Heartworm Preventative

[4 Paws]

When I took my 2 dogs to the vets the other day for their annual vac's the vets mentioned the heartworm vac I usually get them also had gone up a fair bit and worked out at approx $120 per dog(german shepherds)so I decieded to go back on the monthly tablets.

Years ago I used the Heartguard chewable ones and just wondered if there is really any difference between the other brands( other than the heartguard ones being soft and chewy)as I noticed there is a valuheart one that is super econimical

Are any brands actually better than others or do they all do the same job??

[Erny]

Short answer/conclusion that I came to on the subject of "which medication was the lesser evil for dogs", was the daily medication "Dimmitrol".

I would steer well clear of heartworm vaccinations.

And if you use the spot-on, I'm informed that one of the chemicals used in Revolution has no antidote, so you'd be in trouble in the event of a reaction/overdose.

If you use the chewables, these actually cover the dog for 45 days, so if you are erring on the side of only administering the minimum of chemicals to your dog necessary to cover for heartworm, I would NOT give it every 1 month, as is commonly suggested. The only thing is with both this and the daily tabs, you MUST remember to give the medication ON the due date. If you miss the date/day, you should have your dog heartworm tested before resuming the medication.

ETA: Disclamer : I am NOT a Vet and I have come to the above conclusions based on my own research and enquiries into the matter of heartworm preventative medication.

Edited January 9, 2009 by Erny

[Cavandra]

Your dogs were vaccinated at 15 months, they are immune if they are gunna ever be immune for life........besides the point why do they need a year of a banned substance from USA & Canada in their system? if there are no mossies they can not get it, and they have to remotely meet 1 mossie that may be infected to be bitten by it etc......so remote it is silly..........anyway, the injection banned & now reinstated in USA with nothing changed except a disclaimer to sign that it is is ok if your dog dies or has siezures etc..........Why wouldnt you give a monthly med (that lasts 6 weekly) for $20 a year???????????????

[puggy_puggy]

I would never give the heartworm injection to my dogs as I have heard of to many bad side effects it has caused.

Just think about the fact that with the injection they have to pump enough chemicals into your dogs body to last a year. I would much rather use monthly applications.

[swazzie]

I'm a bit concerned reading this thread as our Vet gave Bru the yearly Heartworm vacc a few weeks ago.

We talked out it with her for ages and she never mentioned any of the above when i asked her about side affects