[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by Woogie Man

I just wanted to comment since this thread has turned a bit and heartworms are being discussed. Everyone has their own protocol for de-worming and not all will agree. I will say that, in general, de-wormers are far less toxic than heartworm preventatives.

So many people tend to think of heartworm prevention as a necessary thing, and in most areas it is. I do think, however, that everyone should educate themselves about them and the ways in which dogs contract heartworms before blindly giving prevention.

A couple of things I'd like to point out.

Dogs do not get heartworms from just a mosquito bite. The mosquito must have first bitten a heartworm positive animal before having the larvae in its body to transfer to another dog.

The heartworm larvae must reach stage 2 (a period of 2 weeks) before it can be transmitted by a mosquito. It must live in the mosquito's body until then.

If, at any time before reaching stage 2 in the mosquito, the temperature dips below 57 degrees, the process must start over. So, even if mosquitoes are present, if the temp is dipping below 57 at least once every 2 weeks, there is no risk of transmission.

Once a mosquito with stage 2 larvae bites a dog, the heartworm larvae takes 40-60 days before maturing to the stage where it can settle in the heart.

Both flea and heartworm preventatives are not medicine....they are pesticides. While they may be 'necessary', the use of, and especially the overuse of them can lead to many health problems. I consider the typical 'every 30 days - year round' application to be overuse.

These preventatives are typically packaged for a range of weight. If your dog fall on the lower end of that range, it is being overdosed.

As a breeder, I am especially concerned with this issue, particularly with my girls. You have to remember that a female is born with all the eggs she will ever produce and those eggs can suffer from the cumulative effects of these pesticides. We have all seen the disastrous effects of DDT and Agent Orange on both humans and wildlife. DDT almost single-handedly wiped out several species in our country, including the bald eagle. Do you really trust the safety of applying pesticides monthly to our dogs?

Most breeders know of using ivermectin for heartworm preventtion. At least if you get that from a source such as Revival, you can tailor the dosage to the exact weight of your dog, which, to me, is a safer way of doing it. No need then to administer a product dosed for a range of weight.

These are just my thoughts and no one has to agree. I am very concerned with the wide range of conditions and illnesses that seem to affect the toy breeds and I am convinced there is a connection between them and the constant administration of pesticides on dogs. I believe we are creating 'toxic dogs' in doing this and a more thought out protocol and judicious use of these products could lower the incidence of some of these problems.

Just my .02.

I totally agree with you Jim. There are areas of the country that are very prevelant with mosquitoes. I know that when I left Texas, highly mosquitoe invested, with high cases of heartworm. The one thing I did like about them is they did eradicate other parisites.

When I left Texas was I ever glad. I kept the dogs on heartworm prevention for a year after. One less toxic thing I'm not putting in the dogs. I hate the rabies vaccine.