Pro heart heartworm Injection side effects

[Kazm]

Just curious if any of you give your dogs the 12 month proheart heartworm injection and if any of your dogs have ever had any side effects.

We’ve had quite he worrying week with Molly. She was due for her vaccinations and the heartworm injection which we’ve been doing for years now. Last year however she was also at her itchy best so we decided to give her the cytopoint injection also. The vet assured me they do it with others. Well, within a few hours we were back at the vets. Molly reacted badly and her temp was sky high and she was just not good so it was noted on her file and in my head that we’d never do that again. Fast forward to this year and when I made the appointment it was decided we’d separate the vaccine and the heartworm. She didn’t need the cytopoint. She’s not itchy at present. But the vet was concerned enough to still separate the other 2 as nobody knows what caused the reaction. So last week I took her and she had the vaccine. All good. Molly was fine. No reaction at all. This Monday I took her back for the heartworm injection. All seemed good, although I did think she was a little quiet. That afternoon her poop was a little soft, nothing to worry me. Tuesday she was quiet but I had a quiet day so hard to judge although her poop was still soft. Wednesday, Molly and I was at a friends place and she just sat with me as usual so didn’t pick up on anything, however by the afternoon she went downhill. She tried to vomit but nothing came up and she was just really unwell. She then rushed out to toilet and it was just liquid tinged with blood.  I immediately rang the vet but could not get into see them as they were totally booked out. I did speak on the phone for quite a while and he assured me if she was eating and drinking it wasn’t an emergency. Wasn’t happy but she did eat a little chicken for dinner and was drinking. She did go rushing out once more which was still very runny and still tinged with blood. But she settled down for the night and slept ok. Unlike me. The next morning she seemed brighter and was wanting her breakfast and seemed pretty good. I kept her quiet and  I thought she was ok. Didn’t go to the toilet until much later that day and even though it was still runny there was no blood. She was ravenous for dinner so we assumed she was coming good. However yesterday she was not interested in her breakfast and also tried to vomit again. Tail was down and I knew she was not well. I managed to get a morning vet appointment where they did a urine and blood test. Her belly was tender to touch too. Which is totally understandable. The tests came back all good which was a relief so the outcome was she either had stress colitis or a reaction to the heartworm. And they are leaning towards that. I actually read up on the product and in black and white it described symptoms that she had last year and just now. She will never get one again and the vet recommended that also. She personally doesn’t give it to her 2 dogs either.  I’m so upset I put Molly through this but obviously as they get older their little bodies change just like ours. The vet gave us Pro-Kolin + to help her gut and firm up her poop. She was super hungry last night ( giving her small amounts at intervals and she’s on a chicken and rice diet for now) She slept well and has eaten breakfast as normal and seems so much happier. She hasn’t been to the toilet yet but she probably doesn’t have much in her at present. Think we are all fine now but what an experience. 
Id be very happy to hear everyone’s experiences or opinions. 

[Rebanne]

Sorry Molly had a bad time of it. I must admit I have never used any heartworm injection just monthly tabs which I actually give 6 weekly and have done so for years. I read up on the lifecycle of mozzies etc before coming to this decision. Once my dogs turn 10 I stop the heartworm meds. I rarely vaccinate either once past puppy shots and their first adult booster.

[sandgrubber]

1 hour ago, Kazm said:

Just curious if any of you give your dogs the 12 month proheart heartworm injection and if any of your dogs have ever had any side effects.

