Quick Question About HW [Archive]

BC_MoM

06-28-2006, 09:28 PM

Should you do a test for heartworm every year?

When my Mom called about the dogs, the vet said we won't need to test Mickey because he didn't have heartworm last year... I don't know how I feel about that. A friend of mine's dog didn't have heartworm last year and has it this year. Lucky they did the testing.

.sarah

06-28-2006, 09:33 PM

I would, but then again I live in Florida. I actually test twice a year.

lute

06-28-2006, 09:55 PM

i do once a year. it can get kind of costly because i get ALL my rescued HW tested too.

caseysmom

06-28-2006, 10:27 PM

My vet won't give me the meds without a test, they require it once a year.

lv4dogs

06-29-2006, 08:23 AM

I keep my dogs on preventative all year round, therefore they only need to be tested every other year.

In my area if you are not on preventaive all year round it is reccomended to have your dog tested yearly.
And you can not get any preventative unless your dog is recently tested.

Pembroke_Corgi

06-29-2006, 08:34 AM

My vet won't give me the meds without a test, they require it once a year.
Same here. Unless they have been on preventative all year, I think they are supposed to get tested once a year so the vet can dispense the hw preventative.

lv4dogs

08-07-2006, 01:39 PM

Crazy-Cat-Lover

08-07-2006, 01:45 PM

kufan

08-07-2006, 01:50 PM

We test every year for safety and keep them on preventative all year round!

lv4dogs

08-07-2006, 01:54 PM

This is all I could find...

Heartworm Locations (http://maxshouse.com/Heartworm_Illus/heartworm_area2.jpg)

Well you're doing better than I am, at least you found something. lol It's still not what I am looking for, the one I have seen before is more detailed than that. You can zoom in & out and it also states the "known" possitive cases of heartworm for each area as well.

My Peanuts

08-07-2006, 02:17 PM

Around here if a dog is on year round Heart Guard then they test every 2 years. My dogs are only on Heart Guard from May-December (no mosquitoes in Chicago in the freezing cold) so we test every year.

The test is cheap. At my vet it’s $26 I believe. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Jimmy had heart worm when we got him. The treatment is terrible and makes them VERY sick.

wolfsoul

08-07-2006, 02:26 PM

Around here, no one tests for heartworm. The dog is either on a preventative or it's not. :confused:

IRescue452

08-07-2006, 03:10 PM

I would love to find a place where you can just buy the preventative all year round. As far as I know about laws, dog medicine doesn't need a prescription here, so why do only vets carry this stuff?!! Its a freakin' monopoly so the vets can get money, but there is no legal reason that only vets can sell it. If your friends dogs has heartworms then I think you should test.

lv4dogs

08-07-2006, 03:21 PM

I would love to find a place where you can just buy the preventative all year round. As far as I know about laws, dog medicine doesn't need a prescription here, so why do only vets carry this stuff?!! Its a freakin' monopoly so the vets can get money, but there is no legal reason that only vets can sell it.

Actually if a dog is heartworm positive and takes the preventative it can be deadly. Therefore I totally agree that only vets should carry the product and also make it mandatory to test before giving the preventative.

bckrazy

08-07-2006, 03:26 PM

I agree with Sue.

If a dog that has heartworm is given preventative, it does more harm than good. People would just be sporatically giving their dogs preventative with no idea whether they were HW positive or not, which is very very bad.

Aurie

08-07-2006, 03:29 PM

The adult worms live in the heart. If the dog is infested with heartworms and giving a medicine to kill the worms (the preventive), the worms can strangle the heart. It is a very bad situation. When I was a girl, my mother didn't understand this and got one dog tested and split the meds with our other dogs. Apparently one of the dogs was positive and died very painful. It was horrible to watch :(

When we were in Ohio, if the dog was on prevention year round they tested every two years. Here in Louisiana, they test every 6 months unless on prevention year round and then once a year. Our vet informed us that even on year round prevention, many dogs will still test positive here. It is extremely bad in this area. Those preventions are guarenteed. If your dog becomes positive, their treatment is paid for. Our dogs won't be missing any treatments ;)

IRescue452

08-07-2006, 05:27 PM

I didn't think of that. We do get our dogs tested yearly, I just wish I didn't have to buy so much direct from the vet.

bckrazy

08-07-2006, 05:38 PM

You can buy HW meds online, along with flea/tick preventative. :) You do need a prescription, but you do not have to buy it directly from your Vet.

