Iverheart- Generic Heartworm Medicine

[lizjaye]

It's time to re-order Garth's heartworm medicine. I saw that Iverheart produces a generic medicine similar to Heartguard (which we get). Does anyone have an opinion on this substitution? I'll email our vet but I trust everyone here.

[Wonder]

I used to buy it but now I just use Ivermectin which is cheaper for a herd o' hounds.

[Jeff]

Kari, I ordered some Ivermectin and it was delivered the other day. What dosage do you give, and how do you give it?

Are you using liquid or powder? I went with powder.

[Wonder]

Kari, I ordered some Ivermectin and it was delivered the other day. What dosage do you give, and how do you give it?

Are you using liquid or powder? I went with powder.

 

 

liquid

1/10 cc per 10 lbs. of dog weight

[TheFullHouse]

We use Ivomec (ivermectin) also and have for years. It's definitely a lot cheaper. I've never used the paste or the powder though. I don't think I've ever seen the powder.

 

I squirt mine on the dogs food and they get it that way. I use a small 1cc syringe and use .10 of a cc for evey 10lbs. of weight.

[brindlehound]

I just started using Iverhart. I called the vet and he didn't say not to use it.

[Jeff]

I don't think I've ever seen the powder.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Labs-Ivermectin-Powder-oz/dp/B0030MXBXI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1304458211&sr=8-2

[gazehund]

We use Ivomec (ivermectin) also and have for years. It's definitely a lot cheaper. I've never used the paste or the powder though. I don't think I've ever seen the powder.

 

I squirt mine on the dogs food and they get it that way. I use a small 1cc syringe and use .10 of a cc for evey 10lbs. of weight.

 

I gave DD and Pooter their first dose Sunday. Squirted it on their food and down it went.

[3vagreys]

Now Jeff has me really interested in the powder. It says it contains corn meal - I guess to keep the ivermectin from clumping, maybe and to provide enough bulk to measure it. People say not to use the paste because you don't know how much ivermectin is in each dose and I wonder if this would be the same. But it sounds so easy - no mixing, no syringes.

[Guest KsFrets]

Ivomec liquid here as well. It actually went down in price this year at our Tractor Supply. Just today we squirted their dose on some mac&cheeze and about 10 seconds later their bowls were licked clean Cheap is an understatement. $34 and the last bottle lasted our crew two years.

[TheFullHouse]

I don't think I've ever seen the powder.

 

http://www.amazon.co...04458211&sr=8-2

 

Well that's a first for me. I hadn't seen it before. We get our Ivomec from Tractor Supply just down the road. I have no idea what the dose would be using the powder. You might ask Heather if she's ever seen the powder. JT may have used it at some time or she may know someone who has used it.

[gazehund]

Our Tractor Supply has the exact powder Jeff posted. I didn't feel the powder would be as accurate dosage wise as the liquid. Liquid is plenty easy to use.

[3vagreys]

Our Tractor Supply has the exact powder Jeff posted. I didn't feel the powder would be as accurate dosage wise as the liquid. Liquid is plenty easy to use.

I don't know. I've been putting off using it even though I'm highly financially motivated. It seems I'd have to buy a gallon of propylene glycol (which may be slightly toxic) and dilute it in order to be able to measure the .02 ml my vet recommends. And all of these measurements are made with a tiny syringe which is too small to be cleaned and I'd have to trash one each time and use a new one.

Edited May 4, 2011 by 3vagreys

[tbhounds]

Please be careful folks- I personally know of a hound that went blind using the protocol you are using. Too risky for me just to save a buck-- just saying.

[3vagreys]

So are you saying you wouldn't use Heartgard either?

[JJNg]

I agree with tbhounds regarding using the large animal liquid ivermectin as HW preventative. The often recommended dose of 0.1 cc/10 lbs is a much higher dose than needed and can be toxic to some dogs. I posted more detailed info in this thread. Just want to make sure that those who decide to go this route are aware of the risk, especially since there are many here who also have other breeds.

 

To answer the OP's question, Iverhart is fine. It's a generic that has the same active ingredients as Heartgard.

[Guest elisemg]

I use Iverhart with no problems. My vet told me about it!

[mom2zeus]

We switched to Iverheart plus in Jan and have had no problems with it.

[Guest KennelMom]

Iverheart is just fine for HW prevention. We used to use it before we switched to liquid.

 

We use the liquid, under the blessing and direction of our vet. We used to be able to get it compounded with beef flavor, but that pharmacy no longer exists so it's plain ivomec. Jeff - plenty of dog people I know use the liquid ivomec, I've never encountered or heard of anyone using the powder. I'd ask the vet....The trick would be to figure out the correct dosage (obviously )

Edited May 4, 2011 by KennelMom

[lizjaye]

I agree with tbhounds regarding using the large animal liquid ivermectin as HW preventative. The often recommended dose of 0.1 cc/10 lbs is a much higher dose than needed and can be toxic to some dogs. I posted more detailed info in this thread. Just want to make sure that those who decide to go this route are aware of the risk, especially since there are many here who also have other breeds.

