# DNM: Protecting Your Dog From Heartworm



## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

Protecting Your Dog From Heartworm | Dogs Naturally Magazine

Heartworm is a pretty hot topic when it comes to dogs. While many pet owners are ready to jump on the whole food and no/fewer vaccinations bandwagon, they quickly put on the brakes when it comes to packing it in on the heartworm meds. And why wouldn’t they – nobody wants their dog to die of a preventable disease.

But if we’re talking about what’s preventable, let’s talk hard facts.

Before I begin, I’d like to share a comment that was left by a vet on our 5 Steps To Prevent Cancer post:

“As a veterinarian, I can tell you that you are absolutely incorrect in your statement that “healthy dogs aren’t good hosts for parasites.” Healthy dogs are GREAT hosts for many parasites including fleas, ticks, and heartworms. I would like to see a scientific journal backing your claim that homeopathic vets have seen “great success” in treating heartworms naturally. Do you have any sort of medical training? Are you a veterinarian? Do you have an advanced science degree? If not, I don’t think that you should be presenting highly misleading (and incorrect) information regarding something in which you have no training. The fact of the matter is that parasiticides DO often have toxic chemicals in them, but the safety margin is so high that only a small percentage of pets get ill. For me, I always balance risk vs. benefit. For example, although heartworm is found in all 50 states, it is MUCH more prevalent in the south. I would absolutely recommend that all healthy dogs in this area take heartworm prevention, because the chance of catching this deadly disease (and it is deadly) is extremely high.”

Well, I do actually have an advanced degree in physiology, so thanks for that! No, I’m not a vet, but forgive me because I’m going to share my two cents worth anyway – because somebody without any ties to people who are making money off heartworm medications has to stand up and tell the truth – and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

What Are You Protecting Your Dog From?
Here’s my favorite question for dog owners: if you’re giving your dog monthly heartworm preventives, what are you protecting him from? Well, heartworm, right?

But I would like for somebody to answer this question that I seem to be the only one asking:

Why is the risk of heartworm disease unacceptable while the risk of death and illness from heartworm preventives is widely accepted?

Read that question again. Now tell me in the comments section why you think that is.

Here’s my thoughts: it’s because the drug manufacturers have told us those side effects and adverse events OK. They’ve also scared us into thinking that heartworm, especially in the southern states, is a larger problem than it is. So we risk the adverse events in exchange for the protection given by heartworm meds. Because unprotected dogs get heartworm, right?

Well, not exactly.

What About The Wild Dogs?
Now, the vet who left her comment, like most conventional vets, has urged everybody in the southern states to use heartworm preventives because the risk is “extremely high.” If that were true, wouldn’t the wild dog populations be decimated? Because heartworm really seems to like dogs as a host, those wolves and coyotes must be really hard hit, right?

Well here’s something that’s interesting. Researchers have looked at the effect that heartworm has had on the wolf and wild dog populations. If we really want to know the real risk of heartworm disease, we should look at those animals who are exposed to mosquitoes 24/7 without any protection whatsoever.

Let’s first look at a study examining wolves in Wisconsin. They captured adult wolves and took some blood to see what diseases they were exposed to. From 19991 to 1996, only 2% of those captured wolves were found to have any trace of heartworm.

That’s a pretty small percentage.

Well, I guess you could argue that’s a northern state, where heartworm is less rampant. I’ll give you that, but suffice it to say that it might not be all that great an idea for people living in those areas to expose their dog to the risk of heartworm meds for such a slight chance of getting some heartworms.

Notice I said some heartworms, not heartworm infestation. There’s a difference but we’ll get to that later.

Now, some vets may argue that the risk of adverse events from heartworm “preventives” is pretty low – but there are already 700 dogs reported dead this year alone from just one product; Trifexis. Thousands of other dogs suffer from neurological complaints, cancer, hypothyroidism, blindness, skin disease and more from the use of heartworm products. And that’s because…

These Drugs Are Meant To Kill Things
Have you ever opened the safety data sheet from these seemingly harmless products? Open it up and here’s what you’ll find:

“In case of ingestion by humans, clients should be advised to contact a physician immediately. Physicians may contact a Poison Control Center for advice concerning cases of ingestion by humans.”

