The duration of this phase may be as short as 30 days, or as long as 120 days, but most of my foster dogs were under cage rest for 60 days. Stop all walks except for potty strolls in the back yard. Stop all play and active training that will encourage excitability.
Rest for 60 days (ideally in a crate): Rest is the single most important factor to successful heartworm treatment. This means 4 weeks of strict rest for your dog after each melarsomine injection.
There is no reason to allow running, jumping, or other physical activity at any time for 8 weeks after the start of the injectable heartworm adulticide treatment.
The reason for the exercise restriction is that after adulticide treatment, the heartworms are dying and are literally breaking up inside the dog's heart and blood vessels.
How long after heartworm treatment can a dog be active? According to Dr. Marteney, your dog will have to wait about six months after his diagnosis before he can get back to all his favorite activities.
Most dogs can be safely leash-walked during the treatment recovery period and providing appropriate chew toys can help relieve some of that stored up physical energy.
Your heartworm positive dog, after receiving melarsomine treatment will be instructed to remain caged, crated or penned for the duration of this phase of treatment except when they need to go outside to potty.
Strict rest is imperative for 6-8 weeks. This means that your pet can be leashed walked outside to urinate and defecated, but must come back inside to rest. Do not allow your pet to run, jump, climb stairs, or play rough with other dogs or children.
If exercise or excitement cause the treated dog's heart rate to rise, pieces of decomposing worms can be forced into the tiny blood vessels of the lungs, causing further complications. The more pronounced the clinical signs of heartworm disease are, the more restricted any activity or excitement need to be.
Heartworm disease is not contagious, meaning that a dog cannot catch the disease from being near an infected dog.
Myth: Heartworm disease is contagious for pets.
Truth: You should be concerned if we diagnose one of your pets with heartworm disease, but you do not need to quarantine your infected pet. Heartworms must go through a mosquito to develop into adults, so heartworm-positive pets are safe to be around.
But your dog's normal physical activities must be restricted as soon as the diagnosis is confirmed, because physical exertion increases the rate at which the heartworms cause damage in the heart and lungs. The more severe the symptoms, the less activity your dog should have.
There is some risk involved in treating dogs with heartworms, although fatalities are rare. "A new drug is available that does not have as many side effects, allowing successful treatment of more than 95% of dogs with heartworms."
After treatment, a dog with mild to moderate heartworm disease is generally kept on at least 4-8 weeks of exercise restriction, but then can gradually return to normal activity as recommended by your veterinarian.
Dogs with heartworm disease can live high-quality lives as long as they are given appropriate care. After completing treatment and following your veterinarian's recommenda- tions on heartworm disease testing and prevention, the chances of any long-term effects are very low.
Treatment for heartworm can cause serious complications for your pet's health and can be potentially toxic to the dog's body. Many dogs experience soreness and swelling at the site of their injections. The most severe side effects are related to a large number of worms suddenly dying.
Take your pets on car rides separately – You can take your healthy dog to a new area for rigorous exercise without your heartworm-positive dog watching you leave out the front door for a walk. If not a cause for anxiety, a car ride is a great low-key stimulating activity for your heartworm-positive dog.
What to expect after heartworm treatment. Once your dog has finished his heartworm treatment, you should expect him to be bedridden for a while. “Only slow, low-impact walks are allowed for the first five to six months after diagnosis,” Dr. Marteney told The Dodo.
Heartworms can also cause nosebleeds, pneumonia, high blood pressure, seizures, blindness, and excessive sleeping.
The dog may be required to stay at the hospital for 3-4 days. After treatment, the adult worms die and are carried by the blood to the lungs where they lodge in small blood vessels. There they decompose and are absorbed by the body over a period of several months.
Prednisone is routinely dosed at 0.5 mg/kg BID for the first week and 0.5 mg/kg once daily for the second week, followed by 0.5 mg/kg every other day (EOD) for 1 to 2 weeks.
Circulating heartworm antigen appears in the blood as early as five months post-infection in a small percentage of dogs, but most dogs are not antigen positive until seven months post-infection. Yes, contrary to popular belief, a dog infected six months previously can be negative on an antigen test.
What health criteria must my dog meet? We require all dogs who stay here to be current on the usual core vaccinations, as well as receiving a vaccination for Bordatella (kennel cough). Your dog must also be protected against heartworm and fleas, with no signs of parasite issues in his fecal sample.
With the three-dose adulticide protocol described above, in conjunction with doxycycline and macrocyclic lactones as recommended by the American Heartworm Society, 98% of dogs will be cleared of heartworm infection.