Heartworm Diagnosis & Strange Vet Advise

[Guest 1stTime]

A friend of mine had a Weimeraner (sp) show up on her porch, long story short the previous owner didn't want the dog so she kept him! He is great and happy but was diagnosed with heart worm. The vet she saw said to put him on Heartgaurd to kill any babies in the blood stream and they will go through the major treatment in the WINTER

The reason stated was the heat in the south and that it was dangerous to treat in the summer. I have never heard of such a thing! Is this normal in the south? Is this killing him? I have told her to get a second opinion but she has just undergone major surgery and is not in a position to trot all over town, so hear I am posting here.

 

Any advise or comments welcome and thanks for the help!!!

[MarcR]

I don't have a whole lot of advice, but I had always been told that a dog should not be put on a heartworm preventive is he/she tests positive for heartworm. I'd definitely seek a second opinion.

[Guest greybookends]

I have heard of heartworms being treated with heartworm pills. It depends on which preventative you use. There are a couple that you can't give if a dog is heartworm positive and there are a couple you can.

[Hubcitypam]

Sounds perfectly logical to me. Treatment puts a major stress on the dog and the heat might add to it, especially if she leaves him outside a lot in the summer. Some dogs with health issues that couldn't stand the shock of the treatment are treated using Heartgard.

[Guest Tenderhearts]

The other vet here in town used the Heartgard to successfully treat heartworm positive dogs. I believe the one tested negative after 9 months and there was one who tested negative after a year of being on the Heartgard.

 

We were using that protocol on a dalamation that came in as a stray when I was with the humane society, but then the owner came forward after a couple of months, wanted the dog back, and opted not to treat anymore

[Guest GreysAndMoreGreys]

I think it really depends on the level of infestation of heartworms. If the dog tested with a low count of microphilia then it's ok to treat for the time being with Heartguard. More than likely when winter time comes around and they retest again it's possible it will be all cleared up.

 

IF it's a high infestation then I would think the Heartguard treatment could be dangerous.

[Guest Snowy8]

My first greyhound had heartworms, she was treated with Filaribits...the heartworms were only the babies & as long as she kept taking the Filaribits, then the babies would die eventually of old age.

 

[Guest KennelMom]

What greysandmoregreys said

[dmswartzfager]

It does depend on the level of infection. I was training in the treatment room at my vet's office when we had a heartworm positive dog come in. I don't remember all the things the vets had to look for to determine the level since the exam had already been done, but there was a large brochure the nurse was showing me that had the "rubric" the doctors were using to determine the treatment plan, and there was definitely different levels of treatment depending on the level of infection, based on things like listening to the heart, X-rays, and possibly bloodwork... can't remember.

[Guest taylorsmom]

Yup, it definitely depends on the level of infestation and the size and developmental level of the heartworms. My Rita had heartworms when we first got her as a foster. The imiticide treatment can be pretty stressful and hard on them, and I have also heard that heartworm growth is pretty slow so it is okay to postpone treatment until they are in a setting where they can deal with the stress of treatment. Rita's treatment was delayed so that she could get into a home (ours!!) for the treatment process, and she came through with flying colors!! No negative effects to speak of.