I want to get my puppy some heartworm preventive medication without having to take her to the vet to do so.
2006-07-24 12:35:38 · 7 answers · asked by Miss D 7 in Pets ➔ Dogs
You really should check with your vet first and give your new pet a check up, it can be very dangerous to give pets medication without so. Your pet could have any number of conditions that you are unaware about and medication could serioursly hurt him/her. All dogs/cats need to go on heartworm as a preventative but you should check with your vet. Just to let you know, you do not need a prescription for heartowrm medication anyways......
2006-07-24 13:16:11 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Just to let you know that the article that Great Dane lady referred you to was
1) written in 1997- 9 years ago!! (apparently older than some of the posters here!)
2) was a study about a drug THAT WAS TAKEN OFF THE MARKET FOR KILLING DOGS!!!!!!!!!!
Heartworm prevention is extremely important for any pet- cats and dogs! It is important that your pet is tested prior to being placed on monthly prevention because if a pet has a high class of heartworms- prevention can cause more damage than good.
In regards to online pharmacies- the product guarantees are not in effect if not purchased through a veterinary office. Companies cannot guarantee that the product is not expired, has been stored and shipped correctly and even if it is the correct product! You take a great risk by using something bought sight unseen basically. The main thing to remember is- NO GUARANTEE no matter what the pharmacies say. Trust me, even if you are religious in giving the prevention every 30 days, your pet might still come up positive. Is it really worth the couple bucks a month to take that risk?
Some math for you- we average $10 higher per 6 month supply on our heartworm prevention than online pharmacies. So you save $20 a year. Cost for heartworm treatmen on a 40# dog is over $600. If you have to treat your dog for heartworms, he would have to live 30 years for you to break even!
2006-07-24 14:13:58 · answer #2 · answered by Pook 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would go to the vet. when you buy these meds online they have no guarentee and a lot of dogs have been getting heartworms and etc. They use to sell it at my local feed store. but stopped becuase they never controlled the temp. just as when being shipped to your door. I find it easier to just go to the vet and stock up.
heartworm preventative don't require a prescription where i'm from the only thing they do is if I can't prove that she has been on them in the past 3 months then they have to give a heartworm test, which is for protection. when giving these meds and they have heartworms it can be harmful
2006-07-24 12:44:24 · answer #3 · answered by halfpint 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Read what Dr. Malernee of Fl. has to say about the heartworm pill. He is a licensed regular vet.
www.evidencebasedvet.com Click on "articles" and scroll down to heartworm article. Also follow the link in the article to the government's weblink on the original studies.
You will need a prescrip from the vet to order elsewhere. There is also a generic version of Heartgard that can save you some money.
2006-07-24 13:33:00 · answer #4 · answered by A Great Dane Lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know of any for heartworms, but a great place to shop for other wormers,vaccines and other pet supplies without prescription ( state regulations vary) is
www.jefferspet.com
Check them out.
2006-07-24 12:44:58 · answer #5 · answered by Samma 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
to get the heartworm meds...i believe that you can order them online but a vet will be called to verify it. i order all my pet meds online but my vets office gets a phone call and has to verify that i actually have these animals...if the puppy has already been to the vet just put the vets name and phone number down when you order (they'll ask you for it)...if he hasn't been to the vets yet, you'll need to take him in order to get any meds...
2006-07-24 12:41:58 · answer #6 · answered by irishmomof3 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Petmeds.com
2006-07-24 12:48:02 · answer #7 · answered by wasabiprincess1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, he will need to have a test. There is no reason to give a dog medicine he may not need or that would be inappropriate! You may kill your new pet!
2006-07-24 12:42:25 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i wanted to do that but my pets hadn't been seen for over a year...so they needed a checkup first.....and then....wanted to charge me a fee for the service to ok the online meds...!!!!!!!! and he wasn't the only one...good luck
2006-07-24 12:51:17 · answer #9 · answered by Happy Summer 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