Heartworming

[fbaudry]

My two have been on Sentinel monthly since I got them... However I feel it is a bit of an overkill as it also covers intestinal worms, fleas etc and I don't think they need all of that.

I'd like to stick to a monthly treatment (I did the yearly injection once with a previous dog - never again)

What do you guys use / recommend?

[Rosetta]

I use a Valueheart tablet monthly that treats heartworm only. In contains Invermectin as the active ingredient which you have to be careful of if you have a collie breed apparently. I only give an all-wormer - not including the heartworm - every 3 months or so.

[oakway]

I use Ivermecten Sheep and Goat.

This is a product that you do not give to working dogs (Group 5 dogs) as it can have an adverse reaction).

Group 5 dogs are =

Australian Cattle Dog

Australian Kelpie

Australian Shepherd

Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog

Bearded Collie

Belgian Shepherd Dog (Groenendael, Tervueren, Laekenois, Malinois)

Bergamasco Shepherd Dog

Border Collie

Bouvier Des Flandres

Briard

Collie (Rough)

Collie (Smooth)

Dutch Shepherd

Finnish Lapphund

German Shepherd Dog

German Shepherd Dog (Long Stock Coat)

Komondor

Kuvasz

Maremma Sheepdog

Norwegian Buhund

Old English Sheepdog

Polish Lowland Sheepdog

Puli

Pumi

Pyrenean Sheepdog Longhaired

Shetland Sheepdog

Swedish Lapphund

Swedish Vallhund

Welsh Corgi (Cardigan)

Welsh Corgi (Pembroke)

[halfthewords]

I've been using Sentinel and Interceptor for years, but I'm thinking of dropping back to worming once every 3 months and doing heartworm monthly instead. It really does feel like overkill.

[CavsRcute]

I use a Valueheart tablet monthly that treats heartworm only. In contains Invermectin as the active ingredient which you have to be careful of if you have a collie breed apparently. I only give an all-wormer - not including the heartworm - every 3 months or so.

This is what I do also, for my Cavalier

[fbaudry]

Thank you all! Value heart seems the way to go then. It looks like I'm going to save $ too!

[twodoggies2001]

My two have been on Sentinel monthly since I got them... However I feel it is a bit of an overkill as it also covers intestinal worms, fleas etc and I don't think they need all of that.

I'd like to stick to a monthly treatment (I did the yearly injection once with a previous dog - never again)

What do you guys use / recommend?

Why do you think it's overkill? I use Sentinal but give it 6 weekly and this means that I don't have to use an intenstinal worm killer and flea treatment on top of the heartworm.

[Rosetta]

Some people prefer to space out the chemical load on their dogs and give each treatment separately so the dog's system does not have to cope with all the chemical load in one dose.

[twodoggies2001]

Some people prefer to space out the chemical load on their dogs and give each treatment separately so the dog's system does not have to cope with all the chemical load in one dose.

Fair enough. That's why I space it out to 6 weeks.

[fbaudry]

Exactly what Rosetta said... No Pont for me worming or giving a flea treatment if there's no need for it.

On the other hand, if the manufacturer specifies that the heartworm is effective for a period of 4 weeks, I wouldn't take the risk of "spacing it out"

[Rebanne]

I use a Valueheart tablet monthly that treats heartworm only. In contains Invermectin as the active ingredient which you have to be careful of if you have a collie breed apparently. I only give an all-wormer - not including the heartworm - every 3 months or so.

This is what I do also, for my Cavalier

me too for the greyhounds, but I give it every 6 weeks

[twodoggies2001]

Exactly what Rosetta said... No Pont for me worming or giving a flea treatment if there's no need for it.

On the other hand, if the manufacturer specifies that the heartworm is effective for a period of 4 weeks, I wouldn't take the risk of "spacing it out"

I space it out to 6 weeks under the instructions of my vet. The manufacturer is there to sell the product so naturally they will say it's needed 4 weekly rather than 6 weekly. As for the worming and flea treatment I myself prefer to do it all in one hit. Of course, everyone does what suits and that's OK too.

[teekay]

Exactly what Rosetta said... No Pont for me worming or giving a flea treatment if there's no need for it.

On the other hand, if the manufacturer specifies that the heartworm is effective for a period of 4 weeks, I wouldn't take the risk of "spacing it out"

I space it out to 6 weeks under the instructions of my vet. The manufacturer is there to sell the product so naturally they will say it's needed 4 weekly rather than 6 weekly. As for the worming and flea treatment I myself prefer to do it all in one hit. Of course, everyone does what suits and that's OK too.

I'd agree with this. Have a look at the leaflet in the packet. What does it say about a missed dose.

