Guest Anonymous Posted May 7, 2003 Share Posted May 7, 2003 I have been online with a distraught owner of a golden since friday night. Her golden just recieved her second dose of Proheart 6. It has had diarrhea since shortly after the shot. One of my neighbors lost her boxer to Proheart 6. I use heartgard plus. Have been using it for two years now ever since we adopted Dusty (golden rescue) The best prices and without a rx is at [url]http://www.pets-megastore.com.au/[/url] I also use advantage for fleas, from feb through nov or dec depending how warm it remains here. We used the kiltix once but she was allergic to the pyrethin in the med Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted May 7, 2003 Share Posted May 7, 2003 Since you are located in Texas, would you mind sending me an e-mail regarding the golden as well as asking the owner of the boxer to also send me an e-mail so I can hear about how her dog died. We are compiling data on PH6 to prove how bad this shot really is. The more data we accumulate the better. With regard to your dogs being on preventatives. IN MY VETS opinion, the best one on the market with LESS adverse reactions is Interceptor. The Heartguard is fine, however, it contains Ivermectin....which can cause the dog to test negative, when the dog is actually POSITIVE and infected with heartworms due the producting killing the microfilia, etc. There are articles on this subject. My vet also informed me that just because people live in a cold environment, feel not necessary to give the preventative every month, the dog CAN become re-infected......believe this or not....it has been proven. So, if you miss a month or two and the dog is around other infected dogs, and a mosquito bites them and then it carries it to your dog.....then the L4 stage begins.....if you give PH6.....makes them ill or could kill depending on how many worms could be present. One day research will be done to prove all of these theories, I assure you. TOO MANY DOGS ARE BEING REPORTED ILL OR DYING AS A RESULT OF THIS SHOT IN THE OWNERS OPINION. My e-mail is [email][email protected][/email]. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pei obssessed Posted May 7, 2003 Share Posted May 7, 2003 Cowgirl, in a cold environment (I mean, really cold--freezing) the mosquitos die when everything freezes over, so there is no need to continue giving heartworm medication--that's what my vet says... (no mosquitos, no way of transmitting the disease). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted May 7, 2003 Share Posted May 7, 2003 That may be a consideration. However, a friend of mine who moved to Colorado thought the same thing. Cold environment, not necessary to give the pills during the "winter". She is active as I am on removal of PH6 from the market.......why, because she allowed the PH6 to be injected into THREE of her dogs along with annuals and NOW, TWO of the three dogs are dead. The third is on medication. So, due to taking the dogs off of the heartworm preventative, they became re-infected and PH6 "in her opinion" is why. I think it highly unlikey that both dogs just happend to become ill from a disease within 1 month to 3 months at the same time the shot was given - wouldn't you? In addition, she did not believe me, but has since discussed things with my vet and NOW knows that is what truly happened, her dogs became re-infected. I suggest you go to the American Heartworm Association webb site and really review about heartworms, very educational, contains information that is very informative on how the mosquitoes can bite one dog and carry to another dog....if the dog is off a preventative. It is fine to take a chance with the preventatives that have been proven on the market - it is NOT with PH6....too many adverse reactions and dogs ARE dying. As I said, I should have proof soon to post. Tell your vet about my friends dogs and discuss this fact with him. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted May 10, 2003 Share Posted May 10, 2003 Hi, :angel: :angel: :angel: :angel: :angel: :angel: :angel: This story is about River. His nightmare begins in july of 2002. when he recieved the proheart 6 shot. Within a few days we noticed sores appearing in his mouth & on his tongue. some the size of a quarter. We took him to the vet where he did some blood test. liver enzymes were elevated and blood counts weren't quite right. so he referred us to the university of madison wisconsin teaching hospital. they did more test and decided he was having an allergice reaction to something but would not commit to it being the proheart shot. This is the only shot River had in over a year.. He was very healthy. They started him on an antibiotic and prednizone. over the next several months. his neck started to swell, they had to do surgery to remove a saliva gland, after he was starting to improve, he had to have some teeth remove and his fang in front broke in half. at times he seemed to stare into space and we could not get his attention until he just came out of it himself. he just wasnt him self. his immune system was getting weaker and weaker the prednizone made him gain so much weight he was now 160 lbs. it is about six or seven months later, they are taking him off prednizone, he now has sores on both back legs that have eaten a hole to the bone and are oozing, we put hot towels soaked in epson salts to give him some relief, nothing seems to be working they thought the surgery would clear up the sores in his mouth, but they all came back, we were seeing him die right before our eyes and we couldn't stop it. one night i was massaging his legs and notice three lumps on the size of a golf ball, it seems they just appeared over nite. he also started drooling blood, we knew we had to let him go so on April 24th 2003 we made the decision to send River to his final home where there would be no more pain. When i think back it makes me ill to think we may have caused him to suffer longer than we should because we didn't want to lose him. River was 4 weeks old when we adopted him he was a malmute/wolf mix. he was loving loyal, loved to go camping, swimming, ride on the golf cart, ride with the neighbor on his 4 wheeler. he was a very active dog until that july in 2002. He is very much missed by us his family and everyone who knew him. It is in Rivers memory that i feel this story had to be told and our hearts go out to all you who lost or have an ill pet because of this shot. I wish we would have done our homework on this before we gave it to River. he was 5 years old when he finally went home. Please do not use this shot.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
