Last year I used Frontline and Heartgaurd for my 2 dogs with no problems. I have been on a few message boards that say the are dangerous. The say not to use these products.Any expereinced dog owners have any opinions. I live in NY and the weather is warming up. Thanks Jerry

Your veterinarian should be able to explain any problems or possible side effects for these products that they are dispensing. Ask the vet if they've had to treat any of their clients for problems as a result of use. Message boards are great for reading but everyone's an expert and you have to sort out the wannabe's from the schooled tried and true.

With issues like that, where the safety of a product like Frontline etc, is concerned, you may not be getting the whole story from your vet. They may be unaware of new research out there or of newer approaches to dog issues. Take dog food for example, how many vets suggest feeding a natural diet? Not many. How many want you to buy Science Diet from them in their offices?

Same thing may go for treatments like Frontline. If they sell it at the vet's office then you may want to take their advice with a grain of salt. I'm not saying that vets are malicious, by design, but they often are on the outside of new ideas and research about health and the effects of medicines they use.

I do use Frontline, and have not had any problems that I could attribute to the treatment. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

On one of Leerburg's books on the natural raw diet I read is GREAT for the immune system. It's great also to fast your dog once weekly. (not pups) You may want to read into this subject. Things like this diet can really help.

My vet in particular told me he felt that a dog sufferring from this was generally directed to a weak immune system. Nature's way of weening out the weak many times will take care of it by having pests like this pick up on it.

I'm not an expert. This is just something that's helped me. The start to everything is to make the immune system as strong as possible. Listen to several of the people of good standing on this issue, and see how many tell you what's what and then weigh that perhaps.

I have all 38 dogs in our department on a topical flea preventative and heartgaurd. Being in the south, and working in areas where the dog is frequently in the brush or tall grass, it's a necessity to have some sort of flea and tick prevention. We have found that the topical applications like frontline and top spot have been of enourmous help to us in control critters on our canines. Heartworm is so prevalent, that their really is no choice but to use some sort of preventative. After reading the literature on the semi-annual injection, I'm considering making it an option to the handlers. I've tested many dogs, for possible entry into our program but had to eliminate them due to heartworm infestations. Yet have never had one contract heartworm, that was on the preventative. I"ll keep using it, and be glad that it is available.

David FRost

I have always used Advantage for fleas and given my dogs Heartgard for HW Preventative. My plans are to switch to Frontline Plus to combat ticks also.
Regarding HW preventative...Several years ago my Rottie/Lab mix was diagnosed w/ Heartworms after I missed a few months of preventative. My vet and I decided treatment was not an option being as Oscar is NOT a happy camper (and that's putting it nicely) on his visits to the vet's office. 2-ish years after diagnosis he started losing weight and developed a nasty cough from his infestation. I researched every site on the internet I could find and found several mentions of a Holistic HW Treatment given out by Dr. Gerald Wessner in Florida. Along w/ switching Oscar to an all raw diet, I ordered this all natural HW treatment ($66 which included shipping and handling) and started Oscar on the program. This was in May of last year...in December of last year Oscar tested negative to HW's. My vet and I were STUNNED to say the least...and since then he has actually recommended it to another patient of his.
The treatment is with Paratox, an all natural body detoxifier that cleanses bodies of all parasites.
I am now left wondering...IF this product works so well...wouldn't it be possible to stop regular HW preventative's and instead give Paratox on a regular basis to kill off anything that develops??? For now...my guys are back on regular hw preventative. Things that make you go hmmm....

Oh, the heartworm debate. Here are a few websites one should check out.

http://www.petconsumerreport.com/freeissue/heartworm.htm

http://www.bullovedbulldogs.com/heartworm.htm

I give my dog heartworm prevention and I always will. Contrary to sites previously posted, the prevention and the treatment use *different* drugs. The harsh effects of the treatment on the body is just an even stronger reason to give the prevention. The prevention does kill immature heartworms on a monthly basis, which also means that the chemical doesn't stick around for much longer than a day so the body has plenty of time to recover. Ivermectin (heartgard) has been given in much larger doses daily for the treatment of demodex, so the small amount that is given in heartgard is not enough to make me chance my dog's life.

The agrument that a raw diet is enough to strengthen the immune system and ward off heartworms is interesting, but I can put you in touch with someone that has had their dog get heartworms while feeding an all natural diet. There is no way to control the dog's enviroment enough to make sure that they are always 100% chemical free and possibly at their best. Even if my dog were perfectly healthy (she's not), how do I know that she doesn't have a sub-clinical allergy to my laundry detergent that is weakening her immune system, etc.? There are too many variables.

I have seen dogs that have had strokes because of heartworms. I've seen dogs cough up blood during the treatment; I've seen the look in owners' eyes as they had to have their dogs euthanized because the dog couldn't walk around the house because of heartworms. The prevention isn't perfect, but the problems that heartworms can cause are so much worse.

Lauren,

Well said, I agree.

And of course the dogs that die because the treatment works so well that the dead worms break off causing an embolism and block the flow of blood to the lungs, what a miserable way to go.