heartworms!?!?what to do???

[billyho]

I ran into a little problem at the vet yesterday. My 3yr old choc. has been on heartguard his whole life. His heartworm test came back positive yesterday. What the hay??? Vet advised the vaccination (2 shots) or something like that. Has anybody else had this problem? Is the vaccination the way to go? It scares the crap out of me. I will go to whatever extremes it takes to fix the problem, this is my little buddy we're talking about, I just want to make sure this is the best thing to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[skuna]

If you know he has been on HG from day one his entire life, I would get a second opinion.

[msbigdawg1234]

Ditto.

[ruger0771]

they can treat/cure heartworms with some sort of medicine if in fact the dog does have them ---I belive it's arsenic(sp)-- also if you can prove it has been on Heartgaurd, talk to the company and they may pick up the bill for the treatment -- I had a shepard that got heartworms and he is fine now but the treatment was somewhere in the area of $650 -- the only kicker is that if your dog is treated for the heartworms, be prepared for 3-6 months of the dog being "inactive" --the vet told me to keep my shepard away from much excercise due to possible damage to the heart from the heartworms

[billyho]

The vet has contacted heartguard for me. I have proof that he has been on heartguard. He thinks they will pay. The down time of 3 to 6 months concerns me though. Vet said at the most 2 months?

[T-Bone]

When the vet says "inactive" he means it. I had a neighbor in which I gave a verbal shellacking, to put it nicely, get lazy and didnt go to the vet and get new HW meds when he ran out. As ruger mentioned they, the doc, actually give them arsenic. Yes they have to poison the dog to kill the heartworms. Now back to the inactive part. The infected dog must stay crated 24-7 for at least 30days only to be let out to do his business, on leash, and walked at a snails pace. No interaction with anyone that may get the dog excited. From what I was told by my neighbor the vet said that a increased heart rate could possibly cause serious problems and possilby a heart attack or stroke due to the arsenic. But it does work and I am happy to report that my neighbors lab is healthy again with no problems. But be forewarned--your dog will be one sick and puny pup for a while and a sad site to see.
Sorry if this post scared you. Its intention was only meant to relate my experience with heartworms. I may have a few details wrong and I am not by any means an expert but most of what I have stated is fact.

Good Luck! Hope everything works out!

[rt]

I don't know about the "big" dogs, but i raise beagles. Alot of the people that i field trial and hunt with use Ivermectin for heart worms. 1/10th of a CC for every 10 pounds every 2 months. I have never had a problem with heartworms, been doing this for about 11 years. If you do get one with heartworms, the treatment with ivermectin is kind of dangerous, cause you don't want to kill all the worms at once. they will clog the arteries as they die out.

Just my thoughts, works for me.

[Doc & Nash]

If you have been on Hearguard I would get in touch with them. They have a guarentee but they will require a second positive test.

[billyho]

Thanks for all the info guys. I just got back from the vet. He has contacted Heartguard again, they do require a second test which will be performed in the morning. If it shows positive, heartguard will pick up the tab. That's good but money was never the concern in the first place. Vet says first shot will be a 1/2 dose, the other shot will be the other 1/2. This is supposedly to keep from killing all the worms at once. I still have concerns about the "getting to excited" part. Do you recomend maybe leaving him at the vet for a month?

[legends of the lower mars]

Just like all the guys said; The dog must stay inactive!!! Excitement will cause cause vessels int the lungs to rupture and or the dog can have a heart attack...

[T-Bone]

I would ask your vet that question first.

[legends of the lower mars]

legends of the lower mars
Just like all the guys said; The dog must stay inactive!!! Excitement will cause vessels in the lungs to rupture and or the dog can have a heart attack... And you can keep the dog quiet at home. If you have a back room in the house you can put a kennel crate in, it should do the trick. I wouldn't recommend leaving him outside in a kennel crate. Too much to get em' worked up...

[legends of the lower mars]

Just like all the guys said; The dog must stay inactive!!! Excitement will cause vessels in the lungs to rupture and or the dog can have a heart attack... And you can keep the dog quiet at home. If you have a back room in the house you can put a kennel crate in, it should do the trick. I wouldn't recommend leaving him outside in a kennel crate. Too much to get em' worked up...[/quote]

[Faithful Retrievers]

I had it done before when my male was about the same age. Vet explained it to me that my choice was do the treatment and it may have affect on him later but if i did nothing he may make it two more years. I did the treatment kept him kennel confined and he was fine and that was 6 years ago. My concern was how active he would be after the treatment and kennel time. It took him another month or so after and he hasn't missed a beat since.

[billyho]

Thanks faithful retrievers. I was kind of worried bout how he would react to being "kenneled up" for a month. I'm glad I heard all of these positive comments. I feel alot better about the whole ordeal. Thanks to everybody.