behle Posted May 10, 2003 Share Posted May 10, 2003 My heart breaks for you and River.... :cry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted May 11, 2003 Share Posted May 11, 2003 Deb & Kevin.....Rivers story sent me immediately into tears and I am still crying. It just brought back how my poor Trouble died. Trouble too was very active and healthy for a dog his age. He was 11, but imagine an 11 year old dog still having the ability and strength to jump into the back of my boyfriends truck. Troube received the shot on August 20th and died on October 17th, 2002. His picture hangs in my pathfinder and I talk to him sometimes to let him know I miss him and that he is still with me - in spirt since he always loved to ride in the car. He too rode with me and David on golf carts when we played golf, Trouble rode with me on jet skis at 40 miles an hour. He was very special - just like River. Trouble was diagnosed as having lung cancer - with the cancer appearing at the same time the shot was given - within 2 months. Four different vets, no one would EVER accept it was the shot. Finally, I found a vet who knew exactly what he died from and had the courage to tell me....my dog had become re-infected during a window of 4-5 weeks and then when the shot was administered it began to kill the L4 heartworms (jr adult) which in turn created blood clots or called pulmonary thrombolisims (sp?). I have found 40 other dogs that have died due to this shot - in the owners opinion. As of 8:00 am this morning, a man called me from Louisian and told me his dog story. His dog was 7 years old and like ours - a family member. He currently has a well known college performing the autopsy. My dog died in my arms and I saw him take his very last breath of life in the back seat of my car on the way to the vet. We too tried to keep Trouble alive.....I even force fed him his last two days to keep his strength up. We knew we had to put him down, and tried to take him to a clinic to do just that, the night before he died.....but Trouble knew something was up....because when I returned to the car and opened the back door, he went to the other side of the car.....he always came when I called him. Then David tried to get him out and he went to the other side of the car. We made the decision - that he did not want to go yet. So, we took him home and I stayed up all night and laid by him.....I called the vet and made an appt. to euthanize him at 6PM....at 1:30, he began to have yellow phlem coming out of his mouth and we carried him immediately to the back seat of the car and David was rushing us to the vet when he died in my arms. No one on this board can imagine how hard it is for a person who knows in their heart that this drug is responsible for their dogs death - in their opinion - and MORE DOGS ARE BEING REPORTED ALMOST TWO-THREE A WEEK NOW. I pray that the man that called me this morning will be a fighter for better words in our goal to remove this drug from the veterianians shelves. There is also another woman in Colorado who lost 2 of 3 dogs after receipt of the shot. I ASK ANYONE THAT FEELS THAT THEIR DOG DIED DUE TO THIS SHOT, TO PLEASE SEND ME AN E-MAIL AND TELL ME THEIR DOGS HISTORY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 [url]http://www.pets-megastore.com.au/[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 I understand about the freezing cold weather, but isnt it worth the 26 dollars/6months to just keep the furbaby on the meds and not have any question of an infection? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltielover Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 [quote name='yellowrose']http://www.pets-megastore.com.au/[/quote] Yellowrose, have you ordered from this website? How is the shipping time? I can't beleive the difference in prices for the heartworm and flea treatment! :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 [quote name='yellowrose']http://www.pets-megastore.com.au/[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 less than a week! Possibly 5 days I've ordered from them at least five or six times in the past 2 years. I've only had my adopted golden for three years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltielover Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 Wow, great!! I am definately going to order from there. Thank you so much for the website info! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pei obssessed Posted May 14, 2003 Share Posted May 14, 2003 [quote name='yellowrose']I understand about the freezing cold weather, but isnt it worth the 26 dollars/6months to just keep the furbaby on the meds and not have any question of an infection?[/quote] It's not the money... This is the policy that the whole province of Ontario has, it's not a personal (uninformed) choice. Frankly, since it's scientifically proven that there can be no mosquitos during those months (and that it's only through mosquitos that the heartworm can be transmitted), why would I want to burden my dog's immune system with unnecessary drugs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primabella Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 [color=indigo]Oh Kimmy, happy to see you over here. I'm even happier to hear that everything is alright with kia. Thanks for the warning about PH6. Take care! :angel: [/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Cassie Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 [b]Wrote by[/b][b]pei obssessed[/b] [quote]It's not the money... This is the policy that the whole province of Ontario has, it's not a personal (uninformed) choice. Frankly, since it's scientifically proven that there can be no mosquitos during those months (and that it's only through mosquitos that the heartworm can be transmitted), why would I want to burden my dog's immune system with unnecessary drugs?