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Pro Heart Injection Vs Tablets


Willowlane
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Do vets have an obligation to test for heartworm on new customers dogs. I.e blood test

Before giving heartworm preventive.

My dog fell ill over the weekend and is in a bad way. X-rayed Sunday showed enlarged right heart and water on lungs. So 50/50 chance

Currently been given meds to help him and just trying to find info on this.

The dog is from north qld and I have just far south.

Unfortuanly I hadn't researched heartworm until now. Was giving the dog preventative but was two years old when I got him. Now his 6.5 years

to my knowledge the testing should be done before administering any anti heartworm drug because if the dog would already be heartworm infested, the drug may kill him: the drug kills the worms and the dead worms in the body will cause implications (heart, lunge) and finally the dog's death. Hence if you administered anti heartworm drugs for 4.5 years without side effects IMO it is unlikely that your dog has heartworms....but I'm not a vet and there are always exceptions.

ETA: ...if you don't know the dog's medical history, the testing is of course also required to ensure that the dog is heartworm free as a positive test result (=dog has heartworms) would require immediate treatment. Some dogs might survive without treatment if it is only 1 worm, but I guess there would always be side effects (low energy level, no endurance etc.).

Edited by Willem
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Do vets have an obligation to test for heartworm on new customers dogs. I.e blood test

Before giving heartworm preventive.

My dog fell ill over the weekend and is in a bad way. X-rayed Sunday showed enlarged right heart and water on lungs. So 50/50 chance

Currently been given meds to help him and just trying to find info on this.

The dog is from north qld and I have just far south.

Unfortuanly I hadn't researched heartworm until now. Was giving the dog preventative but was two years old when I got him. Now his 6.5 years

My previous vet wouldn't treat without the owner being sure the dog had been tested - if there was an ounce of doubt she'd recommend testing. But I think she was one in a million.

Has the treating vet confirmed it's heartworm?

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When the injection for heart worm came onto the market l had one of my girls immunised with the injection, would never use that method again, she got the biggest lump on the back of her neck and was off colour for several days, the lump took at least three weeks to disappear, I advise all of my puppy buyers to never use it, use Heartguard, just put the chews as a treat and all my kids line up for it with great glee. :thumbsup:

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Jared82

Enlarged right side of the heart sounds like cardiomyopathy which is usually caused by the body's reaction to a virus.

The enlargement causes scar tissue in the heart which makes the heart floppier and weaker.

The fluid on the lungs is the result of the weaker than normal heart.

If you have been giving him heartworm meds for over 4 years, it is very unlikely to be heartworm.

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When the injection for heart worm came onto the market l had one of my girls immunised with the injection, would never use that method again, she got the biggest lump on the back of her neck and was off colour for several days, the lump took at least three weeks to disappear, I advise all of my puppy buyers to never use it, use Heartguard, just put the chews as a treat and all my kids line up for it with great glee. :thumbsup:

the injection is not an 'immunisation', like the needles for parvo etc :) It is an injection of a chemical which kills heartworm larvae before they can grow and migrate to the dog's heart .....

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the test for heartworm is a simple snaptest...(they sell them even on Ebay)...it is easily done and requires only a few drops of blood (blood should be taken by a qualified person so) and gets immediate results.

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  • 11 months later...

I tragically lost my dog yesterday after a reaction after being given his yearly vaccinations and a heart worm needle

We are all in shock :(

in case you didn't find this in your reading .... it's from this thread ..

CLICK HERE

Apologies in advance - this is probably not what you want to read - but it will help explain things. :(

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I tragically lost my dog yesterday after a reaction after being given his yearly vaccinations and a heart worm needle

We are all in shock :(

I am so sorry to hear about your boy. Unfortunately sometimes dogs will just have horrible reactions to things even if they've been fine in the past. My thoughts are with you during this so sad a time. :hug::heart::hug:

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We no longer heartworm,the risk in our area is low compared to the risks given it.

We use to always heartworm but over the years the products keep changing and more issues seem to be cropping up.

In our puppy paper work we do not recommend the yearly needle

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I'm in the minority I know. Our 3 Kelpies have all been on the annual Proheart for the last 6 years and are fine and healthy. Our foster dogs mostly tend to be on it, too post adoption with a few variances. We do prefer it for convenience factors but did talk about it with our vet who we trust and has looked after all our dogs and foster dogs through the years. We're comfortable it's the right choice for our dogs, although appreciate that other people choose other options.

Edited by koalathebear
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I'm sure I've posted in this thread before but I lost my heart dog due to an adverse reaction to pro heart. It was awful, I would never wish that kind of death on anyone and I will never risk one of my animals again.

I am so sorry for your loss ggardiner.

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I just use 1% Ivermectin at around 0.1 cc / 10 kg once a month. That's more than is in HeartGuard tablets, but entirely safe for dogs that aren't MDR1 positive. Treatments for mange commonly use doses that are a hundred times more. It's cheaper than chips.

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