# Anyone use straight liquid IvoMec for HW preventative?



## LostLakeLua (Sep 6, 2009)

If you haven't heard of this method it's basically buying a bottle of liquid Ivermectin; the main ingredient that prevents heartworms in most heartworm meds; and dosing them once monthly. 

For such tiny dogs; I'm hesitant to use anything that's made to go 'up to 25lbs' especially since mine are barely 5lbs. Even some of the other brands that have an XS size, goes up to 10lbs which is double.... And of course the pills are all manufactured so that the meds aren't evenly distributed throughout the tablet or chewable; so they advise against splitting them because you run the risk of one pet getting more than the other.

I've read about people successfully finding the right dosage of IvoMec (as a reminder this doesn't contain pyrantel.. its just Ivermectin alone..) and giving that to their dog once a month. Doing so allows for a much more accurate dosing and only giving your dog what it needs without overdosing (kind of like how so many of us split up the Frontline so that our dogs only get what they need and not any more). BUT, it says incorrectly dosing them can be very harmful. I've read a lot of contrasting stuff saying that it's either really really dangerous or that the safety 'window' is really high. 

Is anyone here familiar with this method? If so how much do you give your dog?? The stuff that you can buy easily is a 1% injectable for cattle and swine; but in dogs would be given orally. 

Here's one article that explains the dosage when diluted: 
DogAware.com Health: Ivomec Dosage Instructions for Heartworm Prevention

>>>>>
Directions for making 30:1 dilution of 1% solution
Mix 30 parts propylene glycol to 1 part ivermectin 1% solution. Shake well before using to mix the ivermectin evenly. Refrigerate any unused portion.

Dosage using Ivermectin 1% solution at 30:1 dilution for dogs weighing 6 pounds or more:

* < 6 pounds: 1 drop (0.05 cc)
* 6 to 12 pounds: 0.1 cc
* 13 to 24 pounds: 0.2 cc
* 25 to 36 pounds: 0.3 cc
* 37 to 48 pounds: 0.4 cc
* 49 to 60 pounds: 0.5 cc
* 62 to 72 pounds: 0.6 cc
* 73 to 84 pounds: 0.7 cc
* 85 to 97 pounds: 0.8 cc
* 98 to 109 pounds: 0.9 cc
* 110 to 121 pounds: 1 cc

To make a small amount of the mixture, you will need a 1 cc syringe that measures accurately to the tenth of a cc. Draw up 0.1 cc of Ivermectin solution in a 1 cc syringe, and mix well with 3 cc of propylene glycol, giving you 3 ccs at a dilution ratio of 30:1. This is enough to treat 300 pounds of dogs using the 1% solution.

To make larger amounts of the mixture, use a 1 fluid ounce dropper bottle, which is 30 ml. Put 1 ml of ivermectin solution in a 1 fluid ounce dropper bottle, then fill with propylene glycol. This will be enough to treat 3,000 pounds of dogs (e.g., 300 10-lb dogs or 150 20-lb dogs) using the 1% solution.

1 cc of ivermectin 1% diluted 30:1 contains 333 mcg; 0.1 cc = 33 mcg ivermectin.
The exact dosage is 0.0824 cc (approximately 0.1 cc) per 10 pounds of body weight.>>>>

Any thoughts?


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

I would caution anyone thinking of doing this to please please please reconsider. Several years ago an acquaintance lost almost her whole kennel of show french bulldogs when she used this cost saving measure. I believe she lost 8 perfectly healthy champion dogs. Those dogs weighed between 18-25 pounds. 

The dosage has to be PERFECT. The dilution has to be PERFECT. There is NO room for error when you are giving a cattle wormer that is calculated for animals weighing 700 pounds and up (which is what the ivomec is when you buy it at the farm store, it is NOT labeled for use in dogs).

In a 5 pound dog, I don't think the risk would be worth it. If I had 100 pound dogs, I might consider it, but not in our tiny dogs. One drop too many and you could lose your pet. It's just not worth the risk.

If anyone is considering this method - please talk to your vet!


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## LostLakeLua (Sep 6, 2009)

Well I'm not worried so much about cost; I'm worried about the fact that even in the smallest dose of pre-made heartworm preventative, the smallest is "up to 10lbs" with Interceptor and the like; and the Heartgard & generics are 0-25lbs. And, you're not supposed to split the dose because the meds aren't evenly distributed. Sure the companies "assure" you that it's perfectly safe; but frankly it's a drug company anyway which makes me skeptical in itself; and the fact that some vets still think Iams and Pedigree are great foods make me iffy of their judgement.

I don't want my dog to get ANY more of heartworm preventative than she needs.... if I can't split the dose how do I do it?


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Well, you have 4 dogs that weigh approximately 5 pounds each so that is 20 pounds of dog. I would take a regular heartguard plus (dosage up to 25 pounds) and I would disintegrate it into a powder. Then I would carefully distribute it into 4 doses and give it that way. It would help if you had a scale that would weigh tiny amounts, such as a gram scale. Then you could be sure that you had it distributed evenly into 4 doses. By pulverizing the entire dosage, you could be sure that it was distributed evenly between the 4 dogs. If you had a 7 pound dog in the mix and a 4 pound dog, you could distribute according to exact weight, but I don't think you would have to be 'exact' using this method.

You would have to be creative to get them to take their dosage once it is disintegrated. Perhaps mix it with a teaspoon of canned food, etc. 

That's my opinion. I don't trust the cattle insecticides to use on our tiny dogs. I see where you are coming from the pharmaceutical companies as well. We have to do what we think creates the most benefit with the least amount of risk. That may be different for each person. But I personally would never use the concentrated ivomec since I personally know of multiple deaths associated with its use. Your mileage may differ.


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## LostLakeLua (Sep 6, 2009)

Can I just move into your basement or something so you can answer all the questions I ever think of? Lmao. I think the disintigrate method sounds good. The only thing I can think of is that HG is so chewy I'm not sure how easily I could turn it into powder. With Iverhart which is a tablet I'm sure that would be easy, except that it's so small. 
Hmmm... this sounds odd but I do have a pill grinder. I'll bet I could use that on a heartgard chew!!


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## omguthrie (Oct 13, 2009)

I know we have a compounding pharmacy here in town (most places have at least one around) that can do custom compounded ivermectin tablets or liquid and can also flavor it. We get a bunch of 5 lb capsules made and a bunch of 20 lb capsules made for border collie rescue. That ensures that we can dose pretty much any weight our dogs come in. It's very very cheap to have it done that way for us, but we are ordering 100s of capsules at a time. I'm not sure how much it would cost to do it for just a couple of dogs but if you are worried about excess meds it is an option.


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