Often considered the gold standard of heartworm preventatives, HeartGard Plus uses the proven combination of Pyrantel and Ivermectin to completely destroy any heartworm larvae before they can mature into adults, as well as two different species of roundworms and three different species of hookworms.
An injectable drug, melarsomine (Immiticide®), is given to kill adult heartworms. Melarsomine kills adult heartworms in the heart and adjacent vessels. This drug is administered in a series of injections. Your veterinarian will determine the specific injection schedule according to your dog's condition.
A recent study in Italy found that a combination of doxycycline and moxidectin for treating Dirofilaria immitis leads to a negative antigen status in dogs naturally infected with heartworm disease.
Melarsomine. Melarsomine is the only FDA-approved adulticide therapy for heartworm disease. The AHS-recommended protocol, which is considered safer and more effective than alternative protocols, consists of an initial injection followed one month later by two injections spaced 24 hours apart.
Annual testing is necessary, even when dogs are on heartworm prevention year-round, to ensure that the prevention program is working. Heartworm medications are highly effective, but dogs can still become infected. If you miss just one dose of a monthly medication—or give it late—it can leave your dog unprotected.
Each of the three heartworm and flea pills available (Trifexis, Sentinel and Sentinel Spectrum) require a prescription from your veterinarian, who will first need to perform a heartworm test to ensure that your dog is not already infected.
Proheart SR12 heartworm prevention yearly injection:
Up to 10kg – $111.50. Up to 20kg – $141.00. Up to 35kg – $186.75. Up to 50kg – $232.50.
Ivermectin does not kill adult heartworms. Ivermectin does shorten the lifespan of adult heartworms. Ivermectin does sterilize adult heartworms. Ivermectin does kill microfilaria (keeping the dog from being a source of contagion) • Ivermectin does kill L3 and L4 larvae (preventing new infections).
Allow the heartworm positive dog to join you on the sofa or on the floor for quiet time. Keep the dog on a leash and tethered to you. If there are other dogs in the house, they should also be in a calm state of mind.
Heartworm prevalence in Australia
Queensland and New South Wales are considered to be areas of higher risk whereas rates in South Australia are low (4,5). Dogs and cats living in rural areas are more at risk of infection than their urban counterparts (6).
This disease is going to be treated by your vet with a drug called Immiticide, which will kill the adult heartworms living in your dog's heart, and the blood vessels of the lungs. Further drugs will kill any juvenile (larval) stages of heartworm that may be circulating in your dog's body.
Active dogs, dogs heavily infected with heartworms, or those with other health problems often show pronounced clinical signs. Signs of heartworm disease may include a mild persistent cough, reluctance to exercise, fatigue after moderate activity, decreased appetite, and weight loss.
The two-dose protocol kills only 90% of adult worms (according to label claims), while the three-dose protocol kills 98% of adult worms. Additionally, the three-dose protocol is associated with a lower risk of effects related to pulmonary thromboembolism than the two-dose protocol.
Your veterinarian is recommending what is best. Only one drug, which is called melarsomine, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of heartworm infection in dogs; this drug should be administered by injection in the veterinary hospital.
#1 Heartgard Plus Soft Chews [Best Overall Heartworm Prevention for Dogs]: A long-trusted favorite by veterinarians, dog owners have howled its praises for years and continue to today.
Some breeds of dogs (e.g., collies, sheepdogs, and collie- or sheepdog-cross breeds) are more sensitive to ivermectin than others. This is typically due to a specific genetic mutation (MDR1) that makes them less able to tolerate high doses of ivermectin.
Ivermectin is given monthly for heartworm prevention, daily or every other day for demodectic mange treatment, and every week or couple of weeks for most mites. If a dose of heartworm preventive is accidentally forgotten, it is important to give it as soon as it is remembered.
If given to a heartworm positive dog by accident
In most cases no reaction of any kind occurs when an ivermectin-based heartworm preventive is given to a heartworm positive dog. In fact, giving an ivermectin-based heartworm preventive to an infected dog is the first step in heartworm infection treatment.
Slow Kill Method
While not generally recommended, another method of handling heartworms is to only attack the microfilaria, leaving existing adult heartworms to die of natural causes. This is known as the slow kill method. It's cheaper and does not require a rest period and debilitating adulticide.
The lifespan of a dog in this condition is most likely limited to a few weeks or a few months. Your vet will guide you on the best course of action for treating your dog depending on the severity of their infection. Dogs can live for at least six to seven months after becoming infected with heartworms.
Although Heartgard and other heartworm medicines require a prescription, at PetMeds®, we make the ordering process easy.
In more advanced stages of heartworm infections, your dog will find it hard to complete normal physical tasks like eating. If you notice weight loss and a lack appetite in your dog, then you should take him to the vet immediately to rule out heartworms and other illnesses. Shallow and rapid breathing.
With time, dogs that are not killed by infections will eventually test negative due to the natural death of the parasites. Without treating a large number of heartworm positive dogs with natural therapies, then proving they show a negative result on a heartworm test, it's impossible to recommend a natural therapy.
All of the damage that the heartworms do while they're inside the body is permanent. Sometimes we can reverse some of the symptoms, but all of the damage will still be present.