Is monthly heartworm medication for dogs really necessary?

Question

I have 2 large dogs and every month I give them the heartworm stuff but because they're so big it's pretty expensive. They're indoors 80% of the time by their choice, I think that's typical of Great Danes though, I think that might be why they're sometimes called Castle Dogs But anyways so because they're indoors so much whats the chance that they'd really get heartworms? How do dogs get heartworms? Am I wasting my money? I want to keep my dogs healthy but I don't want to buy the heartworm meds if its highly unlikely that they'd get heartworms anyways. What do you guys think? Thank you in advance for your answers.

Answer 1

Absolutely YES! Keep your dogs on heartworm meds all year long, even if they are inside dogs. It's so cheap to prevent this and so horrible and expensive to treat! My cousin just had to put her 3 year old shepherd to sleep because she thought she couldn't afford the medicine. It cost $45 to put the dog down and $34 for the meds - where's the sense in that?

Heartworm is all over the U.S. and even can be found in Alaska. Testing and prevention is cheap compared to the expensive nightmare of treating a dog with this condition. If the dog lives through the treatment, he can still suffer permanent damage. Even if your dog never leaves the house, he can still be bitten by an infected mosquito.

If I could only afford to give one preventative or vaccine it would be for Heartworm!

Answer 2

OH YES!
Here's what it is and how its spread. Heartworms, also called Dirofilaria immitis, are carried by mosquitos. When they are in mosquitos, you can think of it like the baby worm stage of the life cycle. Once the infected mosquito bites a dog, the baby worms travel in the bloodstream. The blood eventually circulated back to the heart where the baby worms are lodged and start to grow. I have seen a dissected heart with worms and the adult worms look like spaghetti in the heart. When you a lot of them, they start to slow down the blood flow in the body, BAD THING. This is why vets are so concerned about it, its a very real and life threatening thing.
Some people think, I want to wait and then treat my dog when they have signs of heartworms. This is bad for three reasons. One, it can be too late once they start showing signs. Two, the treatment is very dangerous. When the worms start to die, they can lodge anywhere in the bloodstream and kill the pet. And three, the best treatment available, immiticide, is about $800 to treat. This is not cheap stuff.
Since its carried by mosquitos, if you live anywhere near the south or SE USA, and you don't give hearworm medication, your dog has a huge chance of getting heartworm. If you are in FL, GA, SC, AL, LA and you don't give meds, your pet is almost guaranteed of getting heartworms. If you live elsewhere, where there are not a lot of mosquitos, then the chance is less, yes, but is it worth that risk?
So in the long run, it is better for your pet and better for you money wise to give monthly heartworm prevention. I hope I'm not on a soapbox, but I have seen way too many pets die from this. I'm paranoid about my own dog's heartworm meds, much more paranoid about that than flea control. I'm just glad that we can prevent it and have long lived pets.
Hope this helps!
Kova

Answer 3

Its iffy. Heartworm treatment is not only costly but very painful to the dog. They are doing more and finding new better ways to kill it. I rescued a big girl with HW and it destroyed me to watch her go through treatment. I felt so guilty I kept the B*tch and she really is one too. Its been almost 2 years and she is just now moving around and her heart is just now healing. I had been told that after treatment they are fine not so true. Think of a worm eating an apple and the holes left in the apple. Thats what heartworm does to the heart.

They get HW via mosquito bites. If you wanted you could possibly stop during the winter when there are no mosquitos and then have her tested more often.?? The test is usually 40-50 dollars. If you can get blood you can actually do the test yourself much MUCH cheaper. My 14 yr old Daughter does it for our rescues

NEVER EVER give preventative unless you have had bloodwork done to make sure there is no heartworm. They will do what is called Bleeding out. So if you do take them off test before you start again. A great dane bleeding out of every orifice nasty!!!

Answer 4

NO YOU ARE NOT WASTING MONEY...KEEP YOU DOGS ON HEARTGUARD!

Dogs get heartworms by being bitten by mosquitoes that carry the eggs. Heartworm eggs take 6 months to hatch into the worms themselves...that is why you should always have your puppy on heartworm preventative at 4-5 months...my neighbors waited until 9 months to put their yellow lab on it, and then spent over $600.00 on the dog to have him treated at a yr old.