We’ve had quite he worrying week with Molly. She was due for her vaccinations and the heartworm injection which we’ve been doing for years now. Last year however she was also at her itchy best so we decided to give her the cytopoint injection also. The vet assured me they do it with others. Well, within a few hours we were back at the vets. Molly reacted badly and her temp was sky high and she was just not good so it was noted on her file and in my head that we’d never do that again. Fast forward to this year and when I made the appointment it was decided we’d separate the vaccine and the heartworm. She didn’t need the cytopoint. She’s not itchy at present. But the vet was concerned enough to still separate the other 2 as nobody knows what caused the reaction. So last week I took her and she had the vaccine. All good. Molly was fine. No reaction at all. This Monday I took her back for the heartworm injection. All seemed good, although I did think she was a little quiet. That afternoon her poop was a little soft, nothing to worry me. Tuesday she was quiet but I had a quiet day so hard to judge although her poop was still soft. Wednesday, Molly and I was at a friends place and she just sat with me as usual so didn’t pick up on anything, however by the afternoon she went downhill. She tried to vomit but nothing came up and she was just really unwell. She then rushed out to toilet and it was just liquid tinged with blood.  I immediately rang the vet but could not get into see them as they were totally booked out. I did speak on the phone for quite a while and he assured me if she was eating and drinking it wasn’t an emergency. Wasn’t happy but she did eat a little chicken for dinner and was drinking. She did go rushing out once more which was still very runny and still tinged with blood. But she settled down for the night and slept ok. Unlike me. The next morning she seemed brighter and was wanting her breakfast and seemed pretty good. I kept her quiet and  I thought she was ok. Didn’t go to the toilet until much later that day and even though it was still runny there was no blood. She was ravenous for dinner so we assumed she was coming good. However yesterday she was not interested in her breakfast and also tried to vomit again. Tail was down and I knew she was not well. I managed to get a morning vet appointment where they did a urine and blood test. Her belly was tender to touch too. Which is totally understandable. The tests came back all good which was a relief so the outcome was she either had stress colitis or a reaction to the heartworm. And they are leaning towards that. I actually read up on the product and in black and white it described symptoms that she had last year and just now. She will never get one again and the vet recommended that also. She personally doesn’t give it to her 2 dogs either.  I’m so upset I put Molly through this but obviously as they get older their little bodies change just like ours. The vet gave us Pro-Kolin + to help her gut and firm up her poop. She was super hungry last night ( giving her small amounts at intervals and she’s on a chicken and rice diet for now) She slept well and has eaten breakfast as normal and seems so much happier. She hasn’t been to the toilet yet but she probably doesn’t have much in her at present. Think we are all fine now but what an experience. 
Id be very happy to hear everyone’s experiences or opinions. 

Never saw the value of the 12 mo jab.  Oral every couple months, stop when it's too cold for mozzies.  Cheap, safe and easy.  

[persephone]

poor little Molly  I have never used the injection .Hopefully now she will recover quickly .  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 26 by persephone

[Mairead]

It may not have had anything to do with the injection, just happened around the same time. Did anyone mention haemorrhagic gastroenteritis?

5 -Minute Veterinary Consult: Breed Predilection "incidence is greater in small breed dogs. Breeds most represented include miniature Schnauzers, dachshunds, Yorkshire terriers and miniature poodles."

Edited July 27 by Mairead
More info added

[Kazm]

Rebanne, I think I’ll  be using the monthly tabs after this next 12 months go by or maybe I’ll look into not using it all. She definitely won’t be getting the injection ever again. Seriously considering the vaccine one too. 

 

Sandgrubber, Good idea stopping during the colder months. Hadn’t thought of that. 

 

Thanks Persephone, she is much better today. Not totally 100% but close. The Pro- Kolin must be working. She’s been to the toilet and I’m happy to say it’s firm again.
 

Mairead, nobody mentioned gastro. And yes, we’ve been there, done that many years ago and this was very different.  After last years reaction it all points to the proheart injection and after what I read myself it definitely points to it. It’s either that or stress colitis.  

And I know everyone can draw their own conclusions and have their own opinions, and yes, every dog is different but after what I read about the product itself I’m really sorry I ever used it and will never ever use it on any future dog I may own. 

 

[SchnauzerMax]

Kazam,

 

the heartworm injection is a version of the drug engineered to stay in the body for about 12 months after injection, which is precisely the reason I don’t / will not use it for any of my dogs. You can’t remove it. Once the dog has had the injection, you have to wait for the drug to be eliminated by the body over the 12 months. 

I hope Molly is feeling better and back to normal soon.

 

 

 

[Kazm]

Schnauzer max, I do realise that now and I do wonder after using it for so long whether they eventually get a build up of it in their system and then react. I admit initially when I went down that track it sounded so easy and because vets suggest/ recommend such products I guess you just trust them. And probably too naive and never asked questions. After reading about the product I was literally horrified. Absolutely terrible drug. I feel like she’s been poisoned all this time. 
 Thankfully though I can say she is now feeling so much better. Acting very normal. Thanks for being concerned.  

