SallyDog Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 When my parents moved to Gippsland in Victoria their new vet said they no longer needed to give their dog heartworm treatment as there have been no cases of heartworm in the area and that he does not sell much heartworm treatment. They continued to give their dog the heartworm treatment until she passed away during the year of cancer at 16.5yo. They are now getting a new dog an are unsure of whether to give heartworm treatment or not. Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 When my parents moved to Gippsland in Victoria their new vet said they no longer needed to give their dog heartworm treatment as there have been no cases of heartworm in the area and that he does not sell much heartworm treatment. They continued to give their dog the heartworm treatment until she passed away during the year of cancer at 16.5yo.They are now getting a new dog an are unsure of whether to give heartworm treatment or not. Any advice? A quick call around to the vets in the area will give them an indication of the prevelance of heartworm in the region. I was only having a discussion myslef about this last night with my vet. He stated that he had not treated a case of heartworm for over a year and that the prevelance of heartworm has reduced dramatically over the last 20 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemappelle Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 A quick call around to the vets in the area will give them an indication of the prevelance of heartworm in the region.I was only having a discussion myslef about this last night with my vet. He stated that he had not treated a case of heartworm for over a year and that the prevelance of heartworm has reduced dramatically over the last 20 years. I had this discussion with my vet about 6 months ago and he said at the time, that he has not seen a case of heartworm in this area for over 2 years :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloss344 Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I was only having a discussion myslef about this last night with my vet. He stated that he had not treated a case of heartworm for over a year and that the prevelance of heartworm has reduced dramatically over the last 20 years. Is this because many people are using heartworm preventative, just as vaccines have reduced the incidence of other diseases? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I was only having a discussion myslef about this last night with my vet. He stated that he had not treated a case of heartworm for over a year and that the prevelance of heartworm has reduced dramatically over the last 20 years. Is this because many people are using heartworm preventative, just as vaccines have reduced the incidence of other diseases? Yes. And mosquitos have to bite a dog infected with heartworm larvae to become a carrier of heartworm as far as I recall. So, once the idea of preventatives took hold, less dogs had it which meant less mosquitoes carried it which mena tless dog were infected by it and so it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog_Horse_Girl Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Even though we live in Canberra, a low incidence area, I still use h/w preventives year-round for all my dogs. We do travel, we also move interstate every year or two, and it's just not worth taking the chance IMO. I'd rather use the preventive than find one of my dogs with h/w disease, BUT if you live in a h/w free area and you or your dog/s never travel, then reduce or remove the use of h/w preventives in consultation with your vet. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InspectorRex Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I live in Gippsland( moved from melb) 4 years ago and I have kept my dogs on heartworm preventatives as we attend dog shows out of the area and also dog obedience. What part of Gippsland have your folks moved to? I am in Morwell(LaTrobe Valley) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SallyDog Posted October 13, 2006 Author Share Posted October 13, 2006 They are around the Foster area and very occassionally travel to Melbourne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuddles Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I live in a low heartworm area but my vet did advise if I was to take my dog out of town to call in the day before for treatment to be on the safe side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I would rather be safe than sorry. My friend just fostered a dear little fellow from Renbury Farm - lovely looking dog, seemed fine but tested positive to heartworm. He's had the treatment and looks like he will be rehomed this weekend. It's important to remember that if they've had heartworm, they can never have the heartworm vaccination as it can be fatal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuddles Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 It's important to remember that if they've had heartworm, they can never have the heartworm vaccination as it can be fatal. :rolleyes: So is there a test to be done to see if your dog has had it or is it obvious that your dog has had it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I'm not sure if they can find evidence of a dog having had it, that's an interesting question. Maybe we can find out from someone who knows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsrules Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I was told by a vet that for a dog that is less then 2,5 years old, there is no need to do heartworm test as the chance of them having one is 0 %. Advise is to start with the heartworm prevention, such as sentinel/heartguard straight away. Is this true ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemappelle Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I was told by a vet that for a dog that is less then 2,5 years old, there is no need to do heartworm test as the chance of them having one is 0 %. Advise is to start with the heartworm prevention, such as sentinel/heartguard straight away. Is this true ? I have been told by a couple of vets that there is no need to heartworm test a dog under 6 months old. I have also been told by the same vets that the annual heartworm injection and the monthly tablets are used to treat mild cases of heartworm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcringo Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 There is a blood test that vets can do to test for the tiny heartworm larvae that are in the blood stream, and it's pretty effective. The reason you shouldn't give heartworm pills to dogs that haven't been tested is that if they do have heartworm, the worms can be really large, and once killed can clump together in the heart and in large blood vessels, blocking blood flow and killing your dog... Yikes!!! You're pretty safe not treating your dog if there is no heartworm in the area, but remember that even if you don't travel, a dog with heartworm could travel into your area - and if a mosquito sucks up the larvae, it can then pass them to your dog... A slim chance, but it is possible - to be 100% certain you should treat your dog. That said, you could forego treatment and probably not have a problem, it's just a risk you have to decide if you're willing to take. As far as I know, most vets will treat dogs under 6 months without tests; even if they have been infected the worms shouldn't have gotten large enough to cause a problem with treatment at that point. Dogs older than that should be tested prior to treatment. According to some notes I have, Darwin has the biggest risk of heartworm, followed by Townsville, Brisbane, then Sidney. It is also now present in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and common along the Murray River and in Murrumbidgee irrigation areas - I don't even know where that is, but there you go! It doesn't mention other areas; your best bet would be to ask around at different vets and se what their experience says. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arby Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 we have always given our dog h/w meds. At our last vet visit he suggested we just give him a once a year shot for heartworm save us the hassle of remembering when to give it to him. Although heartworm cases have decreased would you really want to take that one in a thousand chance that your dog could get it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greypaws Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 I have always been advised to treat and test for heartworm in dogs over 6 months as we are in Brisbane. Our other rescue coordinator in Murwillumbah has been told they do not need heartworm treatment in that area. Any greyhounds from there we have coming up to Brisbane to live or foster we test then treat anyway. Are certain areas worse because of mosquito population, or incidences of dogs who have heartworm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dianne Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 If you ever see a dog with heartworm or owned one, you would not be so eager to remove the treatment. Unfortunately mossies can't tell where the boundaries are. Dogs move in and out of areas with great frequency - holiday makers - showies - hunters - IMHO any Vet worth their money would never say IT DOESN'T HAPPEN HERE - OR THEY DON'T NEED IT. I would consider them negligent [but that is MHO]. The treatment for an infected dog is expensive and traumatic, and obviously the tests are probably more expensive than the treatment. We give DAILY D.E.C. and do mot have a problem remembering to give it, nor is it an inconvenience, the tablets sit with the food and we give it with the daily feeding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipy Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Herd immunity is a wonderful thing..... The prevelance is low, because most of people de-worm their dogs. If everyone stopped de-worming and vaccinating their dogs, there would be A LOT of sick and dead dogs around. I would treat him for heartworm.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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