So wait a minute – it’s OK for a ten pound dog to take this, but if a 100 to 200 pound human takes it, we should call the Poison Control Center immediately?

See, this is where clever marketing and fear comes into play. You have this substance that, if ingested, is considered a poison and warrants a doctor’s appointment – immediately. But the manufacturers of this product scare the heck out of us – and our vets – with the threat of heartworm and somehow make us think that it’s a good idea to give our pets these drugs because the risk is worth the benefit.

But here’s the question we have to ask if we’re going to fairly evaluate whether we should use these poisonous products on our pets:

How Deadly Is Heartworm?
Now I know all you rescue people in the south are crying foul at the moment – I’ll get to you soon because I know you’re concerned about all those rescue dogs who are infected with heartworm.

So on one hand, we seem to have 700 dogs dead this year from Trifexis alone. So what is the risk for those dogs who get heartworm? From the FDA website:

“Heartworms can kill a dog. More likely, though, heartworms will make dogs extremely sick. Dogs infected with heartworm can be successfully treated; however, such treatment may be inconvenient and emotionally stressful for the owner.”

So your dog, even if he’s carrying a heavy heartworm load, is unlikely to die. The treatment (at least the conventional treatment – for natural treatment options refer to the May 2013 issue of Dogs Naturally Magazine), is inconvenient and emotionally stressful for the owner. OK, got it. For me, that’s not a good enough reason to feed MY dogs that poison.

And the good news is that I don’t have to. Because my dogs have something in common with those wolves from the study: they aren’t taking heartworm preventives and they’re not getting heartworm.

But the conventional vets don’t understand this concept. They can see how this can happen. This is what they say:

“I can tell you that you are absolutely incorrect in your statement that “healthy dogs aren’t good hosts for parasites.” Healthy dogs are GREAT hosts for many parasites including fleas, ticks, and heart worms.”

Well, the nice vets at the Heartworm Society might disagree with you there. This might interest you:

“Single sex heartworm infections, host immune responses affecting the presence of circulating microfilariae and the administration of heartworm preventives can be factors which produce occult infections in dogs.”

An occult heartworm infection means that there is an infection of some sort but the microfilaremia, or the heartworm offspring, aren’t found circulating around in the blood. So if all of the heartworms are of the same sex, or if the dog is taking preventives, then those little guys can’t reproduce and cause much of an issue.

While the vets and researchers may call this an occult infection, I might be inclined to call it a functioning immune system. Yes, that’s a novel concept for modern medicine.

Look at that quote again. If you go to the Heartworm Society, it’s easy to miss for all the talk about costly heartworm drugs. But there it is, nonetheless, shoved into a little corner and never mentioned again: Host immune responses affect the presence of circulating microfilariae.

In a nutshell, this means that dogs with functional immune systems aren’t good hosts for heartworms and other parasites. But the sad part is that few dogs these days have a strong immune system.


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

Canaries In A Coal Mine
Do you know what a canary in a coal mine is? Early coal mines didn’t have anything in the way of ventilation systems, so legend has it that miners would bring a caged canary into new coal seams. Canaries are especially sensitive to methane and carbon monoxide, which made them ideal for detecting any dangerous gas build-ups. As long as the bird kept singing, the miners knew their air supply was safe. A dead canary signaled an immediate evacuation. The phrase “living like a canary in a coal mine” often refers to serving as a warning to others.

Our dogs are canaries in a coal mine – but we don’t see it. We keep filling them with toxic chemicals like heartworm meds and, as long as they keep singing, we think they’re fine. But they’re not – something insidious is happening inside, while the toxins build up and, over either a short or long term, eventually kill or harm our dogs.

And the evidence has been right under our nose all along – you see, it’s the constant exposure to those heartworm drugs – the ones that should send humans to their doctors immediately – that makes dogs get heartworm!

The Heartworm Society overlooks this fact, as do conventional vets, because they don’t understand what a healthy immune system – and hence a healthy dog – look like. As long as dogs are chronically exposed to heartworm poisons, flea and tick meds, processed foods, repeated vaccinations and drugs, they simply aren’t healthy – the immune system can’t possible keep up to that chemical onslaught.

