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Vet Offered Proheart Dog Injection Before Having Bloodtest For Heartwo


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Is this unusual? He said she had no signs of heartworm just from physical behaviour

I went against the vet advice much to his absolute shock as i previously heard that porheart injection had caused a number of deaths, but didn't disclose this as the reasons, i just said i like the bloodtest thank you., however was strange as the test was a little thing that displayed blue dots, 3 dots indicated heartworm, 1 dot didn't. However i thought heartworm took a little longer to diagnose then 10mintues? She was cleared of heartworm.

Was I right to ignore the vet on this occassion?

What are the other risk of the proheart injection?

Edited by encouraging_angels
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I wouldn't touch the heartworm preventative injection.

If you live in a cold climate you'd probably find you didn't need to give a preventative at all - especially now with the winter season upon us.

The test is pretty quick.

Edited by Erny
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The test the vet did is called a SNAP test and is a perfectly legitimate test. It's also ok to give the injection on a dog prior to testing. There is nothing wrong with what the vet did. It's the daily tablets that are dangerous to give without knowing if a dog has heartworm.

But like others, I wouldn't give the injection myself and would stick to monthly.

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The thing your vet used is a Snap Heartworm Test and yes they only take around 10 minutes.

ETA: just saw Stormie posted the same thing above

Edited by Miss B
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It's also ok to give the injection on a dog prior to testing. There is nothing wrong with what the vet did. It's the daily tablets that are dangerous to give without knowing if a dog has heartworm.

I also thought a dog had to be tested before any heart worm medications if started over a certain age. Can you explain more fully why the injection is ok without testing but daily isn't ?

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It's also ok to give the injection on a dog prior to testing. There is nothing wrong with what the vet did. It's the daily tablets that are dangerous to give without knowing if a dog has heartworm.

I also thought a dog had to be tested before any heart worm medications if started over a certain age. Can you explain more fully why the injection is ok without testing but daily isn't ?

I should have been a bit more specific, sorry. If the dog hasn't had any heartworm medication for more than about 2-3months, they still should be tested, but it takes about 6months for the stage of the heartworm that you can test for, to develop so you need to take that into consideration too.

The drug used in the daily tabs, DEC, can react with the babies of the heartworm, which can kill the dog. This doesn't happen in the modern monthly/injection drugs, which work by just killing the larval stage of about 0-30days old, so if a dog does have a heartworm infestation, giving the injection or a monthly treatment will not harm the dog.

But they should still be tested at some point

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If you live in a cold climate you'd probably find you didn't need to give a preventative at all - especially now with the winter season upon us.

The test is pretty quick.

Veterinary research has shown this not to be the case.

I would NOT gamble with heartworm....I've seen what they do if a dog is infected. It's not nice.

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Veterinary research has shown this not to be the case.

That's interesting, BD. My understanding (from reading) has been that for the heartworm larvae to develop to an infectious stage, it needs to develop inside a mosquito for 14 days while the outside temp is above 14 degrees Celsius. Apparently once the temp falls below 14 degrees, the development is aborted and has to start over.

What Veterinary research has shown differently? Are you able to supply a link?

Edited by Erny
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Just to add though, I live in the hills in outer eastern victoria and it gets pretty cold here in winter, but I still see the odd mosquito around and there are still days over 14 degrees in winter.

I will definately find out who conducted this study for you, but personlly I still would NOT gamble with heartworm.

Just my personal choice :rofl:

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Veterinary research has shown this not to be the case.

That's interesting, BD. My understanding (from reading) has been that for the heartworm larvae to develop to an infectious stage, it needs to develop inside a mosquito for 14 days while the outside temp is above 14 degrees Celsius. Apparently once the temp falls below 14 degrees, the development is aborted and has to start over.

What Veterinary research has shown differently? Are you able to supply a link?

This is what I believe as well.

You can still live in a climate that has mosquitos, but it is the temperatures that is the key. It has to be over 14 degrees for more than 2 weeks, incuding overnight temps.

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a little piece of one of the articles.

Why Dogs Need Heartworm Preventative in Winter

It is the belief of some that dogs can not get heartworm disease in winter due to the absence of mosquitoes in cold weather. However, it is recommended that heartworm preventive be given year round no matter where the dog lives because:

•Even in colder climates, a single infected mosquito can survive in the warmth of a home.

I'm not arguing your point that the larvae can not form under 14 degrees, But we have been told to inform clients that this is a HUGE gamble and we HAVE seen heartworm positives in Winter.

We DO NOT make money on preventative medication as we are not a General Practice. Therefore this is not driven by financial gain by us.

Like I said, I will ask who conducted the research for you.

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It's funny, my mum was telling me they don't need to do heartworm where they are, but they most definitely get hot there and have lots of mosquitoes.

I'll pass on this information. I have always recommended to do the treatment.

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•Even in colder climates, a single infected mosquito can survive in the warmth of a home.

The mosquito might survive, but it's whether the development of the heart worm can continue. And by all accounts, from what I've read, it is dependant upon 2 weeks straight to temps not below 14C.

I'm not arguing your point that the larvae can not form under 14 degrees, But we have been told to inform clients that this is a HUGE gamble and we HAVE seen heartworm positives in Winter.

Yeah - it's the balance between risk of infection from outside source and risk of detrimental health affect by the certainty of regular drug administration. As an aside, I was informed that heart worm medication is based on Cockroach Bate. Obviously a watered down and altered version, if that is at all correct. But still. It would be a necessary evil for those areas with climates that most suit heartworm larvae development. But it is something I'd rather avoid if I could and as I mentioned, all my readings have shown it to be temperature dependant.

Like I said, I will ask who conducted the research for you.

Thank you - I'd like to read that.

Edited by Erny
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If you live in a cold climate you'd probably find you didn't need to give a preventative at all - especially now with the winter season upon us.

The test is pretty quick.

Veterinary research has shown this not to be the case.

I would NOT gamble with heartworm....I've seen what they do if a dog is infected. It's not nice.

Show me please

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