Not all heartworm preventatives are so tasty.
Best heartworm medicine for herding dogs.
It so much easier giving a pet medication when the pet gobbles it up as if it were a treat.
Never had a problem with side effects although i use 2 tablets cut into 4 as mine all weight 22 kgs or less.
Several drugs used in heartworm prevention can be toxic if given at certain doses to affected dogs.
Now i know you re terrified to even think about not giving your dog heartworm meds.
Flea and heartworm prevention are two important components of ensuring your dog s lifelong health.
Fleas can cause skin allergies transmit tapeworm infection and infest the home environment while heartworms can cause serious damage to a pet s heart and lungs.
A mutation called abcb1 or mdr1 sometimes occurs in herding dog breeds.
We usually choose for herding breeds trifexis or sentinel as ivermectin the active ingredient in heartgard plus can adversely affect herding breeds.
My sister s dog died from heartworm infestation and it s not something i d like my dogs to go through.
The companion animal parasite council recommends year round prevention of both heartworms and fleas for dogs throughout the.
For herding breeds we usually avoid heartgard plus.
Just as vaccines can damage the immune system so can your dog s heartworm meds.
Dogs of some herding breeds and some mix breed dogs can have a genetic mutation that makes them dangerously oversensitive to ivermectin the active ingredient in some commonly used heartworm.
Peta i ve been using sentinel spectrum for 21 years on the 2 shelties i had and my 4 aussies aged 16 13 7 and 4.
These owners recommended only giving your dog preventative medicine during risk months and to have your dog regularly tested for heartworm larvae.
Check out the best fish oil supplements for dogs.
Why i don t give my dogs heartworm meds.
This method is not 100 perfect however because larvae can live in your dog s system even if they cannot grow due to low temperatures.
However fda approved heartworm medications are still very safe for these animals at the recommended dosages.
Certain dogs may be more sensitive to particular types of medications like those with the mdr1 genetic mutation also known as abcb1 which is relatively common in herding breeds.
That being said the doses used in heartworm preventatives are very low and can be used safely even in dogs with this mutation.
Heartgard plus chewable for dogs.