 

To answer the OP's question, Iverhart is fine. It's a generic that has the same active ingredients as Heartgard.

 

 

 

Just to understand, Iverheart is a generic of Heartguard so I do not have to mess with "dosages" and other issues - it's a pill and it's safe. I am very concerned about safety (first) and effectiveness (second). My money situation is beyond horrible right now and if this is good then I'll use it if not I'll figure a way to do heart guard and the stupid blood test to get the heartguard.

 

Thanks!

[Guest Swifthounds]

Iverhart is perfectly safe, but I wouldn't skimp on getting the HW test to save money. There are usually places to get low cost HW tests if your usual vet is too pricey. You don't want to be giving ivermectin to a HW+ dog and not know it.

 

The safe, effective dose for treatment of heartworm in dogs is 2.72 mcg per pound of bodyweight (or 6 mcg per kg) as per the FDA.

 

The 51-100 dosage for heartgard (which is actually just the dosage for a

100 lb. dog) is 272 mcg (micrograms), which is .272 mg (miligrams). At that

dosage, the 1% injectable cattle ivermectin, which is 10gm/ml, would be .0272ml. At the

same dosage, the .27% injectable swine ivermectin, which is 2.7 mg/ml, would be .1 ml.

 

Most of the dosages commonly bandied about (even by vets, who should know better) are much higher than the dose for monthly heartworm treatment. Ivermectin does have a wide margin of safety and for that reason has been used off-label by vets for years for everything from treating a HW infestation to killing off internal gut parasite overloads and external infestations. Whether it's wise to count on that margin of safety on a monthly basis is a different decision.

 

With the old .27% swine formulation of ivermectin, dosing properly was simple. Now, to dose accurately with the 1% solution you need to dilute it, but even that isn't inordinatley difficult to do. I would not use a powder, paste, or the liquid "pour on" - only the injectable. The pastes, designed for internal dosing of large animals like horses and cattle, are very difficult to dose accurately. The other formulations are not advisable for dosing and other reasons.

 

I also wouldn't give it in/with food as you want to make sure it is consumed and absorbed by the body. Just open mouth, squirt, and treat.

[JJNg]

Just to understand, Iverheart is a generic of Heartguard so I do not have to mess with "dosages" and other issues - it's a pill and it's safe.

Yes, it is packaged in the form of chewable tablets. Same dose ranges as Heartgard, and 1 tablet per month gives you the appropriate dose - no need to measure anything out yourself.

 

Ivermectin does have a wide margin of safety and for that reason has been used off-label by vets for years

The wide margin of safety only applies to 'regular' dogs, and it's not even that wide of a margin compared to a lot of other drugs. Using the often recommended dose of 0.1 cc/10 lbs, this provides about 0.22 mg/kg of ivermectin. A toxic dose for regular dogs is considered 2 mg/kg, so giving a 10X overdose would be toxic.

 

Dogs that have a genetic mutation that affects drug resistance are much more sensitive to lower doses of ivermectin. A large percentage of collies, shelties, Australian shepherds, and other related herding breeds carry this gene, but individuals of any breed can have this mutation. For dogs with this gene, the toxic dose of ivermectin starts at about 0.1 mg/kg. Note that this is half the dose recommended by the 0.1 cc/10 lbs. Dogs that develop ivermectin toxicity develop blindness, seizures, other neurologic signs, and can die even with treatment.

 

Commercial heartworm preventatives, like Heartgard and Iverhart, dose at 0.006 mg/kg (same as 6 mcg/kg) ivermectin. This tiny dose is safe even for the sensitive dogs that have the genetic mutation.

[TheFullHouse]

Seems like different vets have different opinions on the use of Ivomec. Our vet told us it was fine for our greyhounds as this is what all racing hounds get even before entering the racing kennel, but he did tell us not to use it for Jilly Bean so she gets Heartguard. I have seen first hand what happens when a greyhound is under dosed on Ivomec. Our Heart came to us with heart worms from being under dosed in the adoption kennel she was in for a year. She had to undergo heart worm treatments.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Why did the vet say not to use it for Jilly Bean? Because of her breed or her size? Just curious. Usually where it's a potentially sensitive breed, vets won't recommend anything ivermectin based. It's interesting the different opinions you get from vets.

[TheFullHouse]

He said because of her size and breed. He said the same thing you did, some breeds won't tolerate as well as others and with her size it wasn't worth the risk, which I agreed with him.