How do you know if you are supposed to have your dog checked for heartworm?

Question

My dog stays outside. He is a big brown choco lab and I would never trust him in the house. I keep him outside most of the time.
Tonite while watching Miami animal Police , they had a choco lab on there with heartworm which almost died. How do I prevent my dog from getting this? They said it came from mosquitoes.

We are not city slickers. We live in the middle of farm land in Illinois. We dont keep our dogs in the house. They stay outside and guard our tanks so the meth addicts dont steal our farm chemicals to manufacture methamphetamine. Our dogs play in the yard, chase cars and do what dogs are supposed to be doing. They romp in the river nearby and lay on the porch in the evening and let us know someone is outside. We only fence them in the back yard when we are not home.
Not all dogs live in the house. They stay in the back yard, barn, sheds and chase and play with the squirrels, possums and the neighbors outdoor dogs.
Sorry to disappoint some of you, who clearly have watched too much animal planet in the city.

Answer 1

Your dog should be on monthly heartworm prevention, such as Heartguard. Since you are asking, I assume he is not, and it is very possible that he has contracted them. So, bring him to the vet and tell them you need a Heartworm test. They will take blood and look for microfilaria(baby heartworms), usually they will also send some blood to another lab to check for adult heartworms. Your dog MUST be heartworm NEGATIVE before they will prescribe heartworm prevention to you. If your dog is positive, he will need to be treated. Treatment can be expensive and can have side effects. However, most dogs do just fine with treatment(I see a lot in the clinic I work at). Do NOT give heartworm prevention to a positive dog, it can have very serious adverse effects. Also, once the dog is on prevention, it must be tested yearly to renew the prescription.

Answer 2

My dog is at the vet right now going through the treatment. It is a very serious disease and your dog can die if he has them and is not treated.

The vet does a simple blood test and can tell you within 20 minutes after taking blood if your dog has heartworms. If the dog doesn't have heartworms then you need to give him a monthly dose (chewables are best) of Heartguard. My Choc Lab takes one a month and it costs $6 (for hers). However, in order to save money I only give them their tabs in the spring, summer, and first few months of fall. Lets get real - there are no mosquitos in the winter time.

Mosquitos are the cause of heartworms. If you dog gets bit by an infected mosquito (not all mosquitos carry heartworms) then your dog will test positive. Now, the disease is completely treatable so don't be devastated if this is the case. My dog Beau, who is at the vet, tested positive right after I adopted him for our local shelter. I expected this though, considering most dogs in shelters are not taken care of.

Anyway, go to the vet, get the blood sample done and have peace of mind. Your dog will die without the treatment. It may take a few years before he dies but it's inevitable. If your dog is positive just get the treatment done. Vets have different ways to do the treatment too. I took Beau to the vet this morning, he will have an injection today and one tomorrow, I will pick him up on Wednesday. He is an outside dog but after the treatment they have to be confined for a couple of weeks.

Hope this info helped out. I've been through this and it's hard on both the dog and the owner. Best of luck!!! Feel free to email me if you have more questions. By the way, if he has heartworms start giving a daily dose of Vitamin C and Aspirin.

Answer 3

First, your dog should have a heartworm test done once a year when he gets his annualt check-up or if there is a break in the heartworm preventative medicaiton. If your dog is not on heartworm preventative I would suggest putting him on it fast. Second, make sure your yard is free of standing water or piled compost. These are havens for mosquitos and eggs. Finally, limit his exposure to the outdoors. Dogs are social animals and like to be around their pack members (you) so let him in and out of the elements. You can also spray him with eucalyptus oil and water to repel mosquitos but this only lasts for a few hours.

Answer 4

You should be giving your dog a medication once a month called Heartguard. It prevents heartworm from developing if your dog is bitten by a mosquito carrying heartworm. What you need to do is get your dog to the vet for a general checkup, and tell them you need him to get a heartworm test. They will take a small sample of blood (it is pretty cheap), and if there is no heartworm, you need to immediately start giving your dog the Heartguard 1 time per month. If there is heart worm, your dog will die a very painful death if he is not treated. The worms will eventually develop in his heart until his heart becomes congested with the worms. It is incredibly gruesome...I have seen a preserved (in a jar) dog heart congested with heartworm before.
If your dog has heartworm, the treatment is very rough. THe dog ill get 2 set of deep injections in his back. He will also have to remain in a quiet place with very little exercise for several months.

Overall, just get your dog to the vet so he can get his heartworm test done, and then get him on the Heartguard immediately!!

Answer 5

Heck yes!! Dogs are supposed to be on a heartworm preventative from the time they are puppies. The most popular are Heartguard and Interceptor. These are purchased at a vets office. Before they will prescribe it to you they have to do a simple blood test to check to see if any heartworms are in your dog. Its very important to have your dog on flea and heartworm preventatives. Call your vet and make an appoinment for the health of your dog.

Answer 6

first at the age of six months or older your dog must be tested before you start giving the dog medicine -

if you dont the dog could die -
after you get your dog tested and everything comes back ok - then you start giving your dog the pill ( it looks like a meaty treat )

they also have or had a shot option out but there are a lot of dogs that have problems from the shot i think it was things like liver failure

but heartworms come from fleas mosquitos and ticks -

so after your dog is tested i would also begin giving him the flea prevention drops - even if you buy them at walmart they really only last three weeks not four - but it wil help -

Answer 7

A lot of areas of the USA don't have a heartworm problem. The drug manufacturers make you think there is a problem so you'll buy it just like people drugs. I have used the heartworm medication called Interceptor as a daily treatment for Demadex Mange before. If you travel to areas outside California, check with your Vet. Hopefully, your Vet is honest and will not sell you a drug that you really don't need or will know what areas of the country absolutely need it.

Answer 8

You should take your dog to the vet for his yearly examination. And he should be tested for heartworm disease yearly (it is a simple blood test), and on heartworm prevention year round. You can ask your veterinarian about the different heartworm preventatives, but Heartgard is a chewable that is given once a month. Dogs love it, it is Very effective, and fairly inexpensive. You will also want to get your dog up to date on his vaccines.

Answer 9

You do not say where you live, but your dog needs to go to the vet ASAP. I have lived in Florida and our dogs were all on HeartGuard Plus year around and they were all indoor dogs. We now live in Michigan and our Yellow Lab and our miniature puppy are both on heart worm medicine. Here they give you the option on testing for heart worms. If you keep your dog on meds year around you only need the blood test every 2 years. If you quit giving it in the winter when the danger is low then you must get tested every spring before they will give you the heart worm meds.
Hope this helps, please get him on medicine as soon as possible

Answer 10

Heartguard no longer a issue , The cough in line with threat a distinctive tale. purely a vet can say for specific yet with my dogs after boarding i chanced on 2 motives for the cough. a million They used bleach to bathe it is no longer undesirable they only will possibly no longer have rinsed nicely or the dogs inhaled the vapors. this could leave. 2 My dogs have come abode with assorted fleas they grew to become anemic from blood loss. in case you notice assorted fleas pass to the vet of close by feed save in case you reside in the rustic putting and get a capstar this could kill all the fleas in 24 hours and the cough will pass away after an afternoon or 2 whilst the anemia subsides. constantly ask a vet for specific yet this has been my adventure whilst utilising kennels for boarding. let us know the way it works out