However, due to the heartworm life-cycle, it is likely that giving the medication every 45 to 60 days, rather than every 30 days, will allow immature heartworms to develop into adult heartworms. In other words, heartworm prevention medication is not effective when given every 45 to 60 days.
Less than 2 weeks: Give your dog the missed dose immediately. Your dog will be protected from heartworm disease because you will still be within the 45-day grace period in which the preventative is effective. Resume your normal monthly dosing schedule.
A dog who has missed just two monthly doses of preventative or is late for a heartworm injection can become infected with heartworms.
If you miss a dose of your heartworm prevention for your dog, get them back on prevention ASAP—speak to your veterinarian. Six months from that time that you missed is really the only time that we're going to be able to detect whether or not your dog was infected during that period.
The final dose must be given within a month (30 days) after the dog's last exposure to mosquitoes. When replacing another heartworm preventive in a heartworm disease preventive program, the first dose of HEARTGARD must be given within a month (30 days) after the last dose of the former medication.
If you forget a month of preventative, make sure to give the next 2 doses on time to "catch up" for that missed month. If you miss several months in a row, you should give your vet a call for advice on when to plan for the next heartworm test and how to get started back on preventatives.
However, due to the heartworm life-cycle, it is likely that giving the medication every 45 to 60 days, rather than every 30 days, will allow immature heartworms to develop into adult heartworms. In other words, heartworm prevention medication is not effective when given every 45 to 60 days.
The simplest answer to pet parents who forget a month of heartworm prevention is to simply give the pill or administer the application and restart their monthly preventative schedule.
Many flea and tick medications are manufactured in a once-monthly topical application or pill. If you miss that monthly dose, your pet is at risk of getting flea or tick bites.
How Often To Give Heartworm Drugs. Most heartworm drugs come with instructions to give them every 30 days. But according to many holistic vets, the monthly drugs are just as effective if you give them every 45 days, and 99 percent as effective if given every 60 days.
If you miss a monthly dose, the heartworm larvae are given the opportunity to reach a mature state that cannot be affected by the preventive. Giving your dog his heartworm preventive on the same date each month will affect the larval stages he acquired since his last heartworm preventive dose.
Although there are fewer mosquitoes in the winter, there is still a risk that your pet could get heartworms if you stop giving heartworm prevention medication during this season. That's one reason veterinarians strongly recommend pets receive heartworm prevention medication year-round.
SIMPARICA TRIO should be administered at monthly intervals year‑round or at least within one month of the animal's first seasonal exposure to mosquitoes and continuing until at least 1 month after the dog's last seasonal exposure. If a dose is missed, give SIMPARICA TRIO immediately and resume monthly dosing.
However, if you do miss a dose, give it as soon as you remember. Then, adjust the dosing schedule so that the next dose is 30 days after the new dose. Never administer two doses at once or give extra doses.
Signs of heartworm disease may include a mild persistent cough, reluctance to exercise, fatigue after moderate activity, decreased appetite, and weight loss. As heartworm disease progresses, pets may develop heart failure and the appearance of a swollen belly due to excess fluid in the abdomen.
Heartworm Prevention Is the Best Treatment
There are monthly topical and monthly chewable products, as well as every six-month injection.
Heartworm Prevention? Your pet may have become infected with heartworm larva during the unprotected months. If you missed less than 6 months of prevention we suggest you start giving the heartworm preventative immediately. Bring your dog in for a heartworm test 6 months from the first missed dose.
If you miss a dose of Simparica Trio, give it immediately and resume monthly dosing. Contact your vet if your dog misses a month or more of heartworm prevention—your dog might have become infected with heartworm larvae.
NexGard is a tasty beef-flavoured chew that provides flea, tick and mite protection for dogs. NexGard protects dogs against brown dog ticks, bush ticks and the potentially deadly paralysis tick. NexGard should be given monthly, all year round in areas where paralysis ticks are found.
May be given with or without food. If your animal vomits or acts sick after receiving the drug on an empty stomach, try giving the next dose with food or a small treat. If vomiting continues, contact your veterinarian.
This means that if you're just a week or two late, your pet is likely still within that window of protection and would be unlikely to become infected during that time. In this case, it would be fine to just resume giving your pet heartworm prevention medication as usual.
Because heartworms must be eliminated before they reach this adult stage, it is extremely important that heartworm preventives be administered strictly on schedule (monthly for oral and topical products and every 6 months or 12 months for the injectable).
Heartgard.com
According to its web site, it recommends monthly treatments for all dogs since it can't be “determined with certainty when the threat of mosquitoes has passed.”
Heartworm disease can be prevented in dogs and cats by giving them medication once a month that also controls various internal and external parasites. Heartworm infections are diagnosed in about 250,000 dogs each year. 1 But there is no good reason for dogs to receive preventives all year; it is just not needed.
Simparica is a monthly tick and flea chewable that gives you a few extra days of wiggle room at the end of the month. Rest assured, your dog is protected (even if you're a few days late giving the next dose).