I had a friends dog have problems with Heartgaurd so I went with Interceptor. Why bother with Heartgaurd?

FWIW, all heartworm preventitives on the market use the same class of drugs - avermectins.

So if your dog is truly sensitive to the drugs in one, it will be sensitive the the other as well.

 Quote: joseph romano

this is question about heart worm meds, i we to the vet not to long ago and told her i dont give heart worm meds year round, she suggested i should due to the fact i have a young child and transmission of other worms can happen and us not know if are child has worms from the dog. is this a real worrie or are the chances slim and none, i dont like to give unneed meds

I live close to Detroit, so you probably have the same heartworm preventive schedule as I do.

You give the heartworm preventative once a month for six months of the year. The first one on June 1 and then the first of every month until Nov. 1. You do not need to give it year round, as heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes and mosquitoes are not active year round in Michigan.

You should DEFINITELY have your dog on heartworm medication, as if your dog does get infected (which most dogs do during their lifetime) and is not on the preventative, treatment is very expensive and heartworms WILL kill your dog.

Your child will not get heartworm from the dog.

I give heartguard brand ivermectin because it is only the one drug in it. I don't like the multiple drugs that also kill fleas and other types of worms (this is what your vet is talking about) because to me it's similar to giving a 5-in-1 vaccine. Just too many things at once for the dog's system to deal with. I do fecal testing and treat only if other worms are found. I also treat fleas only if they are found. That's how I do it; ymmv.

Amber: I would say that you should familiarize yourself with the signs of toxicity or better yet, test your dog to see if he has the gene if you are concerned. If he has never had a reaction I would say it is probably safe for you to use Heartguard.