Heartworm infected dog - Just found out today :(

Hey Callie,

I bougth some Hylands Calms Forte at the store and was wondering how much should I give to Hogan?  He's about 34.9lbs.  I believe he a whippet-pit bull mix.  (I'll have to post a picture of him).  He has the body of a whippet, but the head/face of a pit bull (though not as wide, you can definitely see it in the structure of his head).  He is a backjaw chewer - likes chewing things at the back of his jaw, and our dog trainer/daycare when needed person said he plays like a pit bull.  He's the sweetest little thing, a total snuggle whore!  But, I digress... How much should I give him?  I want to test it out on him before he undergoes treatment, sometime today when I'm home, so I can see what effect it'll have on him.

Thanks so much for recommending it, and I'm just so glad I joined up at this place because I'm starting to feel more comfortable about the whole situation.

Thanks so much for posting your success story.  Did the vet give you tranks?  I half-jokingly asked the doc if we could keep him sedated for 3 months (meaning something like mood-enhancers) and he said no, but I have Calms Forte and I'm going to see how that works, and on Friday when I drop HoHo's off, I'm going to ask if he gets rowdy if there is something we can give him.  He's doing much better in the crate.  I'm really proud of him.  He looks a little depressed, but he's doing SO much better.

I'm glad to know that your doggie made it through.  Here's hoping Mr. Man will, too.

Samantha

Forpaws, he's doing much better in the crate, although now he is crying because we were all upstairs looking at this thread. He's very young and very strong, so I have hope he'll do well.  It's good to know that you have some older dogs who are doing well with active heartworm.  Thanks for the support!

Gotta go calm down my little man.

Your dogs young age is a bigger plus than it it a minus:  being so young, he shouldn't have a heavy worm load yet.  That's why he isn't tired or underweight.  The downside, is all that puppy energy during treatment when he has to be kept quiet.  It's hard to quash that energetic vigor.  I'm thankful my h/w pos dog is only two.  Jules

Oh yes!  He has some "major excitable I AM PUPPY WATCH ME JUMP!" energy going on.  I gave him 1/2 a tablet of the Calms stuff that Callie suggested and it hasn't seemed to do much, although he is slightly calmer.  We are getting him used to his crate and to going outside on leash for potty breaks.  He saw the leash and started going nutty, "woo!  Walk time, YES!" but, to no avail; just a potty break. 

Are you getting your hw positive dog treated?

I read about some holistic herbal remedies, but I don't feel comfortable enough to use them.  I'd rather trust the vet and let him do what he knows to do.   They've had 32 (Hogie is the 33rd) dogs from the rescue batches that tested HWP that they have had to treat.  Only one tested HWP again after the treatments.  I am trying to keep this in mind. 

Maybe we'll win the mega-millions jackpot on Tuesday night and I can hire someone to babysit him, feed him doggie caviar from a crystal dish with a silver spoon and fan him with palm fronds all day while he's undergoing treatment.  "Prince Hogan, it is now time for your potty break." 

Samantha

Well, here's some shots of Hogan and Emma.  (Hogan is the hwp dog, Emma is his loving big sister)  Hogan is the one behind bars...

In the 80's, I rescued a Dobe that had heartworms.  She got treated, and I had to keep her quiet, too.  Not easy when your Dobe's playmate is an energetic little Beagle...
One thing you could do is crate the healthy dog, if that dog doesn't mind the crate. 

Hey Samantha
 
I laughed at your comment on the tranquilzers.. I asked the same thing...LOL and some for ME!!!
Be sure if you have quiet time on the computer or wherever that you tether him to your chair or your arm when being outside a crate.
 
We had two Rescues that were HWP ositive with a high burden load and way to sick with skin issues to even consider treatment. So we had nothing to loose but do a homepathic remedy....I think it was with Black tinture Walnut... Im sorry but it leaves me its been 4 years ago.... but it worked.... we were all shocked. But I choose to do the treatment with the vet... I would only try the homepathic remedy when a dog is too sick to with stand the treatment.
 
That Scottie I told you about that I ended up taking to the vets for the rest of his time was a wild man... I even had pills to calm him.... I baby gated him in the bathroom cause he went nuts in a crate and that boy managed to move a bunch of furniture I had in front of the gate and climb on top of the kitchen counters. This was in a loft apt I had above my detatched garage... That is when I called the Vet and said... HE"s coming to stay...
When Hubby and I got him in the car and to the vets he walked in like he owned the place and never turned around to look at me...LOL Its was like Hey lady...this is were I wanted to be in the first place. He had a nice size doggie run and really was happy. I use to take him recreational bones and such... he was like the mascot of the Vets office...
 
I have a friend that is going through this treatment with a Rescue dog... he is quite sick and she is very worried...he just started treatment. So you guy may calm down quiet a bit once treatment is administered..I hope for your sake
 
Good Luck...