So while the dog’s immune system is busy fighting off his last visit to the vet where he got flea and tick powder, vaccines, maybe some antibiotics, and even some nice, processed veterinary food, the microfilariae are free to take over because the defences are taxed to the limit.

Is this just speculation? Maybe. But for those folks in the south, I’ve got something saved up that might give more credence to my thoughts.

What About The Southern States?
OK, here we are: the dreaded southern states! You probably noticed that the wolf study I mentioned was done in Wisconsin where the threat of heartworm is obviously lower than in the south. So what about the wolves who are living in the southern climate?

The Red Wolf was decimated and nearly extinct in 1980 but is being reintroduced throughout southeastern Texas, Florida and North Carolina – the states that are heartworm hotbeds.

The population has grown to 100 animals and they’re keeping very close tabs on them. Here’s something that’s interesting: most of the wolves are testing positive for heartworm – but the infestation hasn’t been shown to be a major source of mortality. (view the study here)

Now why do up to 45% of “unprotected” dogs living in the southern states suffer from heartworm while the wolves may have a couple of heartworms swimming around but rarely suffer from a life threatening infestation?

Why are our companion dogs so readily infected with heartworm?

Here’s an important thought from the late Dr Glen Dupree, a popular veterinary homeopath who resided in Louisiana and never treated or tested his dogs for heartworm:

“I operate under the assumption that all of my dogs have heartworms. But there’s a very big difference between having heartworms and heartworm disease.”

And that difference is a healthy immune system.

The constant flow of toxic chemicals gets in the way of good health. Common sense would tell you that it’s ridiculous to expose your dog to vaccines, neurotoxins, carcinogens and think that you’ve made him healthy.

How did giving poisonous products to healthy dogs to make them healthy become a viable treatment option? Where did it go so wrong?

I ask myself this question and when people say “I’ve put my dog on heartworm preventives,” I have to ask, “what exactly have you prevented?” And more importantly, “what is the cost?”

Why are we exposing 100% of our dogs to this poison when the reality of healthy dogs actually getting a heartworm infestation is about the same as those wolves who aren’t exposed to the same constant chemical onslaught?

We don’t know what a healthy dog is any longer. They are few and far between. But I assure you, they exist and they are living and thriving in the southern states without heartworm preventives.

So to answer the final question from that vet who challenged my thoughts: am I a vet? No, I’m not a vet. I’m just holding them accountable for the demise of healthy dogs.


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

This is very controversial to me. As some know I am from the Deep South (South Carolina). Two experiences I have had shows proof of both points. 

1. As a child we had a shepherd, Prince, he received his heart worm meds at a vet clinic and died on our back steps an hour later.

2.	As a Vet Tech the one time I almost passed out was we had a dog come in coughing bad. Sounded like a kennel cough. The owners swore the dog was heartworm negative and on preventative. We took the dog to X-Ray and it stressed out and died in my arms. It was a very graphic scene that I do not want to describe but he was beyond heartworm positive and the stress caused his heart to burst. 

I follow what my traditional/holistic vet does for her own dogs. She has Wolfhounds so size is a big difference but I give a heartguard every 6 weeks for only the warm months (like April to October). I am not sure if this is right or wrong and I honestly do not know the right answer as I have seen too much. I can see the toxic aspect but if you have ever had to deal with a heartworm positive dog (we deal with a lot in rescue) it scares you to keep giving the drugs. I am interested in other opinions here.


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## Triciad (Dec 24, 2012)

I agree with the author of the article however I do live in southern ontario so it's not as prevalent here
I use parasite dr about 3 times a year for my dogs and no other heart worm meds
http://m.nativeremedies.com/petalive/products/parasite-dr-natural-heartworm-remedy-cats-dogs.html


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## elaina (Jul 1, 2008)

I've been doing around the same thing as you , Christie. 
i give mine the Heargard chewable kind. i give them one every 45 days and around the same time as you mid to late April until end of Oct.

i used to be a Vet tech years ago, and saw plenty of Dogs that were untreated get hearworm. i saw the eggs right under the microscope. and my parents adopted dog had heartworm . they got him tested when they adopted him. he went thru the treatment. they are not making this up. dogs do get heartworm and i don't want my babies getting it. I've never had a problem with the heartgard.

