are heartworm pills bad

[Becki's Boys]

I just read recently that heartworm pills may be bad for your pet. What are some alternatives.

[Alaska]

There is no alternative to heartworm pills that has been statistically shown to be effective against heartworm.

 

What you may have heard people worrying about is not heartworm pills per se but the recently reintroduced Proheart 6 injection. Read what Doolittler has to say about it here.

[SincereArtisan]

Most heartworm medications are relatively safe for most dogs. A lot of hype is given over one of the main chemicals in it, ivermectin, which some lines of collies (mainly rough collies, the lassie-type dogs) have shown severe allergic responses to it. However, these days a lot of the heartworm medications have been tested on dogs positive for this genetic disability, and have shown no effects. (Sad, but true, especially if they're going to supply us with a preventative safe to use on our pets...from what I hear these 'defective' dogs are actually bred for such testing purposes. )

 

Some people think the threat of heartworm is way overblown, but unless you've seen young dog's life cut short by heartworm disease, its difficult to understand how necessary such a little monthly pill is...

 

I use Interceptor on my pooches, which in my experience has been not only the best heartworm preventative, but one of the best intestinal parasite preventatives as well.

[Alaska]

Most heartworm medications are relatively safe for most dogs. A lot of hype is given over one of the main chemicals in it, ivermectin

Good point. For more information, read this sticky from the Health and Genetics section: Which Heartworm Preventative Is Safe For My Border Collie?

[MaryP]

Heartworm pills aren't bad for your dog, but heartworm disease sure is.

[Becki's Boys]

Thanks everyone. I pretty much figured that it probably wasn't true. I've always given heartworm pills and it just scared me a little when I read that. I figured you would know here. Thanks again .

[Allie Oop]

Definitely read the sticky that Alaska posted. I would always use heartworm pills, especially given your location, because the alternative would be awful. I do use them with my dogs.

 

Regards,

[PSmitty]

Oh, yeah, Becki, living where you do, you do NOT want to have your dogs off HW preventative. As for the ivermectin scare, my friend who has 4 border collies and usually a foster BC or two, doses them all with ivermectin and has for years. The amount in Heartguard is safe for border collies, too.

[njnovice]

I just read recently that heartworm pills may be bad for your pet. What are some alternatives.

 

 

The alternative may be a tragic death. Seriously. When I was 10-years-old, our spaniel Lucy died of heartworms -- they could do nothing for them back then. She was a great dog: sweet, loyal, only five-years-old. One day she went down in pain. My parents had the vet put her out of her pain a few days later -- it was the first death of someone I loved. Every time Mick gets his heartworm medicine, I remmeber Lucy, and I'm glad this can now be prevented.

[bc4ever]

My sister still insists that heartworm meds aren't necessary. Not that big a threat, and the one dog she did know that had them was treated for it successfully. Thinks I'm wasting my money. She's my little sister. I just smile....