Flea & Heartworm Meds Needed?

[Kauoo]

I just heard from someone that only dogs with compromised immune systems get fleas and heartworm and there's no need to give them meds if they're healthy. What are your thoughts on this? I don't know what I believe anymore

My dogs are on Program from Mar-Sept as recommended by the vet. We're in Vancouver Canada and the night temps were around 55°F just a few days ago. So I'm thinking they don't need heartworm meds as the temp needs to be 60°F?

 

[Ash47]

Heartworm meds need to be given year-round. More than likely, the fleas and mosquitoes will be killed off with the weather being like it is where you are. But, to be on the safe side for your dog's health and to save you what could be loads of money getting the Heartworm treatment, your pup needs to stay on the HWP. Do you just not want to give it? Or are you just asking for the sake of just wanting to know? Just curious.

 

[Manchesters]

You're Kidding!!!!!??????

I just heard from someone that only dogs with compromised immune systems get fleas and heartworm and there's no need to give them meds if they're healthy. What are your thoughts on this? I don't know what I believe anymore

My dogs are on Program from Mar-Sept as recommended by the vet. We're in Vancouver Canada and the night temps were around 55°F just a few days ago. So I'm thinking they don't need heartworm meds as the temp needs to be 60°F?

Well, let's just say that who ever told you that is a fool, and knows nothing about dogs. Thank goodness you are smart enough to question such stupidity! Even people can get fleas AND heartworm.

Now, there are some parasites that take advantage of a compromised immune system----demodectic mange comes to mind.

If you hear any other dumb stuff call a veterinarian and ask them or of couse post here!

 

[Adrienne]

Depending on where you live is how you should dose heartworm meds. Up here in Minnesota we don't have the beasts year round so my dogs get half the recommended dosing of heartgard once a month from april-october. Due to studies done in England I have decided that half the dose that is given in the U.S. is perfectly capable of deterring heart worms.

I have seen a lot of RAW feeders that add garlic to their dogs diet instead of giving the heart worm preventative. They claim it works great and this is from people using this method of litters of pups, kennels of dogs, and individual pets. I wish I was that brave! I don't have that kind of money laying around to treat my dogs if they contacted heart worm.

I do not use anything for fleas and ticks. They are not an issue where I live and I would rather treat the flea's then leave a drug on my dog for that long of a time. We have enough pesticides to deal with and I am not comfortable with them being on my dog like that, also I pet the dogs as do my children, we don't need to be eating frontline everyday! I think treating the problem rather than preventing it is fine in my case. We have never had a flea problem yet!

If you would like a link to a sight that is more about treatment not prevention please PM me and I will give it to you.

 

[bubbatd]

I just don't take any chances. Don't you mean you give 1/2 dose Oct-'til April , Adrienne ??

 

[Adrienne]

I weigh my dogs, get the appropriate dose for their weight of heartgard here in the U.S. and then give them half the recommended dose once a month. Does that make more sense?

Here is the post from Mordy about it from a different thread...

"interceptor is your best bet if you have to use a HW preventive. you can give it every 45 days instead of every 30, just make sure to mark your calendar properly. you also do not need to give the full dose unless you need to the deworming effect for whipworms and hookworms every single month.

if you give it as HW preventive alone, the dose for a dog under 50 lbs is the interceptor package for dogs weighing up to 10 pounds, if your dog is over 50 lbs, the package for dogs weighing 1-25 pounds is enough. this is caommonly referred to as the "safeheart dose", after a european product that uses exactly the same ingredient as interceptor (milbemycin oxime), but in much lower doses.

this is not something unproven and just passed on by word of mouth, it's actually FDA approved. more info here:
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/98fr/080398c.pdf"

That is what I go by

 

[showpug]

I don't give heartworm meds. I worked in a vet clinic for 5 years and never once had a positive heartworm test. In fact, I don't know if we have ever had a documented case of heartworm in our area. The dogs we saw with it (which was hardley ever) all came from serious heartworm states and had just moved up when they were diagnosed. I guess we are lucky to live where we do. Fleas are a problem here in the summer, but my dogs never get them.

 

[Adrienne]

I don't give heartworm meds. I worked in a vet clinic for 5 years and never once had a positive heartworm test. In fact, I don't know if we have ever had a documented case of heartworm in our area. The dogs we saw with it (which was hardley ever) all came from serious heartworm states and had just moved up when they were diagnosed. I guess we are lucky to live where we do. Fleas are a problem here in the summer, but my dogs never get them.

