Heartworm testing

[Mountain Creek]

Hey everyone!

So my BF brought the dog to the vet to get her updated on all her vaccinations and to buy her some heartworm preventative. As he was checking out he asked them if he could buy some heartguard and they told him no since she had to be tested. Now call me a bad owner but I did not continue her on the preventative through the whole winter I never did with my other dog and she's still going strong at 13 years old. They said by their records she needed to be tested on April 28. Which probably means if I would have went in there on April 27 to buy it I would have not had an issue.

Six years ago when we first moved to PA I brought my other dog Midnite to the vet and she had not been on a preventative for over 6 months and they asked me if I wanted to get her tested. I asked them what they thought and they said if the dog has been off it for more than 3 months its a good idea so I tested her (obviously came back negative).

Now I know if the dog has heartworms they can't be on a preventative but I just feel that they want me to pay for something that I'm 99.9% sure is going to come back negative anyway. Its ridicoulous that I hit the 3 month mark on April 28 and they want her tested.

So who here gives preventative all year long? Who here gets their dog tested every year? Or if someone would like to educate me and tell me I'm a total nit wit and need to have my dog tested I'm up for that too.

Okay rant over.

Edit: Just wanted to add she's going to be tested obviously (she needs the heartgard since summer is upon us!) but I really just wish they would have told me when I made the appointment so I would have had enough money.

[LittleRedMare]

I don't know if it's different in the States but I know the vets here in Canada (responsible vets, anyways...) will not give out the heartworm preventative without testing first. It's just too risky because the preventative medication can be very hazardous to an already infected animal. Even if the dog has been diligently on the meds in the past year (dogs in Ontario only stay on the meds until November- not through the winter) the vet will still test as the medication is not 100% foolproof.

[shelsnsaus]

Just treated a rescue for heartworm this past year, and its soo much easier to keep on preventative and test as needed (not to mention cheaper) than it is to treat heartworm. BTW there are no outward symptoms of heart worm until there is an active and bad infestation going on, so don't go by symptoms. I live in this area to, and keep my pups on preventative year round and still test every other year anyway.

Heartworm preventative works in reverse. I other words it kills the heartworm larva in the blood that can start the infestation when the dog is bitten by an infected mosquito. Too much beyond the 30 day period that the dog takes the preventative for and the larva move on to the next stage of their life and aren't affected by the preventative. So in a nutshell, heartworm preventative allows infection to take place, but halts the life process of the heartworm when preventative is administered.

[Mountain Creek]

Thanks LRM and shelsnsaus!

After I ranted I did a little googling. I guess I'm just peeved that they didn't tell me she needed to be tested and we have to drive 40+ minutes to get there. When we called to make the appointment I told them we wanted the preventative and they didn't say "Oh by the way she'll need to be tested." If so my BF would have brought more money with him.

[elevenelevenxo]

I test my dogs annually. Now, buying the actual heartworm preventative meds....that's what I find to be a pain in the butt. I'm sure if I bought 6mo or so supply at a time it wouldn't be so bad, but it's pricey...and I can usually only afford to buy month-to-month. But I have an awful memory and always forget. I had my vet just call on the 1st each month and that helps....lol.

[Equine_Woman]

I miss the shots. I saw a vet near me has them again. Anybody know the story on if the 6 month shots are coming back? Cause I'm TERRIBLE at remembering. ..

[AUEquine]

Dog's must be tested annually, because it is possible for them to get heartworms while on prevenative. Also this test is necissary for legal reasons. One to cover the vet's rear, for perscribing you the meds. And two, if you have records of negative tests and have purchased all your meds from the vet (not 1800petmeds or others), then the maker of the meds will pay for the treatment. But you must have all the medical records to get them to do it.

[pandorasmom]

As long as our dogs stay on HW prevention our vet doesn't require tests. However, if we skip a few months, they require retesting to make sure they don't have anything.

We keep ours on HW prevention year round as we are in a very bad mosquito area, and I don't bother with stopping through winter. Easier for me to remember just giving it the first of every month.

We also have heard for some dogs who you don't have a past history on, you can start them out on a low dose of Ivomec once a month and gradually increase it to the full strenght they need for their weight, and it has helped get rid of heartworms before. I don't know this to be 100% true just saying what I've heard from several who said it worked if I'm not mistaken.

Our vet sends out reminder papers if dogs need shots, and we also keep a running spreadsheet of any dog that needs shots and when they are due.

[Mountain Creek]

I made another appointment for our pup so she can get her heartworm test.

EW I never knew there were shots?

Pandora normally they do send out reminders but all the past reminders were just for her vaccines. I guess I'll be getting that reminder some time this week since the three month mark just passed on April 28.

[vicklynn]

I need to ask my vet about HW shots.

I do not give them HW meds. I did for years but quit. When I get them tested they come back negative.

[pandorasmom]

Well ours never sends reminders on HW meds/testing, so I couldn't help you there. Sorry!

[Joshie]

They changed how they do things recently. You now have to have blood testing annually even if your dog is on year round medications per recent vet guidelines.

[shelsnsaus]

There were shots on the market years ago. They were taken off because they resulted in health complications and death for many pets. Not sure if I would trust being in on the initial come back of them. Initially they were supposed to be safe and many died or were permanently disabled because of them. For the reliability of the once a month ones I think, for now at least I'd like to stick with the tried and true, rather than risk safety for convenience. The shot was called Pro Heart before it was recalled in 2004

[Mountain Creek]

Well thankfully none of the vets I went to had the shots. That's just horrible. :(

[Sundays Man]

It is strange. When Rudy was 6 months old he was put on HW med. They didn't test him though because they said he was not old enough to have anything but larvae because it takes "X" number of months for the heartworm to mature. They assured me that the med would kill the larvae. Why would it be any different for a mature dog that has been on continuous med. If you use the same vet all the time, they would know that you have had the dog on meds. I think it's a gimmick. My older dog JJ needs meds now and I couldn't get them until I brought him in for a test. :doh::(