When I first got Ivan, he tested negative for Heartworm. Living in the south meant a high incidence, so he was on a preventative.
Not long after moving, I had to take him in for a check up and titer tests, and he comes up positive.
He was tested a second time to be sure, and it also came up positive. I was told by the vet that dogs from the south can test negative for over a year after getting heartworm, then finally start testing positive???
I am loathe to give the shots as they are so damaging and dangerous... right now we are continuing the heartworm medication, which I was told can take a year or more to clear the system out from heartworms.
Anyone ever treated heartworm successfully without the shots? If so, what treatment was used?

If he is a light positive, which I assume he is, you can give just the preventative.

Heartworm if present takes up to 6 months to be mature enough to be detected on tests.

Our rescue (not me personally; I've never had a positive dog) will treat light positive dogs using just the preventative.

What did your vet recommend?

The vet asked me what I was comfortable with as she knew that long term treatment would not be an issue for me. The risk of PE outweighed the benefits of short term treatment for me. He is symptom free, so I was told he was a good candidate for this. Have you found any one brand better than the other? He is on Heartgard now

There is an area from AR to West TN and down through Mississippi that is reporting an increase of heartworm for dogs that are on preventative. I've had two, both GSD's test positive. Both these dogs were on a monthly prevenative and had negative tests in the past. Another larger sized police department, in addition to a SAR group has also had a couple of dogs test positive. Those dogs had tested negative in the past as well. In one instance, I had the standard course of heartworm treatment conducted. The dog was off work for 8 weeks, but has recovered and since returned to work as a drug dog. The second dog is a different story. The attending Vet suggested we try using a preventative as the treatment. The theory being; kill the micro filaria, the existing worms will die a natural death. I told the vet at the time, I didn't feel comfortable with that treatment, but I was a dog trainer, not a vet, so I'd go with his suggestion. Five month later, I had the dog in my facility doing some follow up drug training. It was the second day of what was supposed to be a 3 week training class. On that day, the dog had already ran two problems that were about 20 minutes in length and was preparing to run a third. The dog collapsed. At first I thought seizure, but even with my limited vet experience I didn't think that is what had happened. At any rate the dog was taken to the vet I use for all dog purchases. The diagnosis was not good. The dog had a pulminary embolisim (sp?) It was caused by heart worm breaking free and blocking blood flow in the lungs. The vet called me and asked me if I knew this dog was infested with heartworm. I explained to him what had occured more than 6 month earlier. Of course he didn't want to talk bad about another vet, but I could read between the words so to speak. He explained heartworm is like being pregnant. There isn't a light infection. They either have it or they don't. The treatment, using a preventative and letting the adults die, is only to be used in older dogs, basically couch potatos and NOT working dogs. The prognosis of our dog is guarded. He's been off work since August. Had he been an older dog (this one is only 3) he probably wouldn't have lived. He has undergone the more traditional treatment. The vet said, with just a touch of luck, he may be able to return to work in 6 weeks.

DFrost

David, what treatment course and / or preventative was recommended? This dog is out working daily. Pulmonary embolism (PE) was my biggest concern about the injections- massive numbers of little critters dying in the bloodstream and gettng pushed through to the lungs. It sounds like that is a concern both ways? This dog lived in S. Carolina the first 2 1/2 years. He is 3 now.

The treatment used on the first dog, and the treatment finally used on the dog that had the PE is the 3 IV series. I really don't know what they call it. The first dog weathered that treatment with no problems and is fully back to work (six weeks). The dog that had the PE will be out of work longer, because of, what I consider bad advice, the first treatment plan: Using the preventative as the treatment. I won't make that mistake again. The recommended preventative was Advantage Plus. According to the Vets I've spoken with, and those that are trying to conduct a study relative the increase in hw in the area I meantioned, there doesn't seem to be a single preventative that is more effective than another. Auburn is conducting a study relative the increase in heartworm.

DFrost

I live in Southern Ontario, Canada. This is the first year we have not given the dogs preventative medication. We have had a number of different vets and none of them said they encounter HW regularly.

Our bug season is shorter than yours (thank god). I'm glad I read this thread though. There are so many opinions out there.

From what I understand a misquito bites an infected animal, then bites your dog passing on the eggs or larvia... Is that right? Similar to Malaria or West Nile...no? Meaning that if we had all of our dogs on the preventative meds then the worm would only live in wild life, and hopefully eventually cease to exist.

The mosquito is the host, yes. The monthly preventative kills the microfilaria (larva stage). http://www.heartwormsociety.org/

 Quote: leo bond

I live in Southern Ontario, Canada. This is the first year we have not given the dogs preventative medication. We have had a number of different vets and none of them said they encounter HW regularly.

I just want to say that this is what folks said in the SoCal desert and in Salt Lake City: "We don't have heartworm here." Until they did. And it took many months (or years, in Salt Lake City) for the serious introduction of heartworm to the area to be noticed, tracked, and reported.


http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=108&Number=140022&Searchpage=2&Main=14914&Words=heartworm&topic=0&Search=true#Post140022

Connie, have you ever had to deal with this? If so, what did you do?