I'm not quite that brave yet, hope to be soon! Our season for mosquito's is very short given our wide temps here right next to lake superior. Do you use anything at all ShowPug? Like if you went out to the woods would you use a repellent on them at all? I understand that the timespan the heart worm larvae has to transfer to another host is extremely short, but the cost is very high to treat a dog that contracts it. Which is the lesser of two evils I wonder?

 

[BagelDog]

Revolution keeps off fleas, ticks, worms, mange, and heartworms (if they dont already have worms or heartworksm), so you dont have to give heartgaurd. Great stuff.

 

[showpug]

I'm not quite that brave yet, hope to be soon! Our season for mosquito's is very short given our wide temps here right next to lake superior. Do you use anything at all ShowPug? Like if you went out to the woods would you use a repellent on them at all? I understand that the timespan the heart worm larvae has to transfer to another host is extremely short, but the cost is very high to treat a dog that contracts it. Which is the lesser of two evils I wonder?

The vets around here don't even recommend the stuff unless you travel with your pets. And if they do recommend it, they are usually after your money! Trust me, I worked for them!!! The mosquito is not the only factor in transmitting heartworm. The temperature outside has to say at a certain level in order for the mosquito to host or carry the larvae. Not all mosquitos carry heartworm. As you may have noticed, I live in Oregon and our weather is NEVER at a steady temperature...LOL!!! On occasion when I feel they need it I will use advantage or revolution. Revolution takes care of heartworm. You must also realize that my dogs are pugs...they never leave the house, literally (with the exception of dog shows, which are generally indoors) LOL. Anyway, I did not pay attention to where you live, but around here it is very rare for the vets to even recommend or address heartworm preventative or the issue itself. There are parts of Oregon that have more of a risk, like Klamath Falls and such, but not Portland.

I might add, that if I felt my dogs were at risk at all then they would be on it in a heartbeat!!

 

[Manchesters]

Ivomec

The vets around here don't even recommend the stuff unless you travel with your pets. And if they do recommend it, they are usually after your money! Trust me, I worked for them!!! The mosquito is not the only factor in transmitting heartworm. The temperature outside has to say at a certain level in order for the mosquito to host or carry the larvae. Not all mosquitos carry heartworm. As you may have noticed, I live in Oregon and our weather is NEVER at a steady temperature...LOL!!! On occasion when I feel they need it I will use advantage or revolution. Revolution takes care of heartworm. You must also realize that my dogs are pugs...they never leave the house, literally (with the exception of dog shows, which are generally indoors) LOL. Anyway, I did not pay attention to where you live, but around here it is very rare for the vets to even recommend or address heartworm preventative or the issue itself. There are parts of Oregon that have more of a risk, like Klamath Falls and such, but not Portland.

I might add, that if I felt my dogs were at risk at all then they would be on it in a heartbeat!!

Around here we use Ivomec Cattle. It controls heartworm, roundworm, hookworm and whipworm. Very effective. You just cannot use it on the collie breeds. Or any collie/mutts.

 

[Mordy]

i don't use heartworm meds. this site helped me to make my decision:
http://bullovedbulldogs.com/gpage.html

unfortunately i have to use advantage to deal with fleas, but i only use it on an as-needed basis, and not the whole tubes, only the minimum effective dose. that way i can treat my 30lb dog and 5 cats with the amount recommended for dogs over 50 lbs.

i do not recommend revolution, if someone absolutely has to use a HW preventive, interceptor is the best choice and has a much better safety track record.

 

[Manchesters]

Hhhhmmmmm, anyone ever seen a dog heart infested with heartworm? And half eaten away? Plus the treatment is extremely dangerous. Most do not want to play roulette with the dogs' health and well being.

PLUS.....whipworm is a real b!tch to deal with. It is a nemotode and is impossible to get out of your ground once you have an infestation. It is a blessing that Ivomec controls all intestinal worms except for tapes.

