Heartworms

[esquire]

Just found out this afternoon that my 5&1/2 year old Golden has heartworms. He has been on Interceptor since birth and has never missed a pill. Anybody been through this before? My vet said that once he gives him the shot to kill the heartworms I will have to keep him in a crate for up to 60 days. He said that he has been seeing dozens of cases of heartworms a year in Bolivar County. It's like the pills just don't work anymore.

[levi127]

I hate to hear that. Both of my dogs have been on heartguard since puppies and both of them have heart worms now. They have not missed any.
Spoke to the vet and she said ever since Katrina heartworms are showing up more and more in dogs. Even the ones that have been on pills to prevent it.

The shot some people would hands down go with, others like myself couldnt put my dog through all that. I have 2 boxers and I couldnt put them through that pain. Yes they will cough and stuff from time to time and all the time when they get excited.

I found a solution to keep them from growing and eventually kill them off. I spoke to a couple of vets and found out a pill which I personally have seen on 3 different dogs and all of them are like their old ways now. I started giving mine this and about 2 weeks after taking, they stopped coughing and have went back to their good days. You get it at walmart or GNC or im sure any other place that sells medicine. Its called Olive Leaf. Give them the dosage just like you would take your self. It kills different type things. I have not been back to the vet since I started this everyday though. My cousin gave it to his dog and he has no signs of them anymore. He went back a yr after giving them this and they had no signs of heartworms. When the worms die off they will leave gaps so its better to catch them when they 1st start and not wait.

just figured to pass that along and use your own judgement on how you want to treat them.

[duckkiller]

This is just my oppinion, and very easily coulb be totally opposite than what is going on but here goes.


I think its just like a disease(s) that we deal with in turfgrass. If you use the same chemical to control the same fungus/disease every time w/out rotating it then that disease will eventually develop a resistent to that chemical. That in a nut shell is what I think is happening w/all these heartworm incidents.

[levi127]

[GulfCoast]

Go to the gun dog forum and run a search on either "heartworms" or "advantage multi" and you will find lots of information.

Sorry to hear about your dog.

[timbertalk]

My 11 year old lab just had the first of the two shots last Friday. I have had him on Interceptor for years and he still got it. If you can prove that he was given the medication on a monthly basis and you bought the meds from your vet then Interceptor is supposed to pay for the treatment(about $700 for me). Which since I bought them through petmeds.com to save a few bucks will now cost me. As far as the confinement, my vet said that they just don't need to be in a situation where their heart rate would increase. I have kept mine in the garage or on a leash while at home. During the day he stays in the back of my truck which is his normal prefered place to be. It would probably be better for him physically if I locked him in a kennel or the garage, but I can't make myself do it to him all day long. Knowing my dog, that would harm him more than anything. The main thing is to keep monitoring him. If you notice coughing or coughing up blood, you have a problem and need to contact your vet immediatly. Just fyi ........