Imported GSD from Germany with heartworms - Page 1

What are any suggestions as to what a reputable Kennel/importer would do in a case like ours???(see our earlier posts) I am a self employed man myself and do understand the meaning of standing behind the sale & customer service What should I expect as a customer, from a kennel/importer???? I don't want to be unreasonable, we love the dog that was supposable imported( a dog that has heart worms from Germany), but she is unhealthy and will need special car after she has her pups, at an expense to us. We were assured we when purchasing our dog that she was healthy and now we are concerned if she will be healthy enough too birth the pups/nurse them and live through

Is she also pregnant????

Have you talked with the vet yet, on a treatment for your female, regarding the heartworms? Will the heartworm treatment have an effect on the pregnancy/puppies?

hillbillysheperds, Did you get the dog thru an importer or to an actual breeder in Germany? Did you contact them about this condition? If so what did they say? I seriously think you should consider contacting SV and send them a complaint about this breeder or importer and about this dog. I find it disgusting how some people in Germany could actually sell an unhealthy dog just so that the problem that the dog has isn’t a problem of theirs anymore.

As someone else pointed out on the initial post a few days ago, the dog would have had to be somewhere where mosquitos carry the parasite. Germany is generally thought to be clear of heartworm, but it is not impossible that if the dog really has it, it was aquired there. More likely is that if she has it, she was someplace else where mosquitos are more prevalent and the disease recognized to exist. My question for you is are you CERTAIN that she indeed has heartworms? How was this infection diagnosed? All tests, other than directly seeing the microfiliae in blood on a slide (which does not occur often) are subject to false POSITIVES. So what I am saying is that it is possible she does NOT have heartworm. If this were my dog, I would take her to a different vet and use several test methods, including the blood on a slide examination under a microscope. Other than that, the most important thing is to figure out how badly the parasite is affecting her now. Treatment while pregnant could be very risky, but it might be also something to consider. If she is seriously infected, the pregnancy is going to further stress her and anything that would cause bleeding during delivery etc., very risky for the pups and the mother. I hope you have a good vet and not just the average country vet. These are the first issues. The issue of what to do depends on whether you can prove she was not, in fact, exposed to heartworms where you live. Good luck. Sad, because if she is infected, it was easily prevented.

yes we did talk with the vet about treatment when she was diagnosed with heartworms . the plan is to wait till after she has had the pups then start treating her

I know that it is a popular opinion that Germany does not have a mosquito/heartworm problem. That opinion still exists in parts of Germany as well. It is false. There are regions where mosquitoes exist, and I know because in my youth I was bitten several times, not by the infamous Mokkal, but by mosquitoes. Now, parts of eastern and southern Europe have a lot of mosquitoes, and this is evident because of the continued presence of malaria there. Malaria is usually associated with regions of India, Central and South America, but even I remember a time when it was an issue in the coastal areas of the southeastern United States. In the end, if the bitch indeed has heartworms, all it took was one (1) bite from one (1) infected mosquito. And that could have occurred anywhere. The only argument possible will exist if a qualified veterinarian can determine approximately when the bitch contracted the disease and I realize that may be impossible. That is, if she really has heartworms. Take Hodie's advise and have the bitch tested thoroughly. Any treatment (other than a preventive treatment) for any type of blood parasite is risky for the bitch and the litter, before, during, and after the whelp. In the end, the bitch should have been tested for heartworms before leaving Europe. But as I said, the misconception about mosquitoes/heartworm exists there as well. So, who is to blame? That may be a very difficult matter to prove. Good Luck, Bob-O

Brittany, The dog was bought through an American kennel/broker We purchesed her while she was in Germany and was shipped in

Germany does have mosquitoes, that is no secret. To say there are not mosquitoes there is COMPLETLY false. But those mosquitoes are not carriers of heartworms as they are here in the US.

Ok, Just got off of the phone with the vet asking numerous questions about heartworms . The blood slide test was used to find the baby larvae in the dog’s blood. It was explained to me that when one infected mosquito feeds on a dog & injects the worm into the dog that it takes that adult worm about 6 months before it can produce babies (baby heartworms ) and can be detected with a blood test . We are going to take the dog back to have a series of other tests done to confirm the previous diagnosis, Including sending samples off to other labs so we can have 2nd and third party confirmations