell this. Where is a safe place to order it and what do you think about switching?
hi pit luv, Jeff,
this is a great question and not many people ask!! this is what I was told by a bio chemist. Give a full dose of heartworm med starting in March.. wait 3 months and give it again, wait 3 more months and give it a 3rd time and after the hard frost wait until March again. As for the stuff for ticks and fleas.. My experience is don’t use it. I am a professional trainer.. I saw my friend put it on his puppy and the dog got seizures. It is fairly uncommon I think but I think dogs get other sicknesses from this stuff it goes right into their nervous system. If it tells us not to touch it WHY would you give it to your dog?? It took this guy 2 years to listen to me and he stopped it and slowly his dog got much better. I would use something natural and put a lot of it on I make this up 1 cup water
2 Cups white vinegar
2 Teaspoons of a vegetable oil
2 Teaspoons, lemon or citrus oil or peppermint oil
mix it all together and use as a spray
It works well I know that the peppermint oil keeps mice absolutely out of my barn they hate it.
I use a generic oral Ivermectin pill for heartworm and Bravecto oral for flea/tick. Not a single issue with either even for my very sensitive pitbull who we just found out after a recent minor surgery is predisposed to seizures.
I live in the South and we don’t get real winters so it would simply be irresponsible for me not to use a tougher preventative. I’ve tried the “all natural” route with zero success.
I do heartworm preventive but we do it every 45 days from March/April til October/November.
For fleas & ticks, I use Bug Off Garlic daily and spray with Wondercide. We also Wondercide the lawn.
I’m just curious what the forums general stance is on oral flea/tick and heartworm medication. I’m speaking of the ones that are given on a monthly basis. I’ve been giving them to my dogs for about a year now but after doing some research and looking at the ingredients I am hesitant to continue. My main concern is that I do a lot of backpacking and outdoors stuff with my dogs and would be devastated if they got heartworm or a disease from a tick while on a trip. I always do a good job inspecting them for ticks but it’s definitely not fail proof. I also live in the mountains where mosquitos are prevalent especially in the upcoming months. Thanks.
Thanks for the sites, Bobby Dog!
re: pumpkin seeds-happen to have a source for this information? there are a multiple parasites that our pets get infected with so I wonder how the pumpkin seeds work and for which parasites they target. Hopefully the source will include a dosing strategy that is paired to the life cycle of the worm(s) (guessing gastrointestinal parasites instead of mites, fleas, ticks, heartworms and in turn the swath of blood-borne bugs from the fleas and ticks). Thanks!
Longest lived about 14 yrs – a foundling skin and bones pit bull/Lab mix street dog that i nourished back to health. I fed her purina dog chow her entire life with me (about 11 yrs) She had no health issues her entire life, aside from Cataracts and arthritis near the end. She was a very beautiful athletic healthy dog. Vaccinated her every 1-2 yrs and exercised her hard (swimming and fetch) regularly/almost daily
Heartworm prevention and frontline given about 5-8 times a year.
Shortest lived 5 yrs – pancreatitis, and another 9 yrs – liver failure, don’t know why.
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This reply was modified 8 years, 10 months ago by
Z B.
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This reply was modified 8 years, 10 months ago by Z B.
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This reply was modified 8 years, 10 months ago by Z B.
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This reply was modified 8 years, 10 months ago by Z B.
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This reply was modified 8 years, 10 months ago by Z B.
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This reply was modified 8 years, 10 months ago by Z B.
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This reply was modified 8 years, 10 months ago by Z B.
Hi Jenni, I am wondering if you have been using heartworm/flea/tick/mosquito treatment on your dog this summer. I used Triflexis on my very healthy 2 year old boxer and she started scratching incessantly. I did not realize that was the cause until the 3rd applicatin (so three stinking months) later. Vet said did not think was the treatment causing it but give her 2 benadryl twice a day to calm her. Upended use there would probably affecthe kidney/liver. She developed a mushroom looking lump in her ear in a canal right against her head and I thought we were done. Boxers have such a history with growths and cancers. I did my research and used essential oil tea tree oil diffused with coconut oil. Two weeks later there is no sign of the bump, Vet cannot believe it. Her histomine count is down so no more itching. Don’t go crazy or anything, but I am a believer now in essential oils. I use foot massages to infuse frankinse diluted with coconut oil because of the breeds cancer history. Study up and good luck!
Did you call other veterinary clinics in your area to see if they have the med, how about the emergency place, they should be fully stocked?