I bought an inside dog (AKC female Rottweiler) from a lady, and it had heartworms (not disclosed to me)...I found out 4 months after I got the dog that she had them (previous owner took dog off preventative during winter and she contracted the heartworms)...this was over 12 yrs ago, and at that time, for a 110 lb dog it was $305.00 to be treated with NO guarantee that she would live through the treatment.

What are the chances of contracting? I'd say 100% chance EVERY TIME your dogs go out to potty! Do you ever get bit by mosquitoes?

You could get the active ingredient and mixing it with honey (by the way it is very bitter, and it may be a fight to give it to them the next time if it is not mixed well), but every month you will take the chance of either not giving enough and they get heartworms anyway, or giving to much and killing your dogs.

I SUGGEST STICKING WITH THE VETS STUFF!

Answer 5

Heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes, and mosquitoes only. They need to carry the larvae until it reaches its infective stage. If you live in an area where mosquitoes are very prominent you should keep your dogs on heartworm prevention even if they are inside 80% of the time. You can also look into Revolution, it is a flea preventative that also prevents against heartworm, ear mites, mange and ticks.

Here is some information:
Revolution Is A Topical Parasiticide That Is Applied To The Skin Of Dogs Six Weeks Of Age And Older And Cats Eight Weeks Of Age And Older. Revolution is used To Prevent Heartworm Disease. Revolution Kills Adult Fleas And Prevents Flea Eggs From Hatching. Revolution Controls and Treats Ear Mite Infestation. Revolution Treats And Controls Sarcoptic Mange and The American Dog Tick. Revolution is also used on cats to treat roundworm And hookworm.
It is slightly expensive, but think of how much you can save by not buying flea and heartworm products seperately. And it even helps prevent other things.

Hope this Helps!

Answer 6

Yes, it is best to keep your dogs on preventative. Much cheaper to prevent heartworm, than to treat it. If you are having a hard time affording the medication, ask if your vet will price match to other places. 1-800-pet meds, or fosters and smith catalogues. There are cheaper places to find the medication, but it is prescription, so your vet has to approve it if you get it mail order. It only takes 1 mosquito to bite your dog and transfer heartworms. Most of the quality heartworm products like Revolution, Heartguard, Triheart, Sentinal etc, will pay for the treatment if your dogs do get heartworm, since no medication is 100%. Revolution is the most effective, and covers the most parasites, including some mange mites, ear mites, various intestinal parasites, and heartworm, as well as fleas and ticks. Year round protection is the safest way, as warm snaps can cause mosquitoes to hatch out early, and it prevents you from "forgetting to start giving it again in the spring." The drug they use to treat for heartworms is a derivative of arsenic. Think about that for awhile. Give your dog heartworm preventative, or give them arsenic to treat it and hope they survive without life long side effects...

Answer 7

I have 2 german shepherds who're inside most of the time too.And I too find the heartworm pills expensive.
But I'd rather spend the money monthly on preventatives than have to sell our house to pay for treatment should they get heartworms.
My friend always had an excuse for not having her Lab tested and put on a monthly treatment.Her kids always needed something they could have lived without.She put them first until they were leaving for a 2 week vacation planning to take the dog with,she noticed the dog coughing 2 days before they were to leave.She took him to the vet the next day and was really upset because she awoke to find him still coughing and listless.
That incident put their vacation on hold for a week and ended up costing her $1,800.00.
Better safe than sorry.

Answer 8

Is Heartworm Prevention Necessary

Answer 9

Heart Worms are caused by the bite of a mosquito.You didn't say where you lived .I know where I live I use Heart Worm meds 6 to 8 months out of the year. I live on the east coast .So in the cold weather months I don't use it.I've seen dogs that even though they spend most of their time indoors still get Heart Worms. I know it's costly ,but the expense to rid your dog of Heart Worms is great and could kill your dog.A ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Answer 10

Or I know! How about we just use mosquito prevention every month without fail and never get a bite in the first place and those ore over the counter and cost less and don't buy into this scare of we must pay the vet for the yearly blood work and then the meds, etc.!