what happens if you give a dog who hasnt been tested for heartworms a heartworn preventitive?

Answer 1

NO heartworm, no problem.
But the dog can die if it DOES have heartworm.
It is never recommended to medicate without the guidence of a licensed vet.

Answer 2

If they don't have heartworms, nothing. BUT if they have heartworms it can be dangerous. While I was working at a vets office, I found out my dog had a minor case of heartworms. But since it wasn't bad we were able to start her on the preventative and it got rid of them. However if they have a really bad case of heartworms and you give them the preventative the worms start to die and it circulates through the dogs blood stream which is very dangerous for the dog. If they have them though, and you want to cure it, you have to do something. In other words, whatever treatment the vet recomends is still going to be dangerous to the dog. So you have to just take it a day at a time and keep the dog calm and not let them get to excited. Of course, this is all assuming the dog even has heartworms.

Answer 3

You can give the preventative to a heartworm positive dog. I have done so under vet supervision until we could raise the funds to treat a rescue. The preventative will not kill the heartworm, but will weaken it. It is said that it would take 2 yrs for the heartworm to die. So a dog with a high worm count would need to be treated to prevent more damage to the heart.
Read the article at this vet's website.
http://www.evidencebasedvet.com
Click on articles. He links you into the original studies at the government's website showing that dogs who were heartworm positive were given heartworm preventative with no problems.

Answer 4

Heartworm preventative can't be bought without a script from a licensed vet even from an online pharmacy. If any one sells you or gives you heartworm medication that is not a licensed vet or without a script from a licensed vet, they are breaking the law.

Heartworm preventative given to a dog with a severe infestation of heartowrm could potentially kill it. If the infestation is mild it won't present a problem, however there is no way of knowing the extent of infestation without a heartworm test being conducted.

Answer 5

You can kill the dog! Heartworm preventative is designed to kill certain stages of heartworms. If this is given to a Heartworm positive dog (meaning the dog has adult stages of heartowrms), it can kill the dog in the process. These worms are actually in the dog's heart and the dog needs to be under a vet's care while the heartworms are being killed. If you gave your dog heartworm preventative without testing the dog, you need to call you vet.

Answer 6

Well, if the dog has heartworms, then the heartworms will die where they are (in the aorta and ventricles of the heart), causing heart failure in the dog in 99.9% of cases. If the dog doesn't have heartworms, nothing will happen, but NEVER EVER give a dog heartworm medicine if it hasn't been tested for heartworms.

Answer 7

First off, heartworm preventative can be bought without a script. 1% Ivermectin can be bought. I use it in my Shepherds. Saves us a lot. Ivermectin or Heartguard Plus can be used in a heartworm positive dog. If positive, it will eventually kill off the heartworms. Ivermectin is not to be used in most herding breeds. And yes, my vet knows what I use for heartworm prevention. We treat all year round.

Answer 8

Largely an urban myth. Just like a human with normal blood pressure taking blood pressure meds. It will lower your blood pressure a few points, but won't kill you, and only harm you in the slightest, or no way at all.

Now, If your dog is almost dead because he is infested with heartworms, the meds could put him over the top..Just like a human with an extremely low blood pressure would die if taking meds to reduce it further..

Answer 9

if the dog does not have heartworm--then it will be fine
if the dog does have heartworm--it will inhibit the worms but not kill them and the dog will die if untreated. heartworms are difficult to get rid of once a dog has them.

Answer 10

The heartworm meds could actually kill the dog