Ask your vet about veterinary pharmacies, some are okay. Your vet can fax them a prescription, the vet may ask you to sign a waiver.
I have used that California Pet Pharmacy in the past without problems for heartworm pills.
https://www.avma.org/public/PetCare/Pages/online-pharmacies.aspx
PS: Is she due for an annual exam? Maybe the vet wants to re-evaluate the dog first, regarding the need and dosage of the med before refilling. Check labs, etc.
All pharmaceutical drugs have serious side-effects. Never be afraid to do your own research. The anonymous person trying to fear monger everyone is either a Veterinarian or Big Pharma Rep concerned that they are going to lose CUSTOMERS if people educate themselves on this very safe alternative treatment that works!
Never give in to fear mongering. Listen to your own intuition and do your own research.
Thank you to everyone who shared their stories, of curing their dog’s heartworm, without toxic drugs.
@Jenn H,
I agree with the above post. In my experience the natural stuff does not work. The fact that some animals test heartworm positive even with preventatives (vet prescribed) and annual blood testing, just shows you how serious this thing is.
An acquaintance of mine just went through this with a puppy he adopted from a shelter down South, the pup initially tested negative. Heartworm took a few months to show up (he was on heartworm preventive), the pup required aggressive treatment, so far he is doing well.
The vet thinks the dog was positive when he arrived in our area, just took a while to show up.
Hi Jenn H,
I wanted to comment on this statement you made for others who read it.
“For heartworm I have their fecal tested every 4 months. Before the parasites reach the worm stage. This way if something shows up they can take the preventatives at that point, but not have to have the full blown heartworm treatment.”
I’m assuming that it is a simple “typo” when you said you have your dog’s feces tested every 4 months for heartworm, but for clarification I wanted to correct that error as it is blood that is tested not feces.
The current antigen heartworm tests detect the presence of a protein from adult female worms. The test does not detect the parasites in the larval form. If the test is positive, with the rare exception of a false positive test result, adult heartworms are present and “full blown” heartworm treatment will be needed.
This seems to be an increasingly scary problem with preventatives.
I have stopped them all together. The puppy has never even had anything.
Instead I have been using holistic preventatives for ticks. That has been awesome for my dogs. For heartworm I have their fecal tested every 4 months. Before the parasites reach the worm stage. This way if something shows up they can take the preventatives at that point, but not have to have the full blown heartworm treatment. (That’s how I understand it anyway.)
My older dogs have enough problems. They always had a very mild reaction to the monthly topicals, but since they have acquired other issues due to Lyme (despite doing everything I was told like vaccines and using Advantix every 28 days), IBD and age-related stuff I am not comfortable with using any of those products anymore. Plus they keep changing them. Dogs that have never had problems suddenly do. I’m just too scared now.
I don’t think I’m saving much money if any at all by not buying the stuff and having the tests, but if they were to get sick I am saving a ton.
The tick repellent isn’t as convenient as a 1x/month thing, but it’s also not difficult.
Next year I will have pet safe mosquito repelling flowers planted and see how that works.
There are alternatives out there. Some work better than other on individual pets, but I haven’t seen any adverse reactions. Not sure if there is any science to back up these methods. This is all anecdotal as far as I know so use as much caution as you would with the more conveniential methods.
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This reply was modified 9 years, 1 month ago by
Jenn H.
My vet recently put my dog on Iverhart Max and she seems to be having a reaction to it. I was wondering where I could find the inactive ingredients in the drug, usually it is on the product label or the FDA website but I can’t seem to find any inactive ingredients for this drug
“I respect everyone’s opinions and wish I had not have jumped in before. I realize the skeptvet is very passionate about helping pets”.
No! The more opinions the better. After losing a dog to hemangiosarcoma I started listening to the homeopathic vets (on-line), but after one of them advised no antibiotics (ever),no pain meds, no aggressive heartworm treatment for a positive dog, no vaccines, even rabies as required by law. I decided against it. As I believe some of their methods are putting pets and people at risk.
Many of the of the horrid conditions such as cancer have a strong genetic component. Diet and good care help, but can only do so much.
Before you blame the food, take your dog to the vet and rule out medical reasons for loose stools/diarrhea. If it goes on for more than 72 hours in a row.
Annual checkups are essential, check for worms, heartworm/Lyme etc. Bring a feces sample.
The product is a solution especially made for the dog by the lab/pharmacy that the veterinary dermatologist is affiliated with. It is prepared with various ingredients according to exactly what the dog is allergic to. It is different for each dog.
