Thoughts on heartworm prevention?

[TexasTini]

Boy! I know I'm going to sound crazy for asking this question, but here it goes:

I have always had dogs...all my life. Every time I go to the vet, they always say, "you need to give this medicine" and I have done it. As did my Mom, Aunts, Uncles, friends, etc....

With Sampson, given his immune system problems and just starting him on RAW..I've become more "in tune" with a holistic/natural course of and what I am putting in his little body.

The lady that ran the raw feeding seminar (and ALL of the people there for that matter) seemed to advocate NOT vaccinating the dogs and NOT putting all these poisons into their bodies that they aren't designed for.

Not vaccinating seems extremely unnatural to me, as it's something that is always done. Besides that, I think it's the law in most places, isn't it?

Giving heart worm prevention? One of the vets at the clinic I go to (not our Vet and a great salesman) is always pushing me that they need to be on them year round. As luck would have it, he saw Sugar Pie this morning for a yeast infection in her ear and TOLD me that I NEEDED to get them on prevention NOW....My bill was already $87.00 for the visit and meds for Sugar Pie. I whispered to the receptionist that I always end up buying whatever he tells me, because I can't say no. I wouldn't be buying them just now....She just smiled.

How many people DON'T give prevention for heart worm?

As I said before, the more I learn, the more confused and apprehensive I get. Should I be frightened of pumping poison's into their bodies? It scares me that he COULD get heart worms, but how common is heart worm?

 

[RonaldMM]

I understand your logic as to not giving the meds. Infact my dad was a Chiropractor and none of us (his children) were vaccinated, which was required. I now think differently and would most definitely use the Heartworm preventative. I live in the South and mosquitos are a problem. Drake has been on the meds since he was old enough

 

[Maddie's dad]

I just spent $340 for heartworm treatment for one of my rescues. I'm sure it costs more in other parts of the country. My dogs are on year round treatment because of where we live. I think it gets a lot colder in MA than it does here in KY in the winter, and we have warm spells where the temp will get into the 70's. -Jan

 

[SuzanneC]

I always give heartworm preventative year-round. There is a VERY high incidence of heartworm infection in my area, and I know that dogs on neighboring farms have tested positive. I have a 5 acre pond on my property, so there is no way I can eliminate all mosquitoes, and we have coyotes in the neighborhood that likely carry heartworms, too. The risk is far too high for me not to use preventative year-round. Besides, the treatment for heartworms is many orders of magnitude more dangerous for the dog than a monthly preventative drug.

 

[Pearlywhirly]

I agree. Here in Oklahoma there is a high incidence of heartworms. There are new drugs on the market that are supposed to be easier on the dog but I still don't want to put Pearl through that. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure IMHO.

 

[TexasTini]

Thanks for your opinions.....I'm leaning (and agree) that they should have them. I don't keep up with the common occurance of heart worm cases, and only go by what I'm told....which is huge posters all over the clinic (vet) showing what could happen...I don't understand how they could possibly contract them here in the NE where it is too cold for mosquito's from, say, end of September through May.

Just a concerned mommy picking other's brains...

 

[Albie]

When I took Belle to a holistic vet she advised to not give heartworm preventative. She said if I insisted upon it, she wanted me to use Heartguard instead of Interceptor. She said she would prefer we use Heartguard because it only has the heartworm preventative in it, not preventative for other worms, which would mean less chemicals in the body. After consulting with my regular vet, and weighing what the holistic vet told me, I chose to stick with Interceptor. I felt I would never forgive myself if she came down with heartworm because I didn't give her the pill. I too have a hard time not following my regular vet's suggestions. However, I was so proud of myself this year when I declined to give my dogs the Lyme's disease vaccine. That was one vaccination I could not justify, especially since my dogs don't have problems with ticks.