We took one of our dogs in for her shots and heartworm check and she was positive.
They said to bring our other dog in to have him checked and he was positive too.
We have been 100 percent compliant with their monthly heartworm preventative but something went wrong, possibly some meds that were recalled a few months ago because they were defective.
I don't think my older dog will survive the tx.
We also got a puppy about a month ago from the pound. She was about 12 weeks old when we got her, and had not been given any preventative until we got her.
I guess they can't test them til they are 7 or 8 months old to see if they are positive, so there's a strong possibility she has them too.
I am just sick over this.
Has anyone been through this and what did you do? I am wondering what our options are at this point.
Posted by BoxerMom (Member # 25251) on :
Oh no! I know nothing about heartworms, I just want to say I'm sorry and wish all your pups the best.
It's hard to care for sick animals when we are sick ourselves. The worry, concern and fear are difficult to handle. Please take good care of yourself. You've done everything right. This is just terrible luck.
Humaworm does a pet formula. You might check their website.
Good luck to your fur babies. Keep us posted.
Posted by faithful777 (Member # 22872) on :
Treatment is usually 4 months and during that time the dog has to be in a crate with little movement so that a disintegrating heartworm does not block a blood vessel.
Heartworm pills are not 100% but it is strange that both of your dogs are positive. I would get another heartworm test at a different vet before I proceeded with treatment to make sure they are correct. What heartworm preventative did you use?
If both dogs go into the vets for treatment, perhaps they could be together and that might help your older dog get through it.
Please let us know how this all turns out.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
AWW... so sorry to hear!
Posted by linky123 (Member # 19974) on :
faithful, the vet does two tests, one in the office and then they send one off to confirm.
We should get those results this week. They said they had only had one dog to ever have a false positive.
We used Frontline which we got from the vet. Had never had problems til now.
Posted by susank (Member # 22150) on :
I did not think Frontline was used as a HW preventative.
FWIW a dog I adopted was HW positive. We opted for the "slow-kill" method - suggested by the vet - which is not the dangerous/restrictive Arsenic treatment.
Research the "slow-kill" method. ie using the regular Heartguard monthly preventative etc.
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
i never heard of frontline for heartworm...you need the little chewey thing once a month right?
i didnt know about that tx-that sounds awful. my dog would have a hard time with that. i dont know if i would put an older dog thru that.
and i guess it would change a puppys personality.
i would look into what susank is saying about an easier tx
good luck to all of you.
Posted by linky123 (Member # 19974) on :
Frontline is what the vet prescribes as a heartworm preventative.
Have been using it for years and just recently had this problem.
I will check into the slow kill method, I really don't think my oldest dog will tolerate the faster tx.
My other dog is no spring chicken either, so she could have problems too.
Posted by faithful777 (Member # 22872) on :
Frontline is a topical for fleas and ticks, not heartworm prevention. That is probably why your dogs have heartworm. It doesn't prevent mosquito bites which is how the dogs get the heartworm infection.
All heartworm prevention is some form of tablet. I was a vet tech for many years and if your dog is older, you want the slow kill method. If you can put your dogs together for treatment, your older dog might do okay.
Posted by Ellen101 (Member # 35432) on :
Frontline is definitely not for heartworm prevention. If this is what your vet told you to use then find another vet. Is it possible you misunderstood?
Posted by linky123 (Member # 19974) on :
I'm sorry. The heartworm medicine is called Heartguard.
I get it confused with the flea and tick stuff.
Didn't mean to confuse everyone.
Posted by Dogsandcats (Member # 28544) on :
How are your dogs doing- anything new?
Posted by faithful777 (Member # 22872) on :
Did you give it to them every month like clockwork? The statistics are low that a dog can get heartworm even if you never miss a dose. If you are in a warm climate, it needs to be given all year long.
It is odd that both dogs got it. If you got the heartguard from the vet, heartguard has some guarantee that if you dog gets heartworm anyway, they will pay for some of the treatment, but that is only if you bought the medication from your veterinarian.
I buy mine outside as I have 4 dogs but I use intercepter spectrum.
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