Should your dog be on heartworm medication?
Our dog Sam had his annual checkup recently and the vet suggested we start giving him a monthly heartworm medication.
I was surprised because we don't have much heartworm in this area.
"My dogs are all on heartworm preventative monthly," says Dr. Braud Crauer, director of medical services at the Seattle Humane Society.
He explained to me that heartworm preventatives also treat intestinal parasites.
"And we have lots of intestinal parasites that are dropped in our backyards by Ricky the raccoon and the goodies they leave. So our pets exposure rate to those are really high. I like monthly heartworm preventative and parasite control because you get to de-worm the dog and also prevent for heartworm."
Crauer says some of these parasites can be transferred to people. That makes this monthly treatment especially important if your pooch sleeps with you in your bed at night.
Talk to your vet because parasite control in the Northwest is important.
For more information
American Heartworm Society
I was surprised because we don't have much heartworm in this area.
"My dogs are all on heartworm preventative monthly," says Dr. Braud Crauer, director of medical services at the Seattle Humane Society.
He explained to me that heartworm preventatives also treat intestinal parasites.
"And we have lots of intestinal parasites that are dropped in our backyards by Ricky the raccoon and the goodies they leave. So our pets exposure rate to those are really high. I like monthly heartworm preventative and parasite control because you get to de-worm the dog and also prevent for heartworm."
Crauer says some of these parasites can be transferred to people. That makes this monthly treatment especially important if your pooch sleeps with you in your bed at night.
Talk to your vet because parasite control in the Northwest is important.
For more information
American Heartworm Society
Why would you treat year round for a problem that is minimal in this region in the first place, and possible only during the warmer months?
Anything that kills parasites has a risk, and you need to weigh that against the benefit. The states that have a heartworm problem and where pets have been receiving monthly preventatives the longest are seeing associated health problems in dogs, and a reduction in the effectiveness of heartworm medication in general. Before you start giving any parasite prevention, find out if it's even needed. A fecal check for gut parasites, blood test for heartworm, and a visual check for fleas. Treat for what you find, not for everything under the sun.
My 11 year old dog has had fleas twice in his life. The only preventive measure he gets is that he has a short coat and gets an occasional bath. He has access to a grassy back yard, goes on hikes with me, interacts with other dogs at the dog park, etc. Annual tests for internal parasites have always been clear. I've yet to test him for heartworm because it's a minimal concern in our region.
Rather than give small doses of poison every month to prevent problems that my dog is at very low risk for in the first place, I observe. I watch his skin, his stools, and his overall health, I pay for tests for the things that I can't see, and I treat when there's something to treat. If heartworm ever becomes a problem in this region, I'll discuss the heartworm lifecycle with my vet to determine how often my dog should be tested to maximize the effectiveness of treatment if it's ever needed.
Ten years ago I lost two dogs within a month of each other. Â They were both on heartworm medication. Â After their deaths (which were not at an unusual age) I read that the particular heartworm medication they were on was suspected as a contributor to the deaths of a number of dogs in or entering their senior years. Â Since then I have been wary of medications that are on the face of it seemingly a good choice but not necessarily a must have because of low likelihood of the medications need. Â I have also opted to go natural on foods for my dogs as well. Â Not all that different then how I deal with my own situation.Â
I know this article is about dogs, however another risk is vaccinating your cats against disease and parasites. We thought we were doing right by vaccinating, however earlier this month our cat who turned 7 yrs old this month, was diagnosed with fibrosarcoma which was caused by vaccinations. It's in the same spot(upper left shoulder) where he received all of his vaccinations. We can choose to amputate and chemo/radiation for 6 weeks at the cost of a minimum $4,000 and most of these cancers come back more aggressively within 6 months. Our children are devastated as well as I and my husband. My husband spent 2 nights looking for herbal treatments and other alternative therapies and now he is on a twice daily herbal concoction. We know he will die soon but are hoping he lasts at least until mid June when we can get back up to Washington(which is home to us). Apparently some vets are now giving vaccines in the tail just in case tumors form and it won't be so difficult to amputate the tail. People need to be made more aware of what vaccines they not only give their children, but also their non-human children.
I've really wondered this. When I lived in deep east Texas holy crap, the dogs there have to be immunized for stuff you've never even heard of here, and they need to take heartworm medication year round. You need to flea treat your house and the dog. The pill based systems only kill fleas AFTER they bite the dog. So your dog ends up bringing fleas into the house, no matter how clean you keep things. It was insane. We had to rub this powder into the carpet and it was a great treatment (boric acid powder basically).
This article doesn't really tell me much - like what intestinal parasites should I be worried about and possible impact. I sure don't want the Shawshank Redemption going on out my dogs butt, but if the threat is minimal then...
@Howard Beale - get a good vet and go by what she/he says.