i really do wish there was a way of getting out of giving the rabies vaccine though... i just hate it when there due for there rabies


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## woodard2009 (Aug 4, 2010)

I can't thank You enough for this very wonderful article!! It has lifted my spirits so high that I now know that following my gut instinct has been soooooo right!! I have given a heartworm pill or two in the past and promised the vet that I would continue monthly, but my gut said NO!! It's better to take the risk with actual heartworms than put poison in our babies which compromise their immune system and make them more susceptible to everything else!! 
This article is telling us that a strong, healthy dog can live with heartworms and the meds are what's killing them. 
It's no wonder most of the chis are suffering from allergies and have low immune systems. Think about all the crap we give them, thinking we're helping them to be healthy. Well, it's better late than never to finally know what I've always known, but didn't trust my instincts. Not anymore! My only regret is that the damage is done. On a more positive note, damage can be reversed in most cases. This article is about dogs, but it can also relate to humans. Think about all the drugs we take down to the vitamins where the ingrediants used to make those vitamins have probably been sprayed with some contaminant to keep bugs off. Think about it--not only are many dogs immune systems compromised today, but look how many people have allergy issues today. There needs to be big changes and it's not going to come from these big corporations making these ga-zillions of dollars. It has to start with us and knowledge is power!!!


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## woodard2009 (Aug 4, 2010)

elaina said:


> I've been doing around the same thing as you , Christie.
> i give mine the Heargard chewable kind. i give them one every 45 days and around the same time as you mid to late April until end of Oct.
> 
> i used to be a Vet tech years ago, and saw plenty of Dogs that were untreated get hearworm. i saw the eggs right under the microscope. and my parents adopted dog had heartworm . they got him tested when they adopted him. he went thru the treatment. they are not making this up. dogs do get heartworm and i don't want my babies getting it. I've never had a problem with the heartgard.
> ...


Don't give it and if your state requires it, get a note from the vet saying your chi has severe allergy problems and can't take the shot. I don't give it to Midgie.


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## TLI (Sep 3, 2008)

I use heartworm meds every 60 days. I used to use it every 45. But if you research the life cycle of the heartworm, you'll see that in no way is monthly "preventative necessary. As for vaccines, I did the puppy series at minimal dose, and one booster. One rabies, and that's it. I don't care what any vet says, the information is there for everyone to read. I'm not going to kill my dogs to pad the pockets of any vet. Rabies is law here, but who checks? I've gone into my vet appointments with printed scientific research. Does it make me very popular there, no, do I care, no. It's not going to phase my vet or staff if any of my pups get sick or have fatal reactions, but it would crush me. Losing any of my pups would be losing a member of my family. I stand my ground, and they abide by my choices. 

Thanks for the article, Christie. Years ago I posted an article on heartworm scam, and urged owners to read the life cycle of the heartworm, then make an informed decision from there. More knowledge becomes available every day about how the so called treatment and over vaccinations are harmful to our pups. But as long as the law continues to allow it, it will never change. You can only find a handful of vets that aren't in it for the money. I'm totally all for proper care, check ups, and so forth, but I refuse to poison my pups to make someone a buck. The more information provided and becomes available, the more informed pet owners, which results in a healthier pet.


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

Y'all have all made very good points. I am more on the ball with giving the hounds their pills every 45 days then the chis as they are outside but I still question myself when I do from what I have seen as a Tech vs what is in the pill. 

I do not heartworm pills work backwards and do not prevent. I totally forgot about the 60 day life cycle T. I might start going 60 days for the hounds. 

Like I said previous I post these articles to make everyone think including myself as we all learn from each other with these discussions.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

This is a subject where the reader needs to weigh the pros and cons and decide for themselves and their situation what are the risks and benefits. Don't blindly follow a vets recommendation. Don't blindly follow the advice to NOT give it. Don't blindly follow the advice on a public forum. Do your research and decide what is best for YOUR individual dog and your situation. Do you live in an area where heartworm is an epidemic? Do you travel with your dog to areas where heartworms are a problem? What is the immune status of your dog? Are they healthy, are they immunocompromised? Are your dogs outside during dawn and dusk when mosquitos are prevalent? You have to look at the big picture and not take anyone's word for it. 