[Kazm]

Rebanne can I ask a question? Why do you stop heartworm meds when your dogs reaches  10 years of age? 

[Papillon Kisses]

8 hours ago, sandgrubber said:

Never saw the value of the 12 mo jab.  Oral every couple months, stop when it's too cold for mozzies.  Cheap, safe and easy.  

It’s good for people who may forget to dose their dog, which is more than you might think. Vets saw heartworm cases plummet after they were brought out.

 

@Kazm Malcolm never had side effects with Proheart but together with his vet we decided to switch to oral meds (Milbemax) when he became more medically fragile because they trusted me to remember to give them. I hope Molly feels better soon.

[Deeds]

I have never used the heartworm injections and for exactly the same reason stated by Schnauzer Max.  I use monthly oral tablets such as Heartgard, Interceptor and Sentinel in the summer.

 

My dogs don't have further annual vaccinations after they have had their first puppy shots and their adult booster.  My Vet recommends dogs to have their vaccinations every 3 years but I don't do it.  According to my Vey there hasn't been a Parvo case reported in our area for 20 years or so.

 

Sorry to hear about Molly.  I'm glad she is getting better.  

 

 

[Rebanne]

5 hours ago, Kazm said:

Rebanne can I ask a question? Why do you stop heartworm meds when your dogs reaches  10 years of age? 

Because, after researching both the mosquito and heartworm, I realised my dogs will be very likely dead before heartworm could cause a problem. Nell came to me without any preventive and she and Phoebe will be 10 1/2 before there are any mozzies around. I did get Rose (6 when I got her) tested as GAP doesn't test them but use an all in one which can be given even if heartworm positive. Which I also don't like. I give Valuheart which only does heartworm.  I don't like using too many treatments as you can gather.

[Deeds]

I used Valuheart for years but recently have had trouble getting it so I switched to Interceptor which does fleas as well.  

[tdierikx]

Just a quick mention of the blood tinged poops... was it bright red blood and in relatively low quantity? If so, that could just be due to having diarrhoea, as the act of passing said diarrhoea can cause a small tear in the anal passage when going to the toilet, and it is actually not as serious as it looks. Only be concerned if the amount of blood is alarming (rather than smallish streaks of blood), or it looks like older darker blood that may have come from internal sources.

 

I'm with the others suggesting that Molly only take the monthly versions of heartworm preventative from now on, if at all. Rebanne's treatment plan makes good sense, only giving the preventative when mosquitoes are actually active, and resting the dog's system in the cooler months.

 

T.

[Boronia]

7 hours ago, Deeds said:

I used Valuheart for years but recently have had trouble getting it so I switched to Interceptor which does fleas as well.  

 

If you want to change back you can get them here Deeds, they also have free shipping   https://www.vetsupply.com.au/heartwormers/valuheart-heartworm-tablets-for-dogs/p1035.aspx

[Kazm]

Tdierikx, her diarrhoea was just dark liquid with smallish blood like jelly blobs ( for want of a better description) That happened approx twice and then it was just brown and  very runny. Happy to say she’s back to being firm now. She’s eating well and seems back to normal in every way. Yay. 
 

She will be on the monthly heartworm from next year now. I’ll probably use Nexgard Spectra ( I’ll do lots of research before finally making a definite decision though) I give her Nexgard for flea and tick prevention. That’s why I’m thinking of Nexgard spectra as she’s had no problems with the Nexgard product. She only gets that though when I know we are going camping and that there may be the possibility of ticks around other than that I don’t use anything. As for the heartworm I’ll definitely just be using it during the summer months. 

[Dogsfevr]

We Titer test our adults & would never ever give a 12 month injection for Heartworm .
We dont treat for heartworm anyway but i appreciate different areas are higher risk .
 

[Rebanne]

I get my Valuheart from Budget Pet Products or off eBay.

 

My local vet said she hasn't seen a case of heartworm in years so I am thinking of not getting any more for Rose once my current supply is gone.