Please Get the Heartworm Test (US) - Page 3

Ruger1 don't for 1 second think that just keeping the dog in at night and dusk/dawn will keep him safe. Misquotes are active any time they smell warm blood animals. Heck many of them even feed on lizards and frogs. And plenty of the bugs can slip in the house undetected. I have actually seen them riding my dog into the house and then later attacking me and the dog because i was not quick enough to kill them. Some are so aggressive that bite and stay put whiel the dog is walking around and playing. Only to dislodge when they are swatted.
Personally it's not worth destroying my dogs heart because of some fear of chemicales. My dog is worth every cent of those heartworm pills. Even if she was free.
Fry

Dragonfry,
Well, as I said in my previous post I have become somewhat uncomfortable with my decision about not using a preventative, however, the use of chemicals I do not take lightly at all..Unfortunatly to prevent one thing we often create other issues with the use of these chemicals..It is a delicate balance and one that each owner has to make themselves..It is absolutely not about whether my dog is worth the money that the preventives costs,,My GSD is worth much more then the price of a pill every month. This is not a financial motivated decision . For me it is doing what is in his best interest health wise for Prince and not giving way to the hype that can sometimes scare owners into making less than optimal choices for their pets...

I suppose I will have regret on either side , but one is out weighing the other at this time..I will be scheduling an appointment for blood work..

Speaking of heartworms... What do you guys give to your dogs as a prevention?

I'm currently using ProHeart 6 but i'm planning to have a her take a 6 month break and use one of the pills instead. Then maybe go back to Proheart in 6 months or a year. I like the shot because i can't forget to pill her, but it has had reported peoples in some pets.
Fry

"it's not worth destroying my dogs heart because of some fear of chemicals."
It's not really that simple.  Heartworm and flea preventatives are pesticides.  Do you ingest pesticides to prevent insect bites?  Would you feed them to your children?  I had my dogs off any heartworm meds for 15 years with no problems.  Then I got a dog that eats poop and got worms, so I dutifully gave him Interceptor.  Now that's off the market.  Does anyone know why?  Many years ago we found a stray who had heartworm.  We couldn't re-home him in that condition, so he had the treatment.  Expensive, but successful with no side effects.  So should I treat my dogs for a problem they don't have when it doesn't even guarantee they won't still get it?  Or risk a harsher treatment if it ever becomes necessary?  I'm still doing the research.  Interestingly, I've been to five different vets over the last year for various reasons and not one of them recommended putting the dogs on heartworm meds.  Hmmm? 

I am probably as holistic as they come when it comes to giving the dogs meds they don't need. BUT if I lived in a heartworm state, I would give it because . A..its expensive as hell to treat after the fact and B. the treatment can kill the dog. I do know that holistic vets use other less chemical treatments for heartworms that have been successful and one can always research if this is the avenue they choose to take.

I'm still scratching my head as to why the dog is getting Doxy. I would most certainly be asking the vet why this was the chosen treatment. If you think that giving Doxy for 12 months is a good idea and not causing more harm then good, then I might be looking for another vet for a second opinion. Nothing wrong with a second opinion. I often recommend that to my human patients.

Barb

Update: Wolbachia

Recent research has led to the discovery of a parasite called Wolbachia that lives symbiotically inside heartworms. Studies indicate that this parasite contributes to the adverse effects of both heartworm infection and heartworm treatment, including inflammation, embolism and allergic reaction. Treatment with doxycycline to kill the Wolbachia parasite weakens the heartworms and makes them unable to reproduce, lessens their adverse effects on the body and greatly reduces the chance of adverse reaction during heartworm treatment.

Now, new studies published in late 2008 clearly indicate that treatment with a combination of weekly ivermectin and daily doxycycline given intermittently will sterilize the heartworms, prevent the dog from being infective to other dogs, speed up the death of the worms prior to (or in place of) Immiticide treatment, limit inflammation and damage caused by the worms presence, and reduce the chance of serious adverse reaction from Immiticide treatment. All of these effects are greater when the two drugs are used together than when either is given alone.

See Important New Information Regarding Heartworm Treatment and Doxycycline for more information.

Whole article here

 

Thanks Melba....good information to know...Barb

No problem :) I did HW treatmeant (HEAVY positive on 3 yr old dog in FL) and we did the Doxy regimen and I was pretty sure this was the reason, I just needed to check before I posted.

I lived in FL most of my life (now in NC) and always gave the dogs ivomec, tested every 3 yrs or so and never had a positive. Here in NC, as long as its freezing out, I'll not give HW meds, which is only a few months out of the year. The other months we still do ivomec with a test every few years.

Melissa