Personally, we live in an area of the country now where heartworms are rare. However, chihuahuas are TINY. While a large dog may be able to handle a significant heartworm load, our dogs hearts are walnut sized. One adult worm could kill them. I err on the side of caution and am conservative, but I do still give heartworm medication every 60 days during the summer when the temperature is above 59 both day and night. For northern Utah, that may only be 2 months a year. 

We also pull a heartworm blood test every spring. If one slipped by, even with our regimen, we would catch it before symptoms occur (lethargy, exercise intolerance, coughing). 

In the meantime, keep your dog at peak condition. Feed the best food you can, minimize stress, limit environmental toxins, exercise, keep the dog lean and not overweight, engage their mind with toys, games, training. Take care of internal and external parasites immediately if they occur.

Then do what is best for you and your particular situation.


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## doginthedesert (Oct 10, 2011)

I am lucky, in Las Vegas even conventional vets don't recommend monthly heartworm meds and no one tests unless you ask for it. We don't have mosquitoes so we just don't have heartworms. I get my dogs tested once a year because we travel, and even that is seen as overkill by some of the vets at the office. I don't know what I would do if we lived in a place with it, I have read so much and I am still on the fence.

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## woodard2009 (Aug 4, 2010)

Brodysmom said:


> This is a subject where the reader needs to weigh the pros and cons and decide for themselves and their situation what are the risks and benefits. Don't blindly follow a vets recommendation. Don't blindly follow the advice to NOT give it. Don't blindly follow the advice on a public forum. Do your research and decide what is best for YOUR individual dog and your situation. Do you live in an area where heartworm is an epidemic? Do you travel with your dog to areas where heartworms are a problem? What is the immune status of your dog? Are they healthy, are they immunocompromised? Are your dogs outside during dawn and dusk when mosquitos are prevalent? You have to look at the big picture and not take anyone's word for it.
> 
> Personally, we live in an area of the country now where heartworms are rare. However, chihuahuas are TINY. While a large dog may be able to handle a significant heartworm load, our dogs hearts are walnut sized. One adult worm could kill them. I err on the side of caution and am conservative, but I do still give heartworm medication every 60 days during the summer when the temperature is above 59 both day and night. For northern Utah, that may only be 2 months a year.
> 
> ...


There you go again Tracy! Lol Just when I was feeling confident about my decision you bring up some very valid points. I do live in a southern state and we do travel even further south and yes my baby's system is compromised. UGH. If you've convinced me of anything, it would be to have her tested once a year for the heartworms, but I'm still not giving the pills. As far as the testing, that scares me because I've lost all trust in vets even having the capability of reading the test results accurately. Ugh.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

woodard2009 said:


> There you go again Tracy! Lol Just when I was feeling confident about my decision you bring up some very valid points. I do live in a southern state and we do travel even further south and yes my baby's system is compromised. UGH. If you've convinced me of anything, it would be to have her tested once a year for the heartworms, but I'm still not giving the pills. As far as the testing, that scares me because I've lost all trust in vets even having the capability of reading the test results accurately. Ugh.


Sorry Lisa! That wasn't my intent! :coolwink: That's what I mean about everyone doing what they feel is right for their own particular situation. I know people who do not give heartworm meds, but they do test both spring and fall. If a positive test shows up, they don't do the BIG KILL that is so scary for dogs and people. They just do the heartworm meds once a month for a year. How does that work? Well it kills the new microlarvae before they can get big enough to do damage. And the one that is there (detected on the test) doesn't reproduce and its life cycle is a year, so it eventually dies and is absorbed.

You can also minimize risk with herbal and/or homeopathic insect repellant sprays that keep mosquitos from landing and feeding and don't go outside during dusk and dawn when mosquitos are active. 

And yeah, you'd have to find a vet that you trusted to administer and read the blood test correctly.