Yes, my vet did supply--rather I bought them--the tranks, but he told me to use ONLY if she really got rowdy in her crate. Being just barely a year old and so full of energy.  As I said, she is a golden mix even tho most take her for full golden.  Her head is smaller and more narrow, her muzzle more slender and HUGE eyes.  Her legs are very long and slender.  She has a white strip that runs from the crown of her head to the end of her nose, but isn't all that stand out because of her light color.  also her feet are white.  My vet and I feel she has sighthound, probably greyhound or whippet, maybe saluki.  But many that see how she runs and leaps like a gazelle and her form when running think maybe something like border collie.
 
The day she was declared heartworm free and I turned her loose in the back yard, she took off running and jumping, jumping and running.  And she hasn't stopped! I am like you, as much as I hate to put poison in her body to rid the worms, I just can't make myself believe that these "home remedies" work so well.  I do know they work for lots of things but I would never trust them  as a cure in cases of  life or death.  This goes for humans and animals.
 
You have lovely dogs. I will sure be glad when i can read that you big guy has been declared HW free and can live a normal life.
 
Oh, we had 3 other goldens when we adopted Honey.  It was hard on her to see the others free, yet at the same time, by having her crate at the center of everything, she was not alone.  And our young male golden would often lay by her crate and keep her company.  He did the same with his littermate sister both times she had her knee surgeries.  He was very senstive to their feelings and so gentle.  It broke our hearts when we lost him to autoimmune hemolytic anemia brought on by the ProHeart6 heartworm preventative injection nine months after Honey came out of her crate.  He had just turned 4 and died 6 weeks after his injection.

spiritdogs, THAT is a really good idea.  I'll have to discuss that with my partner.  Emma is crate trained and doesn't seem to mind it much.  I didn't even think of that! 

Thanks!

Samantha

thanks, terrierlover...
LOL Dogs are so funny.  I wish we had the funds to just keep him at the vet's. 

I hopep your friend's rescue dog comes out okay. 

I read about the black walnut combo at some site. 

I'm praying that he calms down once he starts treatment.  I really am. 

After thinking about confining Emma (healthy dog), we just thought of how HoHo loves to run around the house and create mass havoc. 

I can just see getting up on the counter and moving furniture!  Hogan likes to jump over the *back* of the couch to get up or down.  He also has some WWF moves that he likes to use on Emma when they wrestle.  He'll jump up on one of the middle steps (we have a tri-level so it has about 6 steps) or he'll get on the bed or couch and then jump down onto Emma.  He can't do that now, but I know he'll be happy when he can be WrestleMan again.

I'll definitely keep ya'll posted.  I have Friday off of work and he goes in for his first treatment.  I'll drop him off at about 8am and then pick him up and we'll monitor him over the weekend.  I guess we'll be getting all those household chores done like we mean to but never do  

Sandra, thank you.  They are quite lovely and we adore them.  We've got very spoiled dogs here - much to our trainer's dismay, they've always been allowed up on the bed, (although that stopped when Emma Velvet Midnight was asleep and piddled all over our not-even-a-year-old $120 down alternative comforter.  She's done that a few times; have accidents in her sleep, but since then they're relatively happy on their doggie beds. 

I'm so sorry to hear about your golden   We have a 9 year old white/yellow lab in the family who is like that - gentle, sweet, protective. 

You can bet I'll  post the day we find out he is heartworm free and I'm gonna let him run rampant through the yard, up the stairs... That's the hard thing, they love to walk, run, go crazy, but you have to keep them confined and sedentary for their own good.  And it's not like you can communicate to them about why and what is happening. 

As for the homeopathic remedies, I've heard it works, but I'm way too skeptical and afraid on something like this, to use it.  I'm sure if the doggie was too sick to handle conventional treatment I'd use it, but Hogo (I have a ton of names for him) is pretty healthy, strong, and stubborn. 

Actually, at the rescue when we picked him up, they had said they didn't think he was going to make it.  He had demadex (sp?) and loose stools and slept all the time.  He was very skinny and lethargic.  Now, he's like a bull in a china shop.

I'll definitely keep ya'll posted. I have Friday off of work and he goes in for his first treatment. I'll drop him off at about 8am and then pick him up and we'll monitor him over the weekend. I guess we'll be getting all those household chores done like we mean to but never do

 
Samantha...
I have a question....While IM waiting for company to get here...LOL everythings in the oven so these are my breaks....coming her to visit...
 
Okay... its a two day treatment... so he shouldn't be coming home till late Saturday.
First day they do the one shot... then the next day another... and then they monitor them the entire day to make sure No complications....... Its nothing you want to be monitoring yourself cause its pretty risky the very beginning of the treatment.
 
Correct me guys if I am wrong? But Im positive this is what is done.

Again sorry for the typo's geese when will I learn to proof read....Im so busy trying to do to many things here...LOL

Here is the process as they explained to us:

Day 1:  Blood Tests & First Injection.
Day 28 - 2nd Injection, he stays overnight
Day 29 - 3rd Injection, we pick him up that day
Day 42 - Recheck
Day 120 - Heartworm Test

So, a long four month road ahead of us.

So, that's the process as they explained and wrote down on the sheet.