Heartworm cases and treatments - Page 1

We have rare cases in my area but thoughs that have gotten heartworm in their pups or adults would love to hear cases and treatments for,First ? is what is the earliest age a pup should go on a preventative pill,how hard and costly is it to get rid of heartworm once they have it and how accurite are the tests to determine if a dog has it or not and maybe cost  to tell if a dog has it,how often do dogs in germany czech or other countrys have it? Is it better to buy a pup in the cold time of the year for pups that are bred in a very heavy risk area?

There are no heartworms in Europe. Test to check is inexpensive, basically no different than checking for other type worms.

So is 8 weeks the earliest a pup should be on the pill ?

MY VET PUTS MINE ON AT 10 WKS.

Here in Florida, there are  alot of cases of it we keep ours on it all year. My vet starts the puppies at 8 weeks. they get a heartworm test once a year. Simple blood test. 

I live in memphis Tn area and we are having a huge breakthrough of heartworms in the dogs in this area. I will go Dec 16th and get the first injection for my dog who tested positive 2 mo ago. He has been on preventative since he was 8 weeks of age. We changed preventatives to the new Advantage Multi to help kill the larvea, then we are set up for the first injection. We will go back for a second injection in a month and hopefully my boy will be back on track after this. In talking with several police K9 handlers in this area , they are asked to bring the dogs inside now at night/dusk to help prevent mosquitos from biting. This will be our new schedule as well.

 I live in Mo. and it is very bad here.  When we have a dog that tested positive for HW this is what we do. IF the dog is on HWP we skip number 1 and start with number 2.

1. injection of ivomec,and Dex keep the dog for the day
2. they go home on Doxycycline for a month
3. 1st. immiticide injection/pain shot with Buffered aspirin,pred and penicillin for a month
4. 2nd injection/pain shot and 24 hours later 3rd. injection/pain shot and more Buffered aspirin,pred and penicillin for another month.
ALL THE WHILE heartgard every 15 days durning the treatment after the 3rd shot they go to once a month.
5. 6 months from the day we start injection we do a heart worm test.

It works well and we have a good result with this. But not going to lie Heartworm Treatment is Very expensive.  We always tell people who's dogs are not on HWP "cheaper to prevent then to cure"!!
We start puppies as early as 8 weeks but no later then 4 months.  After 4 month of age we start and test in 6 month and then again 6 months later then after that every year.
 I am the one that has to deal with Merial, Norvitis and Bayer and sometimes it is very hard to get them to help us at all. Have had only 1 test possitive on Advantix Multi BUT dog was never tested before being changed from heartguard to Multi. 
I wish Multi did something for tick then I think it would be the best product out there.
From what I have read and been told it is the most effective when it comes to preventing Heartworms.

Heartgard, Interceptor and Sentinel work backwards,your dog is infected and the pill you give monthly
kills what your dog has,where as Multi stays in the system all month and prevents the dog from being infected at all. 
Someone correct me if I am worng but that is the way I understand it.

Robin

Robin, you are absolutely correct on how interceptor and the others you mentioned work. I used interceptor since my boy was 8 weeks old. I do not however have all the reciepts(2 yrs worth) they asked for to assist me in treatment.

 If you get your interceptor form a vet just get your reciepts form them.  I have always been told they WILL NOT cover anything not sold from a VET. office. And you have to have a Heartworm test done every year or they don't like that either.