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

There are many things I have changed concerning my care for Lulu and Gidget since joining this forum and learning life-changing valuable info for which I am forever grateful. Diet, vaccination, and healthy alternatives to flea treatment are just a few. But for me, personally, heartworms are something I feel I can't take any chances with. I live in an extremely high area of heartworm infestation--the deep south. Frankly, I have had more mosquitos INSIDE MY HOUSE (I cannot figure out for the life of me how they're getting in unless it was when my mom is moving flowers in and out) this month than in the summer! I know that owning dogs is relatively new to me, but being around them is not. Between friends and family members I have been around them all me life, and these people have not cared for their dogs as I have learned to care for mine. It was WAY more common than not for the dogs I grew up knowing to have heartworms. 

Let me just say the thing I noticed about the article, and you all can agree or disagree. It discussed the toxins of heartworm treatment, but the one example it named was an overall heartworm/flea treatment--Trifexis. I don't consider those a necessity by any means. I used Interceptor on Lulu from the time I got her until they stopped making it. I have been very unhappy that I wasn't able to find a heartworm only (and a few other misc. worms but no flea) treatment, but our area holistic vet told me Heartgard is heartworm only. I intend to treat Lulu with a heartworm only treatment and continue to treat the fleas holistically in my yard, home and on her. I would not say heartworm medication is not overly or unnecessarily toxic without researching it myself, but I think to be accurate about the fact that heartworm only medication is toxic, the statistics of that type of medication should have been used.


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## TLI (Sep 3, 2008)

Huly said:


> Y'all have all made very good points. I am more on the ball with giving the hounds their pills every 45 days then the chis as they are outside but I still question myself when I do from what I have seen as a Tech vs what is in the pill.
> 
> I do not heartworm pills work backwards and do not prevent. I totally forgot about the 60 day life cycle T. I might start going 60 days for the hounds.
> 
> Like I said previous I post these articles to make everyone think including myself as we all learn from each other with these discussions.


I'm confused on the meds working backwards sentence. :lol:

The life cycle is about 6 months before the larvae turn into adult heartworms, but living in Central Texas where our temps stay warm year round, I dose every 60 days. I could probably give the meds 4 times a year and be safe, but heartworms aren't something to take lightly. Sometime you feel like you are danged if you do, danged if you don't. 

It's one of those tough ones to know what the best course of action is. :/


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## RobertWhitney (Dec 16, 2013)

Huly said:


> Protecting Your Dog From Heartworm | Dogs Naturally Magazine
> 
> Heartworm is a pretty hot topic when it comes to dogs. While many pet owners are ready to jump on the whole food and no/fewer vaccinations bandwagon, they quickly put on the brakes when it comes to packing it in on the heartworm meds. And why wouldn’t they – nobody wants their dog to die of a preventable disease.
> 
> ...


Many good points and scary.


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

TLI said:


> I'm confused on the meds working backwards sentence. :lol:
> 
> The life cycle is about 6 months before the larvae turn into adult heartworms, but living in Central Texas where our temps stay warm year round, I dose every 60 days. I could probably give the meds 4 times a year and be safe, but heartworms aren't something to take lightly. Sometime you feel like you are danged if you do, danged if you don't.
> 
> It's one of those tough ones to know what the best course of action is. :/


My Vet says the pills do not prevent heart worms from forming but kills any that are currently there.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Huly said:


> My Vet says the pills do not prevent heart worms from forming but kills any that are currently there.


that is 100% correct and why it bugs me when heartworm medication is referred to and marketed as a PREVENTATIVE. I guess it does prevent heartworms already in your dog from growing into an adult. *But it does NOT prevent them from getting them in the first place. * If an infected mosquito transmits a heartworm larvae to your dog, they MAY be infected. What is under debate is how likely that scenario is.


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## TLI (Sep 3, 2008)

Huly said:


> My Vet says the pills do not prevent heart worms from forming but kills any that are currently there.


Yes, that is exactly what the meds do. The part that bothers me is that they are marketed as a preventative, and the manufacturer, nor most vets don't tell their clients that you can actually dose 3/4 times a year and be safe. It takes 6 months for the larvae to turn into adult heartworms. It not only makes these companies money, but also vets. Same with vaccines. You would think there would be better regulations considering the risks involved. 

Just a note to everyone reading. Please do not make your decision to treat for heartworms without doing the research. Nothing is ever a one size fits all. It's important for every pet owner to be educated on any health related choice made for their pets.


