I've used frontline on my dogs for several years now, but I gotta wonder- is it really necessary? I put it on them every other month, and only in the summer. They pretty much stay in the yard, we go for walks in a residential area, they dont play with other dogs, we do go in the woods from time to time.

I know that not using it, they run the risk of getting fleas and ticks, but whats wrong with just treating them WHEN and IF they get them instead of IN CASE they get them?
We had labs growing up who were in and out of the water, in the woods, and we never used it. they were just fine...

Then the heartworm questions: (people's opinions wanted!)
1) Is it true you only need to give preventative to them once avery 45 days, rather than every 30? If so, could someone please give me a link that discusses this?
2) Is it ok to only give it to them for 6 months out of the year?
3) If so, should the dogs be tested yearly for heartworm? what is standard for testing?
4) What is the best/safest heartworm med to use?
5) Any thoughts on Revolution?

Thanks!

We have tons of ticks in the summer so I use Frontline from April until the first frost of winter. I wish they made it for humans as I get them crawling on me more than the dogs, however they never attach themselves. I am just not a "bug" person. :-)

As far as heartworm, I use Interceptor year round. I travel a lot and to places that have high heart worm cases. I give mine every 30 days. Not sure about 45 though.
I test my dogs yearly, that is the "standard".

Never heard of Revolution but I tried heart guard and switched to Interceptor. Below is a link I just found....

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_heartworm_preventive_compariso.html

I use Fronline in the summer. Of course, I wish I didn't have to, but the ticks here are truly insane in number, and the Lyme disease is rate is very high, for dogs as well as people.

I do NOT want live ticks on me or my son, and Frontline really does cut down the number of live ticks I find on us or the dogs.

Vets have told me that if you're going to only treat for heatworm for half of the year, then you have to do a hearworm test before starting back up again because the preventative has negative effects on dogs that already have heartworms.

Heartworm preventatives are usually pretty safe (although they have been linked to autoimmune conditions in susceptible dogs).

The problem with some medications is that they are NOT preventatives, they're just poisons that kill the heartworm microfilariae (in the later larval stages). Heartguard and Interceptor are two examples of drugs that kill the microfilariae - they're not actual "preventatives".

Because these two drugs have had many reports of very bad reactions in dogs, I don't use them on my dogs. (Besides, I'm not comfortable giving my dogs poison every month to kill something that's not there).

Also, depending on the heartworm test that you use these drugs can interfere with the results. If the antigen (or occult) test is used, then the test will detect the presence of adult heartworms (if the dog is infected) regardless of what medication has been given.

However, if your dog is tested using the microfilaria test (which looks for the presence of the microfilaria) you will end up with a negative if your dog has recently been given Heartguard or Interceptor, even though he may have adult heartworms in his system.

I don't think this is extremely common, but it's something to keep in mind if you live in a heartworm infested area.

Lauren: the heartworm risk varies a lot depending on geography (climate) and local spread of the disease. The life cycle of the worm is very heat-sensitive. As a result, depending on where you live, your dog may not even be at risk for heartworm for most of the year.

Here's a quote for you (remember that the heartworm larvae need to develop in the mosquito before they can be transmitted):

"Development in the mosquito is temperature dependent, requiring approximately two weeks of temperature at or above 27C (80F). Below a threshold temperature of 14c (57F), development cannot occur, and the cycle will be halted. As a result, transmission is limited to warm months, and duration of the transmission season varies geographically."

Taken from HERE. There's a diagram on that page that shows the life cycle of the worm.


Here's another quote:

"In a study entitled “Seasonal Timing of Heartworm Chemoprophylaxis (Heartworm Meds) in the United States”, Dr. David Knight and James Lok of the American Heartworm Society have taken the guesswork out of when to start and stop heartworm prevention. It was found that specific conditions must exist in order for the larvae in the mosquito to move on to stage L3, allowing the mosquito to pass on heartworm through its mouthparts. The larvae require approximately 30 consecutive days of 60-degree weather where the temperature does not dip below 57F (14C) in order to reach this condition.

