heartworm's

[D/S-hunter]

Does anyone feal that it's a bad idea to give heartworm medicine whitout haveing you're dog checked first?what are some if the risk's envolved?

[TomJr]

If you give the type that kills the adult worms then you can run the risk of your dog dieing. The worms die and then pieces of them break off and move causing blockages in blood vessles which can lead to a heart attack basicly. If the tests come back that the dog has adult heart worms its recomended very little exersice during treatment. This is just a risk don't mean its going to happen to every dog that is treated but if you want to keep that dog, likly best to follow the recomendations.

The preventative type only kills the baby worms that are in the blood, this is how they spread. Misqutio bites infected dog and sucks in a few baby worms, they mature abit in the misquito (needs to be 80^F) then misguito bites another dog and worms make thier way to heart or lungs and dig in and start growing.

[D/S-hunter]

Thanks Tom,i have had my dogs checked still have some preventative wormer left,that i was thinking about giveing this new dog i just bought,I guess I better hold off and have her checked.

[Mike Leonard]

Yes be very careful on this one I have seen guys get new dogs and throw some ivermectin down in a few weeks the dogs coughing and then they take him out and cardio-pulminary failure. Adult heartworms breaking up and clogging the heart.

With new treatment mild to medium heartworm infected dogs can be treated with a series of to injections on consecutive days after which they are put on an aspirin regime of one adult buffered aspirin a day to prevent blood clots. This is usually continued thru a 30 day treatment period where the dogs is then put on Heartguard, and checked again in 4 -6 weeks. Dogs should be kept rather calm during this time and no heavy excertion or hunting.

[Big N' Blue]

Heartworms in my part of the country have always been a major problem.
The first thing I do is have a new dog checked and if they are negative put them on Intercepter. If a dog has ever been treated they need to go on Heartguard. A couple of years ago while I was hunting a man gave me a dog he said came from Utah. It was time for me to give my dogs their Intercepter so I assummed this dog did not have heartworms! WRONG.
2 days later he was dead. Be very carefull giving dogs heartworm preventative unlee you know they are negative, also check if they have ever been treated.

Best regards,