Preventitive medicine

[Milopup]

Question on preventative medicines for y'all:

Do we need to use Frontline Plus and Interceptor every month? If not, which months will we be able to skip using the preventatives?

Finally, is Interceptor the same as Heartguard?

Thanks.

[Mama Kim]

Heartguard, I believe, is only a heartworm medicine. Interceptor also has an anti-worm medication in it, I believe.

I use Interceptor year-round in Knoxville since our winters are mild. I personally use Advantage for fleas from about April through October.

[CallisMom]

Interceptor and Heartguard are basically the same thing - tablets taken once a month to prevent heartworm. Something I feel very personally is a MUST. (I know of a dog that had heartworm - he luckily survived - but the treatment involved was extermely painful for both dog and owner!!!)

vermectin

Ivermectin (Heartgard

[kayharley]

And Heartguard Plus also has a worm controlling medication in it. My vet was quick to point out the "controlling" part of it.....I still don't quite understand it but I'm assuming it doesn't let certain types of worms common to dogs get out of hand....ugh!

[bradl]

Our male always threw up the heartguard plus. He tolerates regular heartguard fine. I'd rather worm separately anyway.

[Guest Guest]

I believe both meds are about the same. I haven't quite made a decision as to whether I am going to give heartworm at all since it compromises the dogs' immune system. Living in New England I only need it 4 or 5 months out of the year anyway.

Vets really try to push the stuff on on you by telling scary stories about what happens if they get heartworm. I find it hard to take the advice from anyone trying to sell me a a pill they buy for a few bucks and sell for $20.

I would rather just have the dog checked twice a year than give something as caustic as this medication on a regular basis. But if mosquitos are consistently bad where you live you may want that peace of mind.

[CallisMom]

I live in New England as well - CT - and even in the cold winter months we can get mosquitos - a common complaint among my neighbors and myself. I have actually witnessed what happens when a dog gets heartworm - this happened to an aquaintance of mine. They are confined to their crate for MONTHS while given the medication. They cannot move to ensure that the worms when they die do not fall into the lungs. It is heartbreaking to watch - heartbreaking for the owner and of course the dog doesn't understand why he is confined to his crate 24 hours a day!!! If you have your dog tested and it comes up positive - you have no choice but to start treatment. The heartworm preventitives cannot be given to your dog at that time as it will kill your dog. If you want more info on heartworm you may want to contact your local shelters as they are often the ones that have to deal with it! Since most people use preventitives now that is probably why you don't hear of it as much. But I guess my personal opinion - especially after wintessing it first hand - that the possibly compromised immune system is the lesser of the two. It is the same with my children - there are some vaccines that I would prefer not to give but the possible results of not giving them the vaccine completely outweigh any reason I have of not giving them. Just something to think about when you weigh your decision.

[Milopup]

stupid question - how do they catch heartworm?

[bradl]

As many as 30 species of mosquitoes can transmit heartworms. The female mosquito bites the infected dog and ingests the microfilariae during a blood meal. The microfilariae develop further for 10 to 30 days in the mosquito and then enter the mouth parts of the mosquito. The microfilariae are now called infective larvae because at this stage of development, they will grow to adulthood when they enter a dog.

-- http://www.animalclinic.com/hrtworm.htm

[Mama Kim]

I have a friend in TX who rescued a dog with heartworm. He was just a puppy and the treatment Callismom mentioned was exactly what they had to do. The treatments are very hard on the dog and keeping them still a battle. Plus I'm sure it's not cheap! I would prefer to err on the side of caution and just give the monthly pill for my own peace of mind.

[Milopup]

If heartworm is transmitted from mosquitoes, doesn't the Frontline Plus on its own prevent this without using Interceptor?

[CallisMom]

I'm not sure how well the Frontline Plus works with mosquito bites. I know that with ticks - it works okay - but I still pull off at least one or two ticks every morning. ANd today, for example, I pulled 5 out of her hair that hadn't "set" in and one dog tick that I had unfortunately missed that was engorged. And it was engorged in the area where I apply the frontline. I was using advantix but switched to the frontline because I didn't think it was doing that well - I think I am going to switch back - I have had far more ticks with the frontline than with the advantix.

[Milopup]

We are living with my mom in NY, so I guess that is kinda near CT. I never realized that Ticks were such a big issue. Are the Ticks just in the wooded areas, or do they reside on grass and lawns? (Sorry if this is a silly question.)

[kayharley]

Actually ticks can be anywhere outside. The deer ticks are the ones that carry Lyme Disease.