[/quote] I completely agree with you...in my Province we also only treat for Heart worm for the months of May through to Oct...no need to treat for Heart worm for the months there are no mosquitos... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 16, 2003 Share Posted June 16, 2003 Hi, I read the posts above and contacted my veterinarian, Dr. Rogers via e-mail. This is what he stated: "Heartworm preventative must be given for 60 days after the last possible infectious mosquito bite. For L1 to mature in a mosquito in a length of time that is shorter than the mosquitoes life span, the ambient temperature must be above 56 degrees. Lower than 56 degrees, the mosquitoe will die before the L1 becomes infectious. As the temperature becomes warmer the L1s develop faster. 5 days at 72 degrees will create some infectious mosquitoes. In Ontario, (I used to live in Toronto, my mother in law is in Thunderbay) giving preventative from May to October should be very adequate and safe. In Houston we have temperatures in the 70s, even in November, so the only month it would be safe to miss would be February. Some years we do not have a winter and have 5 days at 70 degrees even in Dec and Jan. All of this does not take into account mosquitoes that complete their life cycle indoors. In outbreaks of Dengue fever they have found that mosquitoes could hide in a closet all day and come out and bite at night, even when the temperature outside was cold. Anytime HW preventative is stopped it is important to test before restarting. Heartguard can kill adult heartworms after 18 months causing pulmonary thromboembolisms. Interceptor can kill microfilaria causing a severe allergic reaction and HGE if given to a mf+ dog. Please print this out, take it to your veterinarian if you have any questions or concerns as to if and how your dog may become infected - dependent on the area you live in. It is important for your dogs health. This is direct information from a qualified veterinarian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PamelaJ Posted June 16, 2003 Share Posted June 16, 2003 OMG! :o :o :o i am so glad i read this thread...i am taking my dogs for checkups, testing and vaccinations tomorrow... i am already nervous because this is my first trip to a veterinarian in Europe...i have never heard ANYTHING about the shot...it has never been recommended to me... i will certainly challenge any vet who recommends it and promptly move on to another vet... thanks SO MUCH for the information Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 Has anyone ever heard of problems with Sentinel? My black lab (she is just about 2) has had two seizures and each seizure has occurred two to three days after she was given her Sentinel. Our vet says it is just a coincidence, but I feel that once was a coincidence and the second time was the beginning of a pattern. She did receive Sentinel last year and was fine but . . . not this year. And my parents dog (who has epilepsy) has always gotten Sentinel as his heart worm medication and he is 7. Any opinions would be appreciated!! Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted September 22, 2003 Share Posted September 22, 2003 I took my Great Dane to the vet last weekend for a checkup and to get vaccinations. The dog was 7 years old and in EXCELLENT health. The vet even commented that he was in better shape than dogs half his age. He received a CV Booster, a Bordetella booster and a ProHeart injection. That was on Saturday. He was taken to be boarded on Sunday as we were going out of town. The kennel has been keeping him since he was a pup. He was fine on Sunday, but on Monday he was lethargic and had diarea and vomitting. He was given diarea medicine from the kennel. He was worse on Tuesday morning and they took the dog to the vet that did the vaccinations. They put him on IV for fluids and by the end of Tuesday they said that he was doing better and called the kennel to come too get the dog. The kennel was not comfortable picking up the dog that soon as he still had a line in for fluids. He was kept overnight at the vet. When the vet arrived the next morning, he was DEAD! Looking at the threads in this forum, it appears to be a symptom of the heartworm shots. When the vet did a necropsy, they said he had massive infection and some blood in the abdomin. This is stange since the temp was taken at the vet on Sat, at the kennel on Monday and several times at the vet on Tuesday and he was never running a temp. I don't know how a perfectly healthy dog that has never missed a heartwork treatment and never had any medical problems could die within 3 days of a full examination. Anyone with information on what we can do to keep this from happening to any other beloved pets, please comment. It is obvious the vets are not going to tell us anything that would interupt their revenue stream. A comment about the kennel. It is extreamly clean and love their guests as much as the owners. They were devistated and as far as I am concerned did the right thing for our dog when he needed it. Regards, JT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zac850 Posted September 22, 2003 Share Posted September 22, 2003 To clarify everyone: A heartworm test is done yearly to check for heartworms. If your dog has heartworms and you give the pill (or injection) it is potentionally lethal, since you will be killing the heartworms while they are in the heart. I would recomend one of the mounthly tablets. There are 3 