A 45 to 50 lbs BC (Border Collie) & cutting his heart worm pill in half to save money!

[Doug_FL]

I have given him both Tri-Heart Plus for 51-100 lbs dogs and 26-50 lbs dogs. I have asked if it was
okay to buy the bigger dose and cut into half, thus reducing the cost. I was told the medication is
not evenly distributed in the pills, so this was not a good idea. I however, don't buy that reason.
They vet makes good money on those meds.

However, I love my dog and cat and just to be extra safe, I chose not to cut the pills in half to save
a couple of bucks a month. Has anyone ever done this? I really don't see any reason not to cut the
pills in halves. Anyone know more about this?

[Karen]

I will ask one of the vets I know about this.

[Karen]

Okay, from my friend Annie, vet extraordinaire:


It is True! Please let him know this is manufacturer decision. Not the money grabbing vet. Jeez. Actually the mark up isn't that big.
Also some will have a different concentration per dose eg. One might be 5ml/mg and another 7.5.

This is so the pills are the same size Otherwise large dogs might have I take multiple or one the size of a dinner plate. This is VERY true of cat meds and we see many deaths caused by giving cats half a dog dose as (not this product ) they require different dosing. Hope this helps.

So don't just break a larger dose pill in half, be safe for you and your pooch!

[Jessika]

There is a very good reason not to split them in half; I have spoken with the manufacturers of several heartworm meds and some of them say not to split it because medication is not dispersed evenly throughout the chew/product. So by splitting it in half they may not be receiving the appropriate dose.

When in doubt, call the manufacturer of the product you're using. Not all heartworm pills are created equally in that respect.