2007-11-28 03:01:46 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
It's best not to try to treat them on your own - your vet will be able to diagnose and recommend the best treatment for your pet.
Best wishes!
2007-11-28 03:05:06 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
my dog was treated for heart worms last year and luckily she pulled through just fine, the vet thinks she already had them when we found her etc, but I can assure that under NO circumstances will I allow her to miss one shot or treatment as the whole process was pretty traumatic for both ehr and the family not to mention that it cost us well over a thousand dollars in vet bills.
Heart worms is shown up in a blood test which the vet gives as part of the routine checks, IF you have not kept up the heart guard tablets each month then the dog will be at risk, if the blood work is clear then that fine, if heart worms is shown then the dog will start on treatment at once, the sooner the better. the treatment for the dog was a course of injections some times as many as four and I also paid for an extra pain relief one for her after the first time as she was in agony.
Hope this helps and hope the dog does not have heart worm.
regards
2007-11-28 11:14:10 · answer #2 · answered by candy g 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You do know there is no cure for heart worms? Once your dog has Heartworms, it has it for the rest of its life. There is only management. I don't know where you are, but in Australia, there are two ways of managing heartworm.
One- there is an injection that vets can give the dog. I believe that it lasts a full year, but it is expensive. (Not sure actually if this is a management method- it may just be for prevention.)
Two- you can give the dog heartworm tablets. These are tablets you can give a dog every day, for the rest of his life. I know for a fact that there are Heartworm tablets that you give a dog every month to help protect against Heartworm.
Sorry I can't be much help- all the information I have on Heartworm revolves on how to help prevent it. I do know how to test that your dog has though. My advice is to talk this over with your vet regarding the best option of management.
However, the Heartworms inside your dog's heart cannot create more heartworms, only larval worms (babies). In order for these baby Heart worms to grow up to adulthood, they must first be ingested by the mosquito as they swim through the blood stream. It is only inside the mosquito that the larvae can start to mature. Then, when the mosquito sucks on another animal, the larvae escape into that new animal, travel through the tissue(flesh), reach the blood stream and make their evil way to the heart, where they stop, and clog up your dog's heart. A truly horrible thing to subject your dog to.
2007-11-28 11:16:57 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you are asking about how to treat your dog because they already have heart worms I suggest that you start a course of treatment immediately with your vet, if they aren't that severe, if the heart worm infestation is determined to be severe then it would be best to have the dog put down as there is no way of treating the infestation.
Just be warned what they give to kill the heartworms is poison and the dog has a chance of not being able to withstand the treatment and could die as a result of the treatment itself.
2007-11-28 11:09:21 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can only prevent a heartworm infection, with a monthly Ivermectin pill.
Once there are heartworms, an owner can do nothing but take the pet to a vet and hope for the best. Treatment is very expensive, and not always successful.
Many vet practices keep selling heartworm medication in the winter months for a profit, when it is not necesary to medicate the animal during this time, because there are no mosquitoes! Some take advantage even not writting a prescription to allow owners to buy their medications online. Heads up!
2007-11-28 11:08:22 · answer #5 · answered by TURANDOT 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have to take your dog to the vet and have blood work done to see if they have heart worms and if they do the vet will have to treat them. If they don't have heart worms they need to be started on a monthly preventative.
2007-11-28 11:48:52 · answer #6 · answered by mshannon1980 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Heartworms are very, very serious. To be treated, you have to go to the vet and its can be very expensive. If there is a large titer on the blood test, the dog will require a good deal of medication to get him well. When treating a dog for heartworms, they also have to be kept quiet- something to do with the overload of worms. Once a dog has heartworms, they have to be watched closely throughout their lives and you will need to be faithful about keeping them on their heartworm medication to prevent reinfestation. Its so much cheaper to prevent disease than to treat it-keep that in mind.
2007-11-28 11:12:06 · answer #7 · answered by shelly l 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The dog MUST go to the vet where medication is administered orally. Following treatment, the dog will be required to have monthly heart worm medicine to prevent reinfection.
2007-11-28 11:04:44 · answer #8 · answered by RT 66 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's kind of like treating cancer. The dog goes in a gets either an I.V or a shot and then leaves. But the dog has to be stable and strong enough to receive the treatment.
2007-11-28 11:05:08 · answer #9 · answered by saltogymnast5 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
With Heartworm preventative, if they already have it this can turn into being very serious, take your animals to the vet! As a pet owner you have that responsibility! Just like a child they need routine check-ups and shots
2007-11-28 11:06:13 · answer #10 · answered by steyr 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