heartworm meds

• 10-17-2007 1:16 AM

  californiaglock Joined on 08-22-2007 Northern California, USA Posts 303 Points 95	heartworm meds Reply Contact i hear a lot of talk about heart worm medicine , are you supposed to give your dog the medicine as a prevenitive measure or something. sorry the only meds i give my dog are the k9 advantix . anyone?
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• 10-17-2007 6:23 AM

  In reply to californiaglock

  glenmar Joined on 09-10-2007 Northwestern Michigan Posts 11,500 Points 405

  Re: heartworm meds Reply Contact Generally, yes.  However, when I  lived in the Central Valley of CA they were not recommended and HW checks were only done every two years.  I believe that CA is the only place I ever lived where monthly HW tabs weren't recommended. Heart worm is caused by an infected mosquito.  Skeeter bites, little micro whatevers get into the dogs blood stream and quite literally, full grown heart worms look like cook spegetti.  They literally strangle the heart.  So talk to your vet about this.  If in fact you are in an area with a really low incidence, he may just opt to HW test. A house without fur is not a home. Glenda

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• 10-17-2007 7:55 AM

  In reply to californiaglock

  Thalie Joined on 01-01-2007 Louisiana Posts 1,041 Points 115

  Re: heartworm meds Reply Contact Where I am (Louisiana), it is necessary to give it year-round. In some other parts of the country, people give it only a few months a year I think. Like Glenda said, talk to you vet. If he thinks it is necessary, he will do a heartworm test before prescribing the preventative. Heartworm disease is, in the long term, deadly to a dog and treating it after it has started is way more difficult and hard on the dog than preventing it. Nathalie & the Monstresses

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• 10-17-2007 9:59 PM

  In reply to Thalie

  gwgdog66 Joined on 10-13-2007 Oklahoma City Posts 30 Points 60	Re: heartworm meds Reply Contact I give mine once a month. Preventative as recommended by the vet. Mosquito's are purty bad from March through November here in OK. I also do the blood sample at the yearly check up. The one I use Interceptor also prevents a few other types of worms. GWG
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• 10-17-2007 10:07 PM

  In reply to gwgdog66

  Liesje Joined on 03-02-2007 Grand Rapids, Michigan Posts 7,096 Points 850

  Re: heartworm meds Reply Contact I live in Michigan and will give mine once a month, year round.  The vet recommended March - Dec so I'll just do it every month, especially since it kills other parasites as well.  I volunteer at a shelter and many (if not most) of the dogs are heartworm positive at some point, so it is a very real threat even though it freezes and snows here October - the end of April. vankelderdogs.dutchbingo.net U-CH Alta-Tollhaus-Krieger Lamb Chop RA CL1-F CL1-R TT HIC TDI CGC (GSD) VPC's Coca-Cola CGC (All American) Alta-Tollhaus' Bono (GSD)

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• 10-17-2007 10:24 PM

  In reply to Liesje

  californiaglock Joined on 08-22-2007 Northern California, USA Posts 303 Points 95	Re: heartworm meds Reply Contact  do you think california is the same in terms of heartworm dangers as some of these otherstates? i can find very little on heartworm risk in california. i live in a concrete jungle so it seems ok but not sure we do have a lot of forests and salt water inlets ect.
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• 10-17-2007 10:32 PM

  In reply to californiaglock

  gwgdog66 Joined on 10-13-2007 Oklahoma City Posts 30 Points 60	Re: heartworm meds Reply Contact Any place that is hot, high humidity and mosquito's there is a possibility. I have all three where I live, that's why the vet recommended the monthly preventative. GWG
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• 10-17-2007 10:33 PM

  In reply to californiaglock

  cat0 Joined on 10-05-2007 California Posts 285 Points 45	Re: heartworm meds Reply Contact Southern California supposedly doesn't have the type of mosquito that carries heartworm, but there are plenty that carry WNV.  I'm not sure about northern CA -- it's a big state.
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• 10-17-2007 11:05 PM

  In reply to californiaglock

  californiaglock Joined on 08-22-2007 Northern California, USA Posts 303 Points 95	Re: heartworm meds Reply Contact  my vet screened him for heart worm a few months(heartworm -)  ago but i was too bullheaded to ask if he needed to be on preventive heartworm meds. i assume since she did not mention them maybe they are not common here. can you get them from other dogs at the dogpark(sorry if thats a stupid question).
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• 10-17-2007 11:57 PM

  In reply to californiaglock

  cat0 Joined on 10-05-2007 California Posts 285 Points 45

  Re: heartworm meds Reply Contact californiaglock:  my vet screened him for heart worm a few months(heartworm -)  ago but i was too bullheaded to ask if he needed to be on preventive heartworm meds. i assume since she did not mention them maybe they are not common here. can you get them from other dogs at the dogpark(sorry if thats a stupid question). Not from other dogs, it's the species of mosquito that carries it.  (there are no dumb questions, ever.  if there are, I'll have to shut up) Just call up the vet's office and ask them if they recommend it.  When I lived in NY, they just handed it to you without comment.  Here, I had to ask for it.  Some people here in southern CA (like me) use it because a) the ivermectin kills some other parasites, and b) the dogs travel to other locations, so they have to be prepared.

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• 10-18-2007 12:28 AM

  In reply to cat0

  californiaglock Joined on 08-22-2007 Northern California, USA Posts 303 Points 95	Re: heartworm meds Reply Contact than that makes me wonder, so if you travel to the central valley, the delta, the sierra nevada mountians like tahoe,shasta,mammoth would you need it than? loll california is so huge, if you travel from one county to another 100-300 miles away it could be a different climate,mosquito habitat. a chance for getting a bite from one of the mosquito nasties.
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• 10-18-2007 1:36 AM

  In reply to californiaglock

  cat0 Joined on 10-05-2007 California Posts 285 Points 45

  Re: heartworm meds Reply Contact californiaglock: if you travel to the central valley, the delta, the sierra nevada mountians like tahoe,shasta,mammoth would you need it than? For myself, I'd keep my dog on it if I was travelling that far from home all the time because it's out there in most places.  But I'd also be asking the vet because there can be other things besides heartworm to watch out for.  You have to know the area you're travelling to.  There have been times when I called ahead to vets at the destination to find out what I should vaccinate for before I left home.  Maybe I'm overly cautious, but I moved here from the home of Lyme Disease and West Nile Virus.  And I'd rather not worry. (Max is adorable)

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• 10-18-2007 2:54 AM

  In reply to cat0

  sandra_slayton Joined on 09-10-2007 Ingleside, Texas Posts 3,196 Points 0

  Re: heartworm meds Reply Contact Mine get the Interceptor year around, a must on the Texas coast.  But it also [rote ts against hook, roun and whip worms.  It is also being found that areas that did not have heart worms are getting them now.  Many Katrina dogs were sent north and west and it appears many, many of them had heartworms.  Dogs travel out of their "safe area" into an "unsafe area", get  bit and bring the things  ack to the safe area to be passed on by skeeters there.

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• 10-19-2007 8:37 AM

  In reply to californiaglock

  Stacita Joined on 08-20-2006 Sacramento, CA Posts 1,575 Points 30

  Re: heartworm meds Reply Contact I would absolutely keep my dog on heartworm medication in Northern California, all year round. We are in Sacramento and my vet, who is a solo practitioner, diagnosed 17 cases last year. Another member of this forum, that I believe lives in Auburn adopted a dog that later tested positive. Even if, and that's a big if, there's no HW mosquitoes in your immediate area, they can travel inside a car or with a shipment of goods, etc. easily enough to infect your dog.

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