IRescue452

08-07-2006, 09:20 PM

The local pick'n save sells the new hartz flea tick and mosquito drops for 33 cents a tube. It probably costs approx. 2 cents to manufacture each tube. The new active ingredient for hartz is phenothrin, which is non-toxic, so its much safer than their old pyrmethrin stuff. Hartz was quick with the changes and recalls they needed after the cat deaths from the old stuff.

cyber-sibes

08-07-2006, 09:29 PM

Our vet suggests a test every year, but since mine are on it all year long, we only do it every couple years. Star's first vet, in Illinois, was very insistent on using heartworm prevention meds. He had this gross model of an infested heart that he kept in his office --- after seeing that, I don't want to risk my babies getting it!

Sue - don't know if you found the heartworm map yet, but there's a US tick infestation map out there too. Wish I had bookmarked it :rolleyes:

Danegirl2208

08-07-2006, 10:33 PM

i once a year, heatworm is not a big problem here, but i test just to be safe.

K9soul

08-07-2006, 10:45 PM

Sue - don't know if you found the heartworm map yet, but there's a US tick infestation map out there too. Wish I had bookmarked it :rolleyes:

I found this earlier:

http://www.dogsandticks.com/maps/index.html

I was thinking about the same thing because my vet has talked about how high Lyme disease incidences were in MN and that's why I am very vigilant on frontline and a Lyme vaccine. Willie got Lyme's when I was younger and it was a scary experience, it is a good thing he got diagnosed before it progressed too badly. MN is one of the worst for ticks with Lyme's.

pnance

08-07-2006, 11:33 PM

I was wondering if anyone had a link to the website that has a map of the USA. It states what areas/states are more common for heartworm.
I am doing a study on it for a presentation for a local shelter and can not find the site. I know it's out there somewhere, I've seen it before.

Don't know if this will help but I saw this

http://www.heartwormsociety.org/incidencemapnew.htm

Heartworm wasn't big in CA for years, so most people did't test or have their dogs on prevention. It's unfortunately becoming much more common, so we're now having to include that in normal checkups like a lot of other states, but to be honest most don't even think about it hear.

binka_nugget

08-07-2006, 11:41 PM

I haven't tested my dogs. They haven't had any preventatives this year either. I think I may test them (just to be 100% sure) as soon as I save up some extra money. HW isn't a huge concern here though. I heard from a holistic vet that there are only 2-3 reported cases in the Okanagan alone. A dog is more likely to react badly to HW preventative than get HW (in Vancouver).

K9karen

08-07-2006, 11:54 PM

My vet tests every year. I buy the preventative in a 6 month at a time supply because of the expense. I think if your vet writes a script, you can send it to "Drs Foster & Smith" (the catalogue people) and it's cheaper. Not sure about "PetMeds", the company you can call (toll free) because you must need a script to send to them.

cyber-sibes

08-08-2006, 08:17 AM

I found this earlier:http://www.dogsandticks.com/maps/index.htmlThanks, it's a little more general than the one i remember, but at least it gives you an idea. Fortunately ticks are not too common around us now, but we used to live in a highly infested area along the Mississippi river - very high rates of HW there, too.

lv4dogs

08-08-2006, 08:24 AM

Don't know if this will help but I saw this

http://www.heartwormsociety.org/incidencemapnew.htm

Heartworm wasn't big in CA for years, so most people did't test or have their dogs on prevention. It's unfortunately becoming much more common, so we're now having to include that in normal checkups like a lot of other states, but to be honest most don't even think about it hear.

Well it's still not the same one I've seen before (but it was a couple/few years ago, maybe it doesn't even exist anymore???) but it's better than the other ones I can find. Thanks a bunch!! :D
It is very similar to the one I'm looking for but it's not as defined. The one I am looking for has all that info but it also displays more detail about how many cases are found in different sections of each state, not just the whole state in general.

Alysser

08-08-2006, 08:50 AM

Sassy is on Heart Guard year-round and is tested every other year.

Can dogs get HW if the go on grass, or is that only fleas and ticks?

lv4dogs

08-08-2006, 08:55 AM

Can dogs get HW if the go on grass, or is that only fleas and ticks?

Heartworm is transmitted through mosquites, so if she goes outside (doesn't matter if she is on grass, concrete, pebbles, etc...) she is at risk.

My Peanuts

08-10-2006, 05:04 PM

I didn't think of that. We do get our dogs tested yearly, I just wish I didn't have to buy so much direct from the vet.

You don't. You can go to www.1800petmeds.com, but there are a lot of other places too. You need a prescription from your vet. If your vet is like ours they are happy to give you the prescription.