I rescued a dog & he has to be treated for heartworms. they're giving him prevent. now. What should I expect?

Question

Will he be ok???

Answer 1

If your dog is heartworm positive and being treated, the first thing you'll probably notice is that he'll cough a bit for the first several days. The medication will kill the worms, and as his body rejects them some of them can get into his thoat and lungs.

It is essential that you keep him still and quiet for SEVERAL WEEKS while he's in the initial stages of recovery. If he gets excited or runs around, the worms being killed in his heart can be pumped throughout his blood stream and may cause a clot, heart attack or stroke. It may be difficult, but the dog HAS to remain still. If you have to, crate him for the duration of his recovery period, and take him out for short, quiet walks.

Keep him on the medication, and have the dog re-checked periodically as your vet recommends. Simple blood tests can tell you if the infestation has been eradicated.

With treatment, most dogs recover from heartworm infestations (if they're caught early enough).

Thank you for rescuing a special needs dog!

Answer 2

it really is going to be favourite operating technique yet regrettably it isn't. till now Katrina, there have been many parts of the rustic that were heartworm loose. Now those parts are infested with heartworms. i think that rescues and shelters might want to ought to abide by technique of an same guidelines as breeders. i think that any dogs that go state lines must have a veterinary well being certificate and that would want to be enforced. area of that well being certificate might want to contain that the dogs be examined and cleared of heartworm ailment. This has been achieved in horses for years. The horses might want to be coggins examined adverse to EIA or they could't commute out of state. Please do not use the rescue back. also publicize this somewhat. possibly some peer pressure can help you get this began. For the quantity of money that the traditional public spends on a rescue dogs, it really is going to be freed from heartworm ailment or a minimum of the positive attempt must be disclosed to the flair proprietor. right this moment adoptors don't have any recourse even as they undertake a sick animal. If this dogs would were bought froma breeder there will be he11 to pay.

Answer 3

This is a very hard question to answer. It depends on how bad the heartworm are. If it is a mild case, your dog may go through periods where he just doesn't feel well, is tired, etc. If it is a severe case, as was the case of my dog, you can expect the dog to get very sick. In these cases, unfortunately, death is possible. My dog has been "heartworm negative" for 2 years now. She had a very bad case and underwent treatment for 6 months. She is now healthy and happy, but she tires very easily, and her life expectancy is lower. It's worth it to go through it, though. She is an incredible dog, as is yours, I'm sure.

Answer 4

If the dog is young and healthy (other than the heartworms) he has a better chance. My dog was 12 when he was diagnosed and we went through the treatments but he died shortly after of heart failure, they even cleared all the worms. It just depends on the age, the health and how long he has had them.

Answer 5

How serious did they say the infestation was? How is his general health otherwise?

Heartworms can definitely be deadly. I would think, though, if the infection were very serious and they were concerned if he was going to pull through, they would have made that clear to you from the start.

Here's some more info to read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartworms

Answer 6

A great site for information about heartworm treatment is: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=610

Any factual client friendly veterinary information can pretty much be found on www.veterinarypartner.com.
Good luck!

Answer 7

On behalf of the dog rescued, "Thank you."

Answer 8

What did your vet say about it? How badly was he infected? What prognosis did the doctor give?

Answer 9

YES BUT YOU HAVE TO KEEP HIM QUIET AND CALM FOR 30 DAYS

Answer 10

He'll be fine