List of dermatologists by area: http://www.acvd.org/tools/locator/locations.asp?distance=10&zip=&city=&state=CA&Submit=Submit
See my post above (7/25 7:18am) for a detailed description of Intra Dermal Skin Testing,
btw: It can be given sublingually now versus sub q (injections).
The initial testing is expensive but the maintenance is not so bad. We only go to the dermatologist once a year. Only go to the regular vet for annual heartworm testing.
Also, talk to your vet about it, but I avoid vaccines for allergy dogs.
As much of a pain it is to deal with fleas I agree. Ticks however are another matter. They cause problems worse than fleas.
I’ve been using a homemade repellant using essential oil and almond oil. Here in the Northeast ticks are everywhere all year.
It’s been surpringly effective. The only drawback is you have to put it on every day. It takes 2 seconds. The hardest part was remembering to do it until it became routine.
I have little bottle of it at home and in the Jeep so if they go swimming I can reapply.
As for heartworm I stopped it completely. Every 4 months I bring a fecal to the vet for testing. Heartworm preventative are nothing more than pesticides that kill the parasites. If they don’t have the parasites why should I feed them pesticides? By testing samples in that interval it catches them at the larva stage. Still young enough to not need the intense heartworm treatment of full grown worms.
Part of heartworm treatment is giving high doses of the monthly preventative. I just can’t feed them poison if they don’t need it.
I think it’s important to note that a lot of the drug companies that make these products have been bought & sold to other drug companies. Sometimes they change formulas.
Another thing to keep in mind is that many pests are evolving to tolerate some pesticides. So companies have to change things to try to keep up with nature.
I’ve just decided to try to repel the pests using natural means and dealing with any that get past it only if necessary. I’m done with making my animals sick trying to keep them from getting sick.
To GSDsForever:
Thanks for sharing this. I have a GSD recovering from Valley Fever. I had always used I Interceptor in the past, but from all I’ve heard they are only making Interceptor Plus or Sentinel, each with an added drug I don’t want or need. Because of hearing g of so many dogs at the rescues coming down with heartworm, I felt I had to start her on it (encouraged by my holistic vet).
I also only give it every 45 days as a vet once recommended. But I never thought to check with a compounding pharmacy so I could just get the milbemycin alone. Thanks for the suggestion.
Yes — to the person who asked about food allergies; chicken or beef (or whatever) flavoring is an issue for a dog with the corresponding food allergy.
To all, in case this helps:
I used to use Interceptor, due to greater comfort with it regarding MDR1 with *some* herding breeds (and a couple others) and individuals. I think it’s really important to test in breeds/mixes with a significant portion affected.
While I currently have a non-MDR1 affected dog and use Ivermectin (only), I have it compounded to exact weight/needs from a reputable compounding pharmacy I trust . . . which lowers the toxicity. “Monthly” pills can also be given every 6 weeks, also to lower toxicity (minimize how many are given); this can be a good idea in hot climates where it needs to be given essentially year round. They will compound meds, including “monthly” heartworm disease preventatives, to specification into any form, with or without flavoring/additives.
Due to food allergies, I have mine placed unflavored in vegicaps (as gelatin contains unspecified animal derived protein, potentially food allergen). It is TINY, and I just toss it in the evening food (stew).
Has Interceptor (not the Plus) come back out onto the market yet??
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This reply was modified 9 years, 4 months ago by
GSDsForever.
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This reply was modified 9 years, 4 months ago by GSDsForever.
I’m a couple hours from you, central NH (if you’ve skied at Gunstock, gone to Bike Week at the Weirs or a concert at the Meadowbrook, that’s where I am).
I have a feeling I’ll have to extend heartworm preventive season….I’m worried we’re going to have a late summer and/or mild winter.
I give the heartworm pill every 5-6 weeks from April-December (frozen ground).
Years ago we didn’t give any of this stuff, but things are different now.
I’m near Boston.
Thanks, the dog I lost from complications of Lyme wasn’t diagnosed soon enough, she developed kidney damage. Now they do routine testing for Lyme when they check for heartworm annually.
More dogs are being diagnosed heartworm positive, one theory is that it is because of all the shelter dogs that are being sent here from down south, sometimes they don’t test positive at first, takes a few months to kick in. In the meantime, the mosquitos that bite heartworm positive dogs then bite your dog infect them. In other words, these dogs are carriers.
So, the heartworm pills help, especially if you give them as often as your vet recommends (depends on the geographical area you are in)
I am in the New England area and I have had to revaluate how often I give preventives.
