Carol, I gotta say that pumping arsnic into a dog isn't what I'd call natural. That's what the treatment calls for. Going through this, I doubt you could talk me into a wait and see attitude.
I would be curious as to the heartworm problems in your area that your vet opts for this direction.
San Diego has much less than many areas, but the primary vector of dog heartworm in Southern California, Aedes sierrensis, certainly does exist in San Diego.
Most cases in that area occur after a dog has traveled outside the area and been infected elsewhere, but not all.
I'm a firm believer in no unnecessary vaccinations, no "boosters," etc. But that doesn't extend to heartworm, for me. The Salt Lake City story was more than enough. That's desert --- with a heartworm epidemic. And there are still people there who believe that they don't need heartworm prevention, because they never used to, and it took a couple of years before the epidemic was recognized, and even now, if someone hasn't read it or heard it, then they still don't know.
There is no area of this country where there have not been heartworm cases. Maybe we have to educate our vets....
Bob,
That does sound like a pretty bad "treatment" -- I'm going to call him tomorrow and discuss.
I'm certainly willing to start giving them Heartgurd ASAP! And don't short haired dogs like my Decker get bit more often??
Bob,
That does sound like a pretty bad "treatment" -- I'm going to call him tomorrow and discuss.
I'm certainly willing to start giving them Heartgurd ASAP! And don't short haired dogs like my Decker get bit more often??
Not sure if the length of hair has anything to do with it. The skeeters can still bite the dog's nose. They are attracted to our face by the carbon dioxide we breathe. I would guess it's the same with dogs.
Heartworm was originally almost exclusively a Southern problem. My first contact with it was in the 70s here. Back then we were told it wasn't needed during the winter months. .
I was in high school in Fla in the early 70s and worked for a Vet. Back then the recommendation was to give daily caricide but that was several generations of HW medicine ago.
I saw a number of advanced cases of HW and it was horrible - dogs struggling for every breath, edema, coughing up blood. By then there is pretty much no hope. Caught early and treated, the dog can live a healthy life but the dog must be very healthy to survive the treatment in the first place.
I also worked at the UGA vet school right after college and worked for a vet doing heartworm research -- doing necropsies on dogs they had intentionally infected with heartworms (the "non-controls" for a clinical trial on Filaribits) was enough to convince me........
Even so, we had one dog come up HW positive (I medicate AND test annually!!!) due to negligence on my part , but he was a young (5 yo) healthy dog who lived to be 15 after the treatment.
BTW, the Heartgard length-of-protection is actually close to 6 weeks, per my vet; the one-month RX is to ensure total coverage even if you forget a dose and are a few days late (or to sell more, or both).
This is true, but if you don't give it every 4 weeks, as directed on the label, the guarantee is null and void; the company will not pay for treatment should your dog contract heartworms.
I do my dogs every 6 weeks, and use an extremely low dose of ivermevtin.
BTW, the Heartgard length-of-protection is actually close to 6 weeks, per my vet; the one-month RX is to ensure total coverage even if you forget a dose and are a few days late (or to sell more, or both).
This is true, but if you don't give it every 4 weeks, as directed on the label, the guarantee is null and void; the company will not pay for treatment should your dog contract heartworms.....
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