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## cpaoline (Oct 9, 2012)

I agree, all mine have had thier puppy shots and heartworm pills sparingly, Vito get s sick everytime he has his heartworm pill. I have given them anything in a few months. I have read alot about Trifexis, it's just bad bad stuff. I feel the same way about all the flea and tick control..My older dog only got a flea collar in the early years, ( not sure if that's safe or not) as she got older and my daughter was born (being she would hang around Sam's neck ) we went to topical for a while,..she would eat garlic and brewers yeast ( some say its bad and i wouldn't give it to my chi's ) then eventually nothing. It wasn't until my husband took Mia who was a puppy at the time to the park and i seen a flea...everyone got dosed with the topical. Mia was fine, the cat licked it and foamed at the mouth and Sam almost died. She was 16 at the time and had a horrible reaction, i seriously thought i killed her, she wouldn't move couldn't stand and had shallowed breathing. I called the company and they said yes that could be a side effect... REALLY?????????WTH???? why are we giving this to our babies. the next morning only after sleeping in my bed less than an hour i came downstairs and and expected to find her gone, thankfully, she sat up and ran to me!!! Since then i have researched those poisons as well, i will never do that AGAIN on ANY of My fur babies!!! 

Sam was also on Proin for leakage as she got older. I was at that time seeing an old school vet when i asked for a refill, he told me that, proin was originally a human med or in something for humans and it was linked to heart failure and high blood pressure, and he only gives that in extreme cases. He said to try her on estrogen pills, and play with the dosage, since that's the reason she is losing control due to the lack of estrogen it only makes sense to replace it...worked perfectly!! And i also noticed her breating alot easier.
Sorry got to rambling


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

It's hard to know what's right in this situation. In our particular case, I have been dosing Odie during the hot months with Interceptor but am not sure what we'll be doing this summer as we've now run out. I should mention that we live in one of only a few pandemic heartworm areas in Canada. We have tons of lakes which equals tons of mosquitoes. I usually don't walk Odie when it's super hot out, we do it early or late in the day when mosquitoes are out in all their glory. I would hate if I was scared to take her out with us camping or hiking, etc., but obviously I want to do what's best for her. 

Bigger dogs may be able to live with heartworms, but could my little 5 lb Odie? If the life cycle of heartworms is 60 days, how often would you have to test? 

What's interesting is that our vet recommends treatment every 3 months, not every 60 days. His reasoning was also the life cycle. This means that we are able to get away with dosing just once or twice a year. Has anyone else been told this?

Just wanted to mention that I don't like how the person who wrote the article brings wild dogs into the argument. I'm no wildlife expert, but this makes me skeptical. Although wolves are ancestors of our little guys way down the line, wolves have been continuously living in the wild and it's possible that they may be biologically more adept to deal with parasites.


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## cpaoline (Oct 9, 2012)

they may even have become immune. I think the idea of dosing a few times a year is alot better than everymonth


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

Wow I am really enjoying reading all the different views and discussions. I live in VA so yes heartworms are prone to this area. There are so many factors to take in and I feel like it is a guessing game on what to do.


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## cpaoline (Oct 9, 2012)

If it doesn't prevent them only kills them, why would you give it to them if they don't have it????????? Seems stupid to use as a preventative why not use it as a treatment


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## BlueJax (Jun 25, 2012)

cpaoline said:


> If it doesn't prevent them only kills them, why would you give it to them if they don't have it????????? Seems stupid to use as a preventative why not use it as a treatment


The “monthly” pills will not kill the adult heartworms, only the circulating microfilaria (baby heartworms), thus preventing actual heartworm disease.

I give a pill every 45 days, although you can technically wait much longer and not risk adult heartworm infection, the amount of microfilaria in the bloodstream would be much higher if you treat every 3 months opposed to every month. If a large amount of microfilaria die at once it raises the risk of a possible anaphylactic reaction.


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## charchi (Apr 17, 2012)

WOW, what a great subject, Ok, how about us Australians, i hate the heart worm medications as well, i think i would be safe to give every 60 days also and none throughout the winter mths. What do other Australians here think?


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