A discussion of heartworms was started in another topic and should prove fascinating if continued here. For general information on heartworms, you can visit this link:
http://heska.com/pets/learn_more/cb_ssch.asp

I use prevention (0.27% Ivomec) for both of my animals (cat and dog). I've seen too many dogs have problems with the worms and the treatment to even consider not giving some form of prevention.

Do you have any information on the new preventative Pro Heart 6 coming out?

Yes, it is out and thus far there are 2 docummented deaths from it (those are only the ones that I am aware of).

If one chooses to feed their dog a raw natural diet and is going to choose a more holistic route to vaccinations and care , I just don't get the mentality of giving a heartworm preventative that stays in your dogs system for 6 months.

One must remember that heartworm prevetatives do not prevent heartworms! They 'kill' heartworms IF your dog happens to come into contact with a misquito who is carrrying it and infects the dog with it. Heartworm preventatives are poisen. That is why they kill heartworms. Why would you want to put a poisen into your dog that lasts for 6 months?

I have lots of information on heartworm prevetatives etc. and will post it later today.

Here is a bit of information.

Heartworm preventatives are known to be hard on the liver. Any dog put on heartworm prevetative meds should be given milk thistle prior to and during. This also goes for any animal being treated convetentionally for heartworm. Dosage: ¼-1/2 the human dose for a 40 lb. Dog.

Diethylcarbamazine is often prescribed to prevent heartworm (check to see if this is in your heartworm prevention meds). This drug has many side effects that include headache, general malaise, weakness, joint pains, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and an eruption on the scrotum. Many of these symptoms are subjective, making them hard to detect in animals and easy to overlook.

Ivermectin (the other drug in prevention meds) can lead to evenmore side effects: vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, paralysis, jaundice and other liver problems, coughing , nose bleeds, high fevers, weakness, dizziness, nerve damage, bleeding disorders, loss of appetite, breathing difficulty, pneumonia, depression, lethargy, sudden aggressive behavior, skin eruptions, tremors and sudden death. Many veterinarians also report that many dogs get stomach and intestinal upsets, irritability, stiffness and seem to just feel ‘rotten’ for the first one or two weeks after each monthly dose of heartworm protection.

Many veterinarians believe that the best way to prevent heartworm is enhance the dog’s natural resistance to the parasite. We do know that wild animals are quite resistant to the parasite. That is they get very light infestations and then become immune. Another factor is that an estimated 25-50% of dogs in high heartworm areas become immune to the microfilaria after being infested and cannot pass heartworms to other dogs. Finally, after being infested by a few heartworms, most dogs do not get more of them even though they are continually bitten by mosquitoes carrying the parasite.

The main reason for heartworm infestations spreading through the U.S. according to Dr. Pitcairn is a combination of environmental upset coupled with a deterioration level of health through several dozen generations of dogs fed on commercial foods and poisoned with drugs and insecticides that has created this unnatural explosion of parasitism.. It is particularly frustrating that recent research shows the incidence of heartworm infestation in dogs in any particular geographic area is the same now as it was in 1982 even after all these years of preventive treatment. It doesn’t take too much contemplation to realize that the path of continued drug use is a dead-end road.


Dr. Pitcairn in his book, Natural Health for Dogs and Cats says this about prevention… ”Wild animals like coyotes, however, thrive in the very same conditions, even without prevention drugs. The major difference is lifestyle-fresh raw foods, plenty of exercise , no drugs and no toxic flea products.” So, a summary of what to do if you want to greatly reduce your pet’s risk of ever contracting heartworms. Give your dog or cat a diet that is mostly devoid of commercial food and one that includes few cooked items but mostly ‘fresh raw foods’. Make sure your animal gets plenty of excerise. This keeps the blood circulating throughout the system and can reduce development or spread of heartworms. Finally keep the animal drug free and resort to anti flea agents that are not harmful.

There is a heartworm nosode being used that is showing great results in prevention.

Dogs CAN and DO, every day, destroy HW microfillarie on their own. Heartworms
live and die in dogs who show no clinical symptoms.

I know it is easy for me to say no to heatworm preventions. I do live in an area that supposedly has heartworms but, it is not considered a 'high' risk area.

For some dogs in some places, the preventative might be the better choice. For others, going without is the better
choice.

You have to be really thorough in getting your information together and make a real, informed decision with a clear mind.

I keep hearing the arguement that , "I have seen a dog with heartworms and it is not a pretty site", or " I have seen a dog who was being treated for heartworm and the side effects of the medication was awful", therefore I would never take that risk with my dog.

I have no doubt that those statements are true, however, even if you decide to give the heartworm preventative...you are still taking risks!

