Drinking alot after heartworm medication

[saraemilyroy]

So i just took my dog to the vet yesterday for the first time since getting him

Everything seemed to have gone well.. The breeder we got him from already had him fully vaccinated for everything minus rabies, so the vet offered to do that for us which we agree'd to..

The vet had also suggested that we give him heart worm medication, the one he gave us is called 'Interceptor' by a company called Novartis..

We decided to wait until today to give him the first tablet to let the rabies injection do its work..

The only thing ive noticed as of tonight is that our puppy seems to be drinking A LOT more then usual.. He practically finished an entire bowl full of water within 15mins or so.. Usually the bowl would last a few days..

Anyone know if this is normal? He is 4 months old..

 

[gmacleod]

I don't think extreme thirst is a frequent side effect. It could, of course, just be coincidental that he felt the need to drink so much water (e.g. possibly he had only dehydrated food that day, which would cause some dehydration) - there are many reasons he could have been unusually thirsty. I'd just keep an eye on his drinking for a little bit, as excessive thirst can be a sign of other problems. It probably isn't - but it doesn't hurt to be aware.

Regards the heartworm meds though - you may want to do a little research on this before deciding whether to treat your puppy. In fact, heartworm larvae require relatively warm temperatures sustained for 30 days to be able to mature to a point that they may infect a dog. That's pretty darn unlikely where you live, at this time of year Meaning that your puppy isn't actually at any risk of contracting heartworm anyway and you're treating him for no reason.

The American heartworm society, thus, used to recommend seasonal treatment ONLY, unless you live in a place warm enough to carry a year-round risk. They've actually changed that stance - but the reason for changing it is not changed risk, but the forgetfullness of owners to re-start heartworm treatment at the time of year that a risk exists. If you can be responsible/vigilent enough to remember which times of year you need to treat, then you could spare your dog the insecticide for the rest of the year.

A couple of old threads (from before the above policy change) here, and there are many more on the forums if you care to search for info about heartworm: http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/dog-health-issues-questions/114454-heartworm-meds.html
http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/dog-health-issues-questions/71558-heartworm-meds-winter.html

 

[Skywalker]

Unsure about the drinking and whether that's coincidence but it struck me as odd that the vet would give you heart worm meds at the end of November as gmacleod mentioned. We live in Ontario and so also do give heart worm meds but the schedule is from the beginning of June until the beginning of November. After that it is not necessary as it is too cold for the larvae to survive. So the schedule we have is to go to the vets in April or May and have heart worm test done, vet then gives 6 months supply of the preventative meds which is to be administered at the first of each month June 1st to Nov 1st.

Shouldn't of thought much will survive the Montreal winter!!

 

[saraemilyroy]

Thank you so much for the info!

They gave us 3 pills he has took one already...we have another appointment for him on thursday with a better , more trusted vet(the other one was one that was available but did not seem to know much)

The other vet we trust more.He took care of my boyfriend's toy poodle a few years ago who had many problems, such as reoccuring kidney stones.The vet was so nice he would opne the vet after hours just for them and wouldnt even take a penny from them!

we are so happy to be taking our boy there, he will be in good hands hopefully

 

[Jan]

In order for Heartworm Medication to be necessary, the temperatures must remain above 19 degrees C. for 30 days. I have now lived in Manitoba for 3 years and the temperatures here have never met those requirements. You shouldn't need to give a another pill until at least June of next year. I would not go back to that vet ever again.

 

[argosrocks]

i know ive mentioned my previous experiences with vets like this,but ill chime in again to reiterate,after checking out 3-6 vets when i got my dog,i always mentioned he was on frontline and interceptor(low dose),out of the 6 or so, id say only my current vet was in agreement that indeed after the first hard freeze ,it wasnt necessary to continue the interceptor,most of the vets that i brought that fact up with seemed taken back that i would question their recommendations,,,which brings me to my current disdain of most vets when it comes to vaccines,meds,nutrition,,and just about anything else non anatomy or physiological in nature when it comes to canine,im happy with my current vet,she seems very interested in not only the breed,but current methodology as well.so to sum up,,the majority of vets in my experience=pill pushing,science diet preaching,vaccine protagonists.so beware and do your homework when it comes to well,most everything in life,including your 4 legged friends,remember,they can't do it for you.