I am getting a 9 wk. old pup soon and I need to know how old he has to be before he can start taking Heartguard. Thank and God bless!
2007-10-03 07:27:24 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
The sooner the better. Basically, heartworm preventative has a mild medicine in it that kills any heartworms before they mature and cause a problem. Because the heartworms take several months to develop to the point that preventative wouldn't kill them all, it is safe to start a puppy up to 4 months without testing. After that, you need to test first, because you could have an infection. All that to say that if you start now and give it every single month for the rest of your dog's life, you'll never have to deal with a heartworm infection. And since you'll be getting puppy shots, your vet probably has free "Puppy pack" samples to give out that at least get your first month or two!
But yes, go ahead and start on your first vet visit. 9 wks is old enough to start and not old enough to be infected per se yet.
2007-10-03 09:17:22 · answer #1 · answered by Michelle 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
8 weeks. Some vets have put 6 week old pups on it, but 8 weeks is usual.
2007-10-03 07:30:27 · answer #2 · answered by ARE YOUR NEWFS GELLIN'? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
8 weeks is fine but you really don't NEED to till 5-6 months.
2007-10-03 07:46:48 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Next spring you will take the dog in for testing and get your Heartworm Preventative.
2007-10-03 07:37:23 · answer #4 · answered by DP 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