Why do I have to get my dog heartworm tested?

Question

He takes heartgaurd every month and has never missed a dose. I don't understand why my veterinarian makes me test him every year. Can someone please explain to me why he needs to be tested yearly? Thank you!

Answer 1

This is a great question and you have gotten quite a few different opinions on the subject.
I am sure there are some vets out there that are crooks, but not all vets are in it for the money. There is a slight chance that if you miss a month your dog could get heartworm. It takes, after all, only one mosquito. There is also the chance that the medication is not 100% effective.
Sometimes opinions are given based on dog ownership that happened from puppyhood. Three of my girls were acquired as puppies, so I would not worry if I missed a test or two.
My shelter adoptions are another matter. One dog I adopted had tested negative for heartworm at the shelter. I tested her the next year anyway, and to my shock she was already late stage two. We lost her during her treatment.
Because of this experience, I tend to be very careful with the meds and the testing now. I don't think I could take losing another dog that way.
There is always the option of getting a second opinion from another vet, or a referral to another vet from a friend or collegue?

Answer 2

There's no real reason why he should need to be tested every year- each vet is going to have his/her own protocols, but I have never met one who does this. We only test if the dog either has never been heartworm prevention, or if prevention has lapsed for a few months or more. In any case, the test most clinics use in-house detects the presence of the adult worm, so can't pick up infection until about 6 months after it has first occured.

I would guess that your vet's reason for doing this is that heartworm is not easy to treat- it can be very risky to the dog if it is already showing signs of infection, so it is better to diagnose and start treatment before this occurs. Maybe they've had a bad experience with a infected dog in the past, who knows?

That said, if he's always been on prevention, the chances of him being infected are very low. Even if he HAS missed an occasional monthly dose, Heartguard has a reachback on it so as long as he's had the tablet again the next month the risk of infection is probably no different than if he hadn't missed one.

My advice would be to talk to your vet- ask why s/he wants to test every year, and tell them if you're not happy about it. Two-way communication can solve a lot of problems :o)

Answer 3

Find a new vet. Your vet is a crook. The dog does not really ever need to be tested unless you miss a dose or two. Even testing once every 2 or 3 years makes no logical sense. It's all about getting you into the office and making a buck off you because you need a prescription to get heartwork medication.
It makes sense to test if you do miss a dose and is important as the heartwork medication can/will kill your dog if it has advanced heartworm.
I've started ordering Heartgard (not Heartgard Plus) from www.petshed.com which is a company in Australia and will ship it to you without a prescription.
BTW, I have a 15 yr old dog, a 12 yr old dog and a 5 yr old dog and none have ever had heartworm or any other type of worm for that matter. I have in the past had them tested once every other year, but my last vet told me it was not necessary unless I missed a dose by a whole month. Then I moved, and have a vet who wants to test every other year, which I won't do.

Answer 4

Your vet probably would rather be safe than sorry. Heartworm preventatives are not always 100% effective. Even the companies that make these products will tell you that and they recommend having pets tested. If you don't like this protocol, then you should discuss it with your vet. He/she may have had a patient, in the past, that tested positive, and now they're trying to be extra careful. Maybe that's what they were taught in vet school.
Talk to your vet and maybe you can come to an understanding. If you're totally against yearly testing, offer to sign a waver stating that you understand the risk and accept responsibility if your pet becomes infected.

Answer 5

it would be known working technique yet regrettably it is not. in the past Katrina, there have been many aspects of the country that have been heartworm loose. Now those aspects are infested with heartworms. i believe that rescues and shelters might desire to might desire to abide by way of a similar regulations as breeders. i believe that any canines that flow state strains might desire to have a veterinary wellbeing certificates and that would desire to be enforced. area of that wellbeing certificates might desire to comprise that the canines be examined and cleared of heartworm ailment. This has been executed in horses for years. The horses might desire to be coggins examined against EIA or they can't holiday out of state. Please do no longer use the rescue back. additionally publicize this somewhat. consistent with possibility some peer tension will help get this began. For the quantity of money that the standard public spends on a rescue canines, it would be freed from heartworm ailment or a minimum of the valuable attempt might desire to be disclosed to the flair proprietor. top now adoptors have not have been given any recourse whilst they undertake a ill animal. If this canines could have been offered froma breeder there could be he11 to pay.

Answer 6

Some vets will only have you test every other year if they stay on the meds all year long. Other may do every third year. Depends on the vet.
You may want to find a new vet with a different testing protocol.
They have you test so they can make sure the dog did not become infected. Some times a does is missed, the dog could spit it out without the owner knowing. It could be vomited up.....lots of reasons. Just to make sure that any positive dog gets detected and treated/

Answer 7

You don't have to do any test for your dog.
As the dogs owner you choose what tests,
If any, to do. Your vet only makes suggestions.
Suggest you consider changing vets.

Testing for heartworm & other stuff is a precaution
you might want to do. If you don't do testing
you take a chance, however small, of illness.
Some people feel if the dog looks &
acts ok save the money otherwise spent on tests
for when/if the dog becomes really sick.

Answer 8

Because it gives the vet an extra thirty-five dollars with very little overhead cost to get it. That is the honest reason.

If you are faithful with heartguard-- really honestly faithful-- your dog doesn't have to be tested for heartworms or intestinal worms as long as you do a tapeworm worming at least 2x a year. Heartguard is a monthly dose of ivermectin (kills heartworm larvae) and pyrantel pamoate (kills intestinal worms except tapeworms). If you are faithful with that your dog cannot have heartworms. You do need to do a bi-yearly dose of praziquantel to kill any tapeworms and keep fleas meds on the dog too because pyrantel doesn't kill them.
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in response to another poster--
If the dog is faithfully receiving ivermectin every month it is impossible for them to get heartworms. The larvae would never live to lodge in the heart as worms. Research this in med journals before you post something you know nothing about. Unless heartworms have suddenly developed a resistance to ivermectin, it still kills the larvae.
The reasoning behind testing is that people get cheap and skip monthly dosing. But if the person is faithful, the dog won't have them.

Answer 9

Even dogs that are on a preventative medication can contract heartworm. If a dog has heartworm and is given a preventative, it can be very dangerous, possible fatal, to the dog.

The preventatives are great, and work 99.9% of the time, but there is always that slight chance of contracting the disease.

Answer 10

Because, if your dog somehow got the heartworm virus, it would could be very deadly. Even if your dog is on heartgaurd, they can still get the virus. It only lessens the chance. I found that out the hard way. The test is allot cheaper than the treatment. And allot less stressful for the dog.

My dog pulled through.