Central/Northern Cali People - heartworm question

Davis is in the central valley, a bit farther  north than Yosemite, but I give the HW treatment all year long.  This year seems especially bad for mosquitoes in a lot of areas so I wouldn't take the chance. I know you can buy the HW treatment just a  month at a time if you want because I did that for a little while before we knew whether Max was going to top out over or under 50 lbs. If I remember right, it was about $10.00 for one month.

Joyce

I agree with Joyce in that I wouldn't want to take any chances. Your vet should be able to tell you which would be best for short-term use and when to start and stop it.

I don't think that they can get heartworm from ingesting a mosquito and if heartworm isn't a problem in your area, it should be fine.

I would get a dose of Interceptor and give it to her when you get home. Interceptor works on the previous 30-45 days, it's not a lasting thing, it's out of their systems in 24 hours. It just kind of sweeps through and kills the makings of heartworms. I don't know how Heartguard and stuff work, but I'd do Interceptor. JMO

Oops!  Forgot to mention one thing ... if your dog is the HW treatment only at certain times of the year, your vet might insist on a HW test before giving you any of  the meds.

Joyce

jenn52

Another heartworm question - can a dog get heartworm or west nile or whatever from eating a mosquito or does it have to be bit?  Rory ate a big one last nite and it creeped me out! 

Heartworm larvae can't survive the digestive tract.  I doubt West Nile can either.

jenn52

Also, if we do put her on a preventative, how long before the trip should we give to her and how long after would we need to continue it? 

A heartworm "preventative" is a pesticide that "prevents" adult heartworms by killing existing heartworm larvae.  If your dog has no larvae, then there is no point in giving a "preventative".  Interceptor and Heartgard will kill heartworm larvae until the larvae are about 45-days-old (time since the mosquito bite), so just give a dose of "preventative" when you get back home (unless you are planning a longer trip).  Both of those "preventatives" are out of the dog's system within 48 hours.

If a dog already has adult female heartworms, a heartworm "preventative" will also kill the initial baby heartworms (microfilaria).  Otherwise, the microfilaria die of old age if they are not sucked up into a mosquito.

Think about Interceptor and Heartgard as heartworm baby/larvae pesticides and forget about the word "preventative".  I believe things will make more sense that way.  The pesticides that kill adult heartworms are called heartworm "treatments".

See these two posts on heartworms for more details:

• http://community.dog.com/forums/p/79411/619911.aspx#619911
• http://community.dog.com/forums/p/79411/619914.aspx#619914

Yearly heartworm tests are a really good idea regardless of whether a dog is on a "preventative" year round and regardless of the prevalence of heartworms in the area.  "Preventatives" are not foolproof and an infected dog next door puts one in a danger area if the weather stays warm.  Of course, if you have no mosquitos, you will have no heartworms.

The cheaper test for microfilaria is pointless if a dog is on a "preventative".  The antigen test for adult females is more reliable anyway.