Simply put, it must stay above 60 degrees for 30 consecutive days AND nights for the larvae to progress to stage L3 and be passed through the mouthparts of a mosquito to a host animal. If the temperature dips below 57F the maturation is retarded and cannot continue. This process would become accelerated if there were two weeks of temperature at or above 80F (27C), days AND nights. As a result, heartworm disease is not only geographically limited, but also seasonally limited. For many of us this means that year round heartworm prevention is totally unnecessary."


I got that text from a website that was sent to me several months ago... unfortunately I don't have the url anymore.

Of course, for the mosquito to carry the heartworm larvae in the first place, it needs to have bitten a heartworm-infested dog. If you live in an area where heartworm is extremely rare in dogs, your dog's chance of contracting the larvae is pretty much nil (regardless of weather).

I hope this helps

Edited by Yuko Blum (04/30/2007 10:24 AM)
Edit reason: more details

I'm lazy about using Frontline/Advantage etc. But Heartworm I wouldn't risk not giving it every 30 days. I know people that use ivomec instead, very cheap alternative. I'm lazy, I just buy heartgard, but then, I don't have 20 dogs in my kennel

 Quote: Amber Morgan

...you have to do a hearworm test before starting back up again because the preventative has negative effects on dogs that already have heartworms.

Indeed, preventatives such as Ivermectin and Filib can cause shock and other negative effects for dogs already heartworm infested.

However, there is an option to control heartworm spread in dogs who are positive but who can't go through heartworm treatment (for medical reasons).
In such a case, Heartguard can supposedly be given safely to heartworm-infested dogs. It kills the microfilariae produced by the adult heartworms (so the infestation is kept under control) and can apparently even kill some of the young adult heartworms (which other preventatives don't do).

Of course this is all according to the manufacturer of Heartguard, so a search for any reports of side effects may be wise for anyone considering this option

 Quote: yuko blum

Heartworm preventatives are usually pretty safe (although they have been linked to autoimmune conditions in susceptible dogs).

The problem with some medications is that they are NOT preventatives, they're just poisons that kill the heartworm microfilariae (in the later larval stages). Heartguard and Interceptor are two examples of drugs that kill the microfilariae - they're not actual "preventatives".

Because these two drugs have had many reports of very bad reactions in dogs, I don't use them on my dogs.

Yuko, what do you use?

I use Sentinel.


(for my dogs, not for me )

I'm not even sure if heartworm is an actual risk for my dogs where I live, but I would certainly have to gather a huge amount of reliable data in order to feel confident enough to ditch the preventative.

While Sentinel is a preventative when it comes to heartworm and fleas (interrupts the growth cycle but doesn't kill the adults), I think that it actual does kill hookworms, roundworms and whipworms.

Again it would be ideal if I didn't have to give any kind of drug to my dogs, ever, but I just don't know enough about the risks at this point to feel comfortable stopping the medication for my dogs. I do know many breeders around here who are already on their 4th/5th generation of raw-fed vaccine-free dogs who haven't given any preventatives in 20+ years. None of them have ever had a single problem with their dogs getting sick or dying from heartworm.
So who knows, maybe I'm just being overly cautious.

(Of course going raw and ditching all vaccines was a pretty big step for me a year ago... maybe I'll eventually figure out the best solution for worm/flea prevention too )

I live where Yuko lives and I have used nothing for the past 5 years. I test my dogs yearly, raw feed and now I have someone keeping track of the temperature for me.

I just had two incidents at my vet that surprised me totally. I had one of my dogs HW tested a few weeks ago and when I paid the bill they asked if I wanted any 'preventative' - no thanks, I said - I don't use it I just test and she said "thats great!" - no sarcasm, she really meant it! Then, I was on the phone with a vet from there last week and we were talking about testing my youngest (he's 8 months today) and when I told her I didn't use anything she also said it was a good idea! She told me they aren't drug pushers...

Really? That's great!

Lee, which vet do you use?

I'm seriously considering NOT giving the Sentinel this summer to my dogs. I'm gathering up all the research and local data that I can though - it's always hard to undo years worth of brainwashing from vets