An American Veterinary Medical Association report on adverse drug reactions showed that 65% of all drug reactions reported and 48% of all reported deaths caused by drug reactions were from heartworm prevention medicine.

Hope this is somewhat helpful.

Thanks for the great information. It's funny that you mention the side effects now because I just got back from vacation and gave my dogs their monthly HG the middle of
last week. I noticed my younger dog acting "down" and by today he stopped eating. He did eat a dog treat but that was it. He has been lethargic and generally depressed. I have been thinking about what could be the problem and I am beginning to think it's from the HG I gave last week. Thanks again for the information.

I'm not sure how that space got in there!

Hi Lauren,

Supposedly, the heartworm prevetatives are safe for these breeds that you mention as well. Many years ago, they had problems but they supposedly rectified it.

Again, there really is no such thing as prevention with heartworm. Heartguard (and other simular products) work by killing heartworms in certain stages. So those giving these to thier dogs are really giving them a 'dewormer' ,whether or not the dog actually has the worm.

For example:

Lets take the monthly heartworm preventative
Interceptor (milbemycin). Interceptor is effective at killing Heartworm(Dirofilaria immitis)in its L3 and L4 stage only. The L3 stage is from 1 to 12 days long. The L4 stage is from 50-68 days long. (Different texts give different lengths but are all in the ball park of each other.) Once the parasite moves from the L4 stage to the
immature adult heartworm the "window of opportunity" for Interceptor to kill it is lost.

So under ideal condition the larvae would only be susceptible to Interceptor for 51 days. (The combination of the shortest possible L3 and L4 stages) That is why
monthly heartworm preventatives can be drawn out to every six weeks instead of monthly.

It is proven that dogs can develop an immunity to heatworms. There have been studies done to substantiate this. I know I have read them...will have to look it up though to find out where I read it. Studies have also shown that dogs can get a mild case of heartworm and the dogs body takes care of it itself (with no outside help).

I beleive it is also true that once a dog has tested positive for heartworm it will always test positive (even after being treated...I read this as well...will try to find the source), but that does not mean that it has heartworms again.

You are also suggesting that it is the stray population that is perpetuating the increase in heatworm infestation but I beleive that the studies that I read showing that dogs can become immune to them was done on strays. In fact, I beleive the study was done where they purposely infected stray dogs with heartworm to find that they were immune.

I will go look up what I can find and report back.

Well, I have found a bit of the information I mentioned above.

Dr. Don Hamilton , who is a very well respected veternarian worldwide was a guest speaker on a list I am on...this was his response to someone on heartworm and developeing antibodies etc.

"Antibodies develop to any foreign materials that are introduced into the body. Work has been done (don't know how much) for a HW vaccine, but fortunately, none have been approved so far. Another vaccine is more danger to animals.

Dr. Ray Dillon, a well known heartworm researcher at Auburn University
School of Veterinary Medicine, several years ago attempted to parasitize stray dogs taken from animal control facilities in Mississippi (according to pound seizure laws). To give a meaningful comparison, when dogs that are bred for research are given 100 HW microfilaria, 97-99 typically become
adult worms in the dog's heart and pulmonary arteries. These 4-5 year-old strays, who had been thoroughly tested and found hw free and free of antibody or antigen, averaged 3-5 adult worms from a 100 microfilaria dose.
Thus, Dr. Dillon realized the dogs had to be immune to survive into adulthood in such a HW endemic area. I'd guess this supports the contention that stressors, especially vaccination, render dogs more susceptible to HW infestation (as well as to parvovirus, etc.)."

Dr. Hamilton also said:

"Most dogs have the capacity to develop antibodies to heartworm, so after about five years of age most dogs are fairly resistant to reinfection. Heartworm is (in my experience) primarily a disease of younger dogs (under 5 years). I do not know for sure, but I believe older dogs are probably
safe with no preventive medications. I generally recommend plain heartgard
because it is dosed much lower than interceptor. I don't know much about
sentinel. I don't prescribe these drugs. The reason interceptor works against worms besides heartworm microfilaria is because interceptor is dosed much higher than heartgard because of the latter's problems with collies, shelties, etc.

I have treated a number of dogs with homeopathy and this is my first choice. Not all have become hw negative, but they have become healthy, and the worms will eventually die (the worms live to about 5 years). Otherwise, I would simply use imidicide and treat for complications with homeopathics. I'd give liver supporting herbs along with the treatment.

Giving liver supporting herbs (milk thistle, turmeric, cumin, yellow dock, dandelion) for a week before and after the hw preventive dose is helpful also, and I sometimes even have clients give a dose of Nux vomica a couple of days post hw preventive.

You can also do a lot with lavender, eucalyptus, and other repellent herbs
as well as keeping the dogs inside during daybreak and twilight, when mosquitos are thickest."