types, Heartguard, Interceptor, and Sentinal. Heartguard jsut prevents heartworms, Interceptor (if i remember correctly) will protect aginst heartworm and flees, and Sentinal (i belive, but i may be mixing up interceptor and sentinal) protects aginst heartworms and intestinal parisites. I hope this helps Zac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zac850 Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 Fort Dodge is one of the worst vacciene manufactures. I have also heard of reactions caused by there distember shot and i belive it is also not uncommon for over-reactions from the rabies shot. I know at the vet office we work for we only use Merial, which is a much better company. Good luck with your case, and your dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zac850 Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 [quote name='"Kias_Mommy"'][quote name='blackmagic']Has anyone ever heard of problems with Sentinel? My black lab (she is just about 2) has had two seizures and each seizure has occurred two to three days after she was given her Sentinel. Our vet says it is just a coincidence, but I feel that once was a coincidence and the second time was the beginning of a pattern. She did receive Sentinel last year and was fine but . . . not this year. And my parents dog (who has epilepsy) has always gotten Sentinel as his heart worm medication and he is 7. Any opinions would be appreciated!! Heather[/quote] Did you give it with a meal? Sentinal and Interceptor both need to be taken with a meal for them not to get vomited up? Heartguard is a fine medication. its just as good with heartworms, it just dosen't have the added bonus of flees and intestinal parisite being repiled as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zac850 Posted November 8, 2003 Share Posted November 8, 2003 [quote name='JT'] It is obvious the vets are not going to tell us anything that would interupt their revenue stream. JT[/quote] I would just like to disagree with that. I work for a vet clinic, and we do not give the injection, or any other injection from Fort Dodge (who is the maker of the Proheart Injection) We also try to keep bills as low as possible, and we don't do unnescasser things. While i do know of some vet hospitals who do this, i would just like to emphsize the point that not all do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_danielle Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 Hi, I'm in Perth, Western Australia and, as someone else pointed out, the Proheart Injection is annual here....... All of this makes very interesting reading and I feel great empathy for the people that have lost their dogs. However, I did want to present the other side of the argument. I have a beautiful StaffyXKelpie who is 22 months old. She has severe food and atopic allergies and we have spent all of her life sorting these out and finding a diet that is appropriate to her. We have her on the Proheart injection and have had no problems with this product. We made the choice to give her this for a number of reasons, the most important being: 1) all of the tablets you get contain flavourings that she is allergic to (and repeatedly giving her and allergy causing protien can force an anaphalactic reaction) 2) We cannot use revolution because her medicated bathing regime cancells this out 3) It is very important to have protection against heartworm and this is the only form Zayda can safely use People have said that they feel that their dogs have died from having blood clots by being given the injection when they are infected. This would suggested to me that it is not a fault of the injection, but a fault of the testing process that tells us if a dog has heartworm. Others have said that their dog has had an anaphalactic reaction: this means they had an allergic response to the medication. Unfortunately you cannot tell if someone is allergic to something without them experiencing a reaction. These are the same problems and reasons for why people sometimes do not have their dogs vaccinated. I think that it is important to take in all the available informaiton and make your choice based on what is right for you and you dog. Everyone has different sensitivities to different things and, unfortunately, these will sometimes be life threatening. I am not defending the drug multinationals or trying to belittle the sad times that these people have obviously experienced.... I just wanted to show that sometimes things work different for different individuals (as someone pointed out herding dogs have certain sensitivities and should therefore, avoid some products which are quite safe for others). I myself am allergic to one of the very common substitue antibiotics that is given to people who are allergic to penicilin, I have to have this information with me in case of an emergency as this medication is often given in such situations "just in case" the unconsious person is allergic to penicilin. The only way I could find out that I was allergic was to take this drug and have a reaction. The most important and responsible course of action for us to take as consumers is to be informed: be aware of what possible side effects maybe, weigh up the pros and cons of your life situation and then, if you decide to use a product, look out for those side effects and take immediate action. Vets are like people doctors and you have to shop around and find one that is willing to converse with you on such issues. We are lucky as we have extremely good vets (both GPs and Specialists) in this regard. I hope that no one takes offence at this - I am certainly not trying to say that anybody is wrong. But I have learnt through the experience of mine, my Dog's and other people's medical conditions that there are many things on this planet that work for some and not others and that are also illness causing or life threatining for some, whilst being perfectly safe for most. Thanks Danielle Brueschke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.