I lost a dog to complications from Lyme, and imo what I saw her go through was worse than any side effects that potentially could be caused by these medications.
We have a rescue dog that we got in December. We have always given our dogs Heartguard with no problem. However, our vet stop carrying Heartguard. So, we had to use Interceptor Plus. I gave it to Tiger last Wednesday. He hated the smell. So, I had to smear peanut butter all over it. He threw up that afternoon, has been eating grass like a cow for over a week and threw up a few days ago. I will never give this to him again and now I am out over $60. We are already financially stressed, so I of course and not happy. Going back to Heartguard. I read this on another blog.
Pat Kitchen
I have a friend in NJ whose dog has been taking Inceptor heartworm preventative and her dog was just diagnosed with heartworm
Like · Reply · Jan 23, 2016 4:07pm
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This reply was modified 9 years, 4 months ago by
Amanda S.
You have to be extra careful with seniors (age 7 and above) regarding flea/tick control, vaccinations.
Maybe try a topical or a tick collar, minimal vaccinations (if any). If you can, keep them out of woods and tall grass. Bathe frequently, groom and check nightly for ticks, continue heartworm testing/preventive according to how your vet advises for your specific pet.
I would do the heartworm treatment, I just spoke to an acquaintance a few days ago who is going through this with his 2 year old lab mix he adopted from a shelter down south.
It didn’t show up till he had the dog for several months. Things are going well, he says the dog seems tired and is drinking a lot of water but okay otherwise. The dog is about half way through treatment. The vet feels he is out of the woods at this point. I know he had to stay overnight at the animal hospital for a few nights to be monitored.
If it was my dog I would be afraid not to do it, you are lucky the shelter will pay for it.
I would get it done as soon as possible. Sure there are risks, but if you don’t do it she could suffer….
I would be very leery of any slow or so called natural cures.
Some information here: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=heartworm
PS: Unless things have changed, it’s a standard protocol (as you described)
I hope things go smoothly for her. It’s very kind of you to give her a home.
I’ve been reading (through online research sites and here) good things about the Fromm weight loss dog food (Gold, Gold Coast, and Four Star Weight Management) but I haven’t yet tried one of them…I’m leaning toward one of the 2 Gold choices right now. I have a female, spayed German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP), about 9 years old who is tremendously overweight. I volunteer for the Illinois Shorthair Rescues and she came to us as a foster dog from a kill shelter. She was with us for one day and became ours forever. 🙂 She’s so sweet, but I’m thinking she was likely a puppy mill dog – at the very least a backyard breeder/breeder dog. It’s obvious she has had several litters of pups. She should weigh between 50-60 pounds and definitely not over 70, but she’s over 80 lbs. 🙁 In all fairness, she came to us overweight, with heartworm and multiple other problems, so it’s been difficult to work too much on her weight loss; however, she’s now heartworm free and we’re working diligently to get the weight off. We run her every morning on a nearby farm (as far as she can tolerate – also has hip problems) and have cut back on her food to approx. 2 cups/day and a couple treats in between. We currently feed Exclusive, which works well for our other GSP (she has Addison’s Disease). As a matter of fact, I believe that food really helped to save her life when she was diagnosed years ago. I digress. Sorry. I’m thinking about trying the Fromm for both of them now. Has anybody else tried their products? Would be happy to hear if you have. The weight management products ARE on the list of Editor’s Choice at 4 Stars, so it must be pretty good. Please let me know what you all think. Thanks!
I’ve been reading (through online research sites and hear) good things about the Fromm weight loss dog food (Gold, Gold Coast, and Four Star Weight Management) but I haven’t yet tried one of them…I’m leaning toward one of the 2 Gold choices right now. I have a female, spayed German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP), about 9 years old who is tremendously overweight. I volunteer for the Illinois Shorthair Rescues and she came to us as a foster dog from a kill shelter. She was with us for one day and became ours forever. 🙂 She’s so sweet, but I’m thinking she was likely a puppy mill dog – at the very least a backyard breeder/breeder dog. It’s obvious she has had several litters of pups. She should weigh between 50-60 pounds and definitely not over 70, but she’s over 80 lbs. 🙁 In all fairness, she came to us overweight, with heartworm and multiple other problems, so it’s been difficult to work too much on her weight loss; however, she’s now heartworm free and we’re working diligently to get the weight off. We run her every morning on a nearby farm (as far as she can tolerate – also has hip problems) and have cut back on her food to approx. 2 cups/day and a couple treats in between. We currently feed Exclusive, which works well for our other GSP (she has Addison’s Disease). As a matter of fact, I believe that food really helped to save her life when she was diagnosed years ago. I digress. Sorry. I’m thinking about trying the Fromm for both of them now. Has anybody else tried their products? Would be happy to hear if you have. The weight management products ARE on the list of Editor’s Choice at 4 Stars, so it must be pretty good. Please let me know what you all think. Thanks!