 

[Gallien Jacks]

We have a prouuct here called stronghold its a spot on treatment and it costs £18 for a corse of three tubes for a dog weighing 5.1-10.0 kg, one box does three months as you use it every four weeks, it covers fleas, flea allergy dermatitis, heartworm, mange and adult roundworm, it is even safe to use on pregnant and lactating bitches and dogs over 6 weeks old

 

[showpug]

i don't use heartworm meds. this site helped me to make my decision:
http://bullovedbulldogs.com/gpage.html

unfortunately i have to use advantage to deal with fleas, but i only use it on an as-needed basis, and not the whole tubes, only the minimum effective dose. that way i can treat my 30lb dog and 5 cats with the amount recommended for dogs over 50 lbs.

i do not recommend revolution, if someone absolutely has to use a HW preventive, interceptor is the best choice and has a much better safety track record.

I am curious to know what problems you have seen with Revolution? Not to challenge you, but out of interest alone. Over my 5 years working in the vet clinic we had a TON of patients on it and not one reaction. Is it the long-term effects that concern you? Any links I could read on the complications? Thanks!

 

[Kauoo]

What would you recommend as the least toxic flea med? I noticed FrontLine was mentioned in an earlier post.

I did a search on Program (Lufenuron) and don't really know what to make of it Does anyone have knowledge on Lufenuron?

 

[pitbulliest]

I don't use heartworm meds...except for when I go camping and I know there are going to be mosquitos around...

I live in Toronto...its a big polluted city (which I don't like all that much by the way lol)..and there just aren't alot of mosquitos around..in fact I haven't seen one at all this summer (except for Lakeshore, where I never take my dog anyways because I KNOW they'll be there)....and it has been extremely humid and hot as hades....so I think I rather take my chances than overdose my baby's body with chemicals and crap.

If you want to give your dog heartworm meds year round..no offense, but I think you're foolish....there are no mosquitos in the wintertime, unless you live way down south...but that's a whole other story...I hate to break it to you, but keeping your dog on meds throughout its life will probably shorten it by a few years if not raise your vet bills...if its strong enough to kill fleas and heartworms, then imagine what its doing to your dogs body...*duh*....

If you live in an area where you know your dog is at risk, then be reasonable and use it during heartworm peak months when its recommended.....if you live in an area where there is very low risk or none at all (especially during colder months)...then maybe you don't need it after all.

 

[Mordy]

I am curious to know what problems you have seen with Revolution? Not to challenge you, but out of interest alone. Over my 5 years working in the vet clinic we had a TON of patients on it and not one reaction. Is it the long-term effects that concern you? Any links I could read on the complications? Thanks!

showpug, you can access data that compares different heartworm meds and their FDA track records here:
http://dogsadversereactions.com/moxidectin/comparison2.html

revolution ===> time frame 5/26/99 to 8/2/05, so a little over 6 years.
that's roughly 1,623 dogs treated for adverse reactions and 38 deaths per year the product has been on the market.

for comparison:

interceptor ===> time frame 12/29/92 to 8/2/05, or about 12 3/4 years.
that's roughly 187 dogs treated for adverse reactions and 10 deaths per year the product has been on the market.

so on a year-by-year basis, there is an almost 9 times higher chance of an adverse reaction occurring from revolution than from interceptor, and an almost 4 times higher chance of death.

 

[Mordy]

What would you recommend as the least toxic flea med? I noticed FrontLine was mentioned in an earlier post.

I did a search on Program (Lufenuron) and don't really know what to make of it Does anyone have knowledge on Lufenuron?

advantage or frontline are the better choice. they are applied (and work) topically, on contact - they do not enter the bloodstream.

for program to work, the flea actually has to bite to be exposed to the substance. how smart is that? one of the worst things about flea infestations is the dog getting bitten and possibly going into a full blown flea allergy dermatitis.

 

[Manchesters]

Ivomec

Of course down here in Florida we DO have to use HW med year round. I mean we are talking 65 degrees on Christmas Day!! I started using Ivomec in 1985. It has been used by Greyhound people for years before that, as well as many show breeders.

It is the same ingredient as is in most of the tablets you get from the vet. Ivermectin. And as I mentioned in the other post it is a boon that it controls most intestinal worms as well.

My dogs have been on it all their lives. I start the puppies out at 6 weeks of age. My initial use of Ivomec was closely monitored by a veterinarian. Some of my dogs have been on it for as many as 14-16 years.

This is posted simply so that those interested can look it up for themselves. Not for any arguement or debate. Questions will be gladly answered.

AND.......Ivermectin crosses the blood brain barrier in Collies, and thus should not be used in any of the Collie breeds...Beardies, Borders, Shelties, Smooths, Rough, etc. At least not in the form of Ivomec.