I use Interceptor spectrum and here is copy of what the instruction leaflet says

Once a month, ideally on the same date.

If a dose is overdue by >15 days, treat immediately and resume monthly dosing.

If a dose is missed by 15-30 days, heartworm prevention can be maintained if treated immediately and monthly dosing resumes for at least the next 2 months.

If a dose is missed by >60 days, a veterinarian must be consulted in case the animal has contracted heartworm. Dosing may be recommenced, and a blood test for adult heartworm must be performed after 6 months.

So what they are really saying is it is effective with a 60 day interval. I don't actually go that far but (and in consultation with my vet) I dose every 45 days. I like to limit the amount of chemicals my dogs are exposed to unnecessarily.

[Guest donatella]

I've just switched to a heartworm tablet every month (a packet of 6 costs me $13 and lasts 6 months because they are so small they don't even need a full tablet each ) and all worming every 3 months or at the change of season after the advice of my vet or my mums vet who she's been going to for 25 years and is fabulous and I trust! :D

Saving me a bloody fortune, I used to do Interceptor Spectrum every month which cost about $40 for 6 months.

[WreckitWhippet]

Why not have the faeces tested for signs on intestinal worms, rather than continually pumping chemicals into a dog that it doesn't need.

Treating for intestinal worms evry 4 or 6 weeks is overkill and then some

[AussieDog]

I give both my blue heeler x's valueheart.

[teekay]

So because it's raining and I have too much time on my hands, :giggle I thought I would see how dosing separately, compared to the current regime I use. Hopped on Budget Pet Products ( who I always use) for all the prices. I do have largish dogs though so obviously all prices are increased.

Drontal $31.00 for 2

Heartworm only pills $16.40 for 6

Yearly cost for one dogs using Drontal every 3 months and HW pills monthly $94.80 (decreases to $83.60 if only using the HW every 45 days, not sure about the HW only pills and if it is safe to do this. It is a different active ingredient to Interceptor so I do not know. Another reason why I prefer Interceptor though, having a Collie breed Ivermectin is a bit of a no no)

Interceptor spectrum $41.35

Yearly cost for one dog using Interceptor spectrum, dosing every 45 days (works out to 8 times a year) $55.15

Bloody hell, I never realised Drontal is so expensive There are probably cheaper alternatives but Drontal is the only one I know. It's the one the vet always recommends. I also don't like the weight range on the drontal pills the medium size only covers dogs up to 10kg and the next size up covers dogs up to 35kg. My dogs range from 16 - 22kgs so seems over kill to get the bigger ones. These prices are for the chewbale tablets. I suppose I should check the hard pills. I'll be back :laugh:

[teekay]

Ok that was more complicated than I thought :D

They only do pills for dogs up to 10kgs $30.88 for 5 and

pills for dogs up to 3kgs $12 51 for 4

Going by my heaviest dog (22kgs) she would need 2 of the larger pills and one of the smaller (or just 3 of the larger but that works out a bit more expensive)

Works out to $15.47 every 3 months so $61.88 for the year (interestingly practically the same as the chews, I would have thought the chews were more expensive but there you go.

So including the HW, yearly cost is $94.68

So for me and my dogs it works out cheaper (and a lot less hassle) to just give them the one chew every 45 days

Not sure if anyone else was intersted in all this but I was :D :laugh:

Edited January 27, 2013 by teekay

[julesluvscavs]

Its a catch 22 situation all these things we are supposed to give them.. if you don't you run the risk of them getting something, if you do you run the risks of putting too many toxins into their bodies !

One of our Cavs had some toxin poisoning and liver issues recently and we strongly believe now it was due to her last flea treatment, as it was a fairly recent build up. Even her vet can't dispute that it wasn't..

Atm I am very hesitant to give them anything, but of course one has to still treat them as well for all the nasty things.

I am getting a puppy very soon, and all this is weighing heavily on my mind as to how I will go about giving her treatments and how often. I will be speaking to her breeder for advice as well.

I think we really need to be very cautious about what ingredients are in some of these treatments, and if they have had issues with with certain breeds or dogs, or dogs with previous health issues. Pays to research them all !

Edited January 27, 2013 by Jules❤3Cavs

[fbaudry]

Interesting to see it isn't really cheaper!

My main point though was the chemical overload every 30 or 45 days... I'll move on to value heart and only use an all wormer or flea treatment when required.

WreckitWhippet, would you a faeces analysis on a regular basis or only when you suspect there might be an issue?

I reckon worming every 3 months might still be overdoing it for my 2 who live fairly a sterile city life. It's not as if wildlife was teeming and they had access to dead animals, raw offals, faeces and the like...