Just talked to an acquaintance this morning at the laundromat. His dog that he adopted from one of those shelters down south is heartworm positive. Didn’t show up till he had the dog for over a year. I am glad he is going with the standard protocol (3 step treatment).
This is nothing to mess with, kill those heartworms. Quick and clean. Get rid of them!
Hi Losul,
I just came across your thread. I went through a very similar process with my pointer.. I read MANY studies and talked to some of the heartworm experts. I had the whole diagnostic panel with x Ray and ultrasound done. I live in a dry, western state but adopted a dog from Texas that popped positive for HW. Based upon everything I learned and against the advice of the university vet ( my own vet was agreeable to the slow kill), I decided to go doxy with advantage multi. My dog had some interesting short term platelet numbers on lab results about 3.5 months into the treatment. I came to the conclusion it was probably worm die off. It resolved itself in about a week. The heartworm business is A BUSINESS! It’s so unfortunate, because I think that dogs with low worm burdens and their owners could be saved some pain and discomfort with this slow kill method. I plan on testing my girl at 7 months and agin at a year if she’s still positive.
My girl Liberty just turned one in June and has a typical lab appetite 95% of the time. Since January she has aan episode of vomiting and diarrhea for 1-2 days at the beginning of the month. The diarrhea last several days as well. We do the bland diet then back to her regular food and she is fine until the beginning of the next month. We have been using cerenia and Dylan to get through these episodes. We have seen several vets and x rays have been done 2 x to rule out obstructions. I was convinced it was related to heartworm meds so I did not give .them on Friday when they were due and yesterday she vimitted huge quantities. Vet is thinking food sensitivity and wanted me to do a food trial with science. diet ZD. I absolutely cringed when I read the ingredient list. I am baffled by these episodes,, she is fine the rest of the month, no skin issues and .only 1 ear infection and that was after swimming. I need help figuring this out and also finding am allternative to the ZD
I get HW meds through Drs. Foster & Smith pharmacy. I just get the RX from my vet and send it in. I wouldn’t trust just any online pharmacy but feel comfortable with them. Have used them for several pet meds over the years including heart disease meds, and thyroid meds. Better prices than the vet, plus he doesn’t carry the meds I use for heartworm now.
My dog definitely did better when I removed cleaning chemicals from the house and stopped treating the yard. I also stopped using heartworm worm prevention with multiple things in it. He could handle Ivomectin, but not the other wormers and flea preventatives that they add to heartworm prevention.
I personally would not buy heartworm preventives at Walmart or the like. I’m very careful with my dogs (no over vaccinating, mostly raw fed etc), I buy most of my stuff online (would love to buy local but just too costly) but heartworm meds are something I will always buy at the vets.
@ Caryl R
Consider the Preventic/Amitraz collar, I get them through Chewy.com. I don’t believe they last 3 months, I change them every 1 month during the summer.
I also use Advantix II topical and a heartworm preventive but skip when the ground is frozen.
Lyme disease is ugly and the natural stuff doesn’t work. Talk to your vet as to how to proceed.
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This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by
anonymously.
Maybe it works for some but my 11 month old Australian Shepard had a seizure when I gave her Nexgard a couple months ago. I do give heartworm preventive for the warm months (not year round) here where I live. No more flea/tick pesticides for my dogs, I just don’t feel that it is worth the risk to their health.
correct. The heartgard warranty is actually a PITA to to deal with (had to see people TRY and get merick to cover them for years when I was a tech, maybe 10% of them actually succeeded) so I have no problem with that. Heartworm is a VERY rare thing in my part of the country, I only do that because of the pyrantel included for de-worming tactics. Honestly, My dogs have gone to ACTUAL vets maybe 2-3 times over the last 10 years TOTAL. Otherwise they go to the low cost vaccine clinics for spaying/neutering and their every 3 year vaccinations (well, besides the puppy vacs) or else do it myself from the feed store (when I was close to one). I was raised country and even though I make sure my dogs get their meds and get their yearly fecal and blood tests done it’s almost NEVER by a vet who wants to charge $70 for an exam plus 50% more for the tests than what I can get at the low cost clinic down the road who has been great to us. Hell, even my vet doesn’t care. we took him in for his initial “brand new puppy” exam and our vet recommended that we use them instead of him for shots and heartworm stuff. His exact words were that since they don’t really make more than a few bucks off of the injections and almost ZERO money of of heartworm meds it was cheaper to go that route and just bring them in when they get sick and need a real vet’s care.
