Quick Question About HW

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 ;)

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 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.

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.

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:

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

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Originally Posted by cyber-sibes

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:

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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.

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Originally Posted by lv4dogs

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.

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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.

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).

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.

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Originally Posted by K9soul

I found this earlier:http://www.dogsandticks.com/maps/index.html

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Thanks, 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.

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Originally Posted by pnance

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.

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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.

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?

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Originally Posted by Maltese_Love

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

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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.

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Originally Posted by IRescue452

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.

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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.