Heartworm

[imported_Kat]

This has never been an issue for me living in N.Ireland but moving to Texas there are mossies and Kes will have to be on Heartworm preventative. Please can I get a little input as to what brand is best to use and how often she gets it etc?

Thanks:-)

[DogPaddle]

I think Heartgard is pretty common. The get one dose every month - its sorta like a treat thing.

Anyone heard anything bad about Heartgard?

[Clueless]

I have Daisy on Sentinel, for heartworm and flea protection. I give her 1 pill on the first of every month. Due to the warmer climate here, heartworm protection is for the full year. In cooler climates it is often only for 6 months. The flea protection is also a year round problem here, worse in the warmer months but ever present.

What I recommend is when you get here, set up an appointment with a vet right away and find out what they recommend you use, it is different for different areas and he/she should know what is best for your dog in that area. I also recommend getting it from the vet and not over the internet or another source. The medication is heat sensitive and if not stored properly it is not effective, only through the vet can you be sure it has been stored at the proper temprature.

[imported_Kat]

She definitely can't have ivermectin as shes a collie. Pastoral and herding breeds can have allergic fatal reactions to it which isn't yet fully understood. Thanks for the rest of the info though gang :wink:

[DogPaddle]

Ah yes Heargaurd and Ivermectan - I forgot about that. I'll have to see what the vet sent me home with and have him switch it to Interceptor if its Heartgaurd. Thanks.

[TDG]

kat - just so you know, there is a test available now to find out which dogs carry the gene for the sensitivity.

all that aside, personally i also believe interceptor is the better product. and here's some additional information you might be interested in:

you can give interceptor every 45 days instead of every 30, just make [b]sure[/b] to mark your calendar properly. you also do not need to give the full dose unless you need to the deworming effect for whipworms and hookworms every single month (imo, overkill).

if you give it as HW preventive alone, for a dog under 50 lbs the interceptor doses packaged for dogs weighing up to 10 pounds is sufficient, if over 50 lbs, the dosses packaged for dogs weighing 11-25 pounds is enough. this is commonly referred to as the "safeheart dose", after a european product that uses exactly the same ingredient as interceptor (milbemycin oxime), but in much lower doses.

this is not something unproven and just passed on by word of mouth, it's actually FDA approved. more info here:
[url]http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/98fr/080398c.pdf[/url]