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This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by
Mike E.
Sounds like the vaccination clinics offered at Petco, they do the heartworm test and sell you the pills, however, you do not pay for an examination by a veterinarian, even though the blood draw may be taken by a vet.
They have a loophole regarding liability if anything goes wrong.
Best of luck.
yeahhhhh, sorry but most vets know JACK about the meds they sell or the foods they prescribe. worked as a tech for years and can tell you this with 100% certainty (hell, we talk about it all the time with the crap they try and upsell with food like Science Diet *shudder). Heartgard is a name brand for a dog chew with a certain mcg dose of ivermectin and a certain dose of pyrantel injected inside. That’s like saying ONLY buy advil if your dr. says he likes that one vs. Costco Ibuprofen. if a medication has the EXACT amounts of ivermectin and pyrantel then it will work fine. You can literally measure the mcg’s and mg’s of Iver and Pyrantel and do as good as heartworm with 100% certainty. Iverheart has been scientifically proven to be the equivalent as Heartgard, and the same with Tri-heart…. I hadn’t heard of Pet trust plus so I asked about it. I bought my Tri-heart from Costco for years because when asked, my vet said verbatim “it’s the same thing as heartgard, just a generic, most ivermectin based pills virtually identical”, and told me to buy wherever I found them the cheapest.
again, this dialog is about the Pet Trust plus brand and it’s efficacy, not anything else. hell, if I had quick access to a local feed store that I didn’t have to drive 40 minutes away from, I’d just pick up the ivermectin myself along with some Pyrantel and do the dosing as I did growing up with our other dogs (country boy through and through)
(even though it’s kind of moot, I’m heading to the vet at our local low cost vaccine/spay/neuter clinic where he will get his normally yearly test and exam + the Tri-heart, which again is highly regarded as one of the best Iver/Pyr generics out there. My costco recently stopped selling Tri-heart a year back so I had to get Heartgard for a bloated name brand price for last year and wasn’t able to find another place that sold the Tri-heart locally. I didn’t want to buy online but instead from a licensed pharmacy or vet clinic and I was having a heart time locating one that sold Tri-heart or iverheart plus so I was asking about Pet Trust Plus which can be bought from Walmart/Sam’s club pharmacies)
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This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by Mike E.
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This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by Mike E.
I wasn’t asking about online pharmacies out of the country. I was asking about the PetTrust plus which is sold via sams club and walmart. your average heart worm med is nothing but Ivermectin and Pyrantel mixed (something I could do myself if I wanted) so I was just asking if the generic Pet trust + had a good rep like Iverheart and Tri-heart did. However, I found out one of the vaccine and neuter/spay clinics near my place uses Tri-heart as the one they sell and it’s just about as cheap as the Pet trust plus, and the Tri-heart has a great track record so I’ll be going today to get his heartworm test + years supply of pills
There are some on-line pharmacies out of the country that may let you purchase heartworm meds without a prescription (laws differ). They not only charge a lot, but it is not recommended to by on-line meds as there is a lot of counterfeit stuff out there, you can’t be sure how it has been stored, expiration dates etc,
If anything goes wrong because of the med, the company will have no liability because you did not purchase it from a veterinarian.
The annual Heartworm Disease/Lyme Disease/Ehrlichiosis/Anaplasmosis test is important, I would not recommend skipping it.
per the search engine here:
/forums/search/heartworm+meds/
PS: I would listen to what your veterinarian recommends.
I have a question. I’ve used heartgard for my pups for the last few years and have been reading up on Iverhart, Tri-heart plus etc and they all seem to get great reviews but I noticed that Walmart came out with PetTrust + 4 years back as their generic and wondered if anyone had any experience with it? I tried my best to find Iverheart or Tri-heart+ in town but no one carries ANYTHING but interceptor or Heartgard…well except for walmart’s PetTrust +…. has this one been broken down and seen whether it’s viable?? I’ve got two dogs instead of one dog and the heartgard seems like such an insane ripoff considering it’s nothing but ivermectin and pyrantel…. if the pettrust+ is crap or what not I can get the iverhart max or Tri-heart+ from online, but I just wanted to get local if I could.
any advice?
