On the Subject of  Heart Worm medications for  dogs

Just an introduction to the subject: 

How Does a Dog Get Heartworm?

Heartworm is caused by the parasite Dirofilaria immitus, and it’s carried from host to host by infected mosquitoes. Heartworms cannot be transmitted through direct contact. When an infected mosquito bites your pet and injects the heartworm larvae, the larvae travel through the bloodstream, develop into adult worms and become lodged in the heart and blood vessels. As they grow into adults, the larvae cause inflammation and impede blood flow, causing severe damage to the heart and other organs. Left undiagnosed and untreated, this can lead to death.

Heartworm Symptoms in Dogs

Even though adult heartworms can grow to be six to 14″ long, the symptoms aren’t noticed until months to years after the initial infection. Dogs may have a soft cough, difficulty breathing, weakness, fainting or weight loss.

What Can I Give My Dog to Prevent Heartworms?

There are a variety of safe monthly chewable preventatives available with a veterinarian’s prescription. 

Those can generally be started as soon as you get your puppy homes as early as 8 weeks old.

There are also Heartworm prevention injections that last 6 and 12 months.  You should ask your vet for availability and what age they want your pup to be before starting these injections. I personally prefer these. They are more expensive than the chewable, but I didn’t have to remember to do it every month. 

Lastly, because I would want to know…. The FDA says:

People cannot get heartworms from their pets.  Heartworms are only transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito.  In rare cases, people can get heartworms after being bitten by an infected mosquito.  But because people are not a natural host for heartworms, the larvae usually migrate to the arteries of the heart and lungs and die before they become adult worms.

🐾Judy🐾🐾