Advocate, Heartworm And Testing

[Rebanne]

My daughter has just adopted a greyhound and hes was treated with advocate before being released into her care. She has goggled and come up with this:

Advocate may be safely applied to heartworm infected dogs, and therefore there is no absolute requirement for a heartworm test before commencing treatment. However, a diagnostic test for heartworm prior to commencement of treatment is recommended to ensure the optimum health of dogs.

So my question is, should Finn still be tested for heartworm before starting on another preventative?

[puggy_puggy]

I was under the impression that most rescue groups test for heartworm before rehoming.

Tests are not that expensive so if he hasn't been done then you might like to get it done yourself for piece of mind.

I am pretty sure that if a dog does have heartworm then products like Advocate & Revolution are one method of treating it. These products do not eliminate the heartworm quickly like other treatments do.

[Rappie]

Products containing any of the 'mectins' - Revolution, Advocate, Heartgard (even Proheart according to their info) are safe to to give to untested dogs as the active drug will not kill adult heartworm. Sentinel and Interceptor require testing. I would still strongly recommend heartgard testing prior to commencing any of them as it is important to know whether the dog is infected with heartworm for their long term management.

[Scarlet]

By memory I think testing is only about $50 - which is worth it for peace of mind.

[Rebanne]

Finn is booked in next week for a check up and heartworm test, thanks for the replys