[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I can understand the hesitancy to use heartworm preventatives because of their toxicity, but we are talking about worms in the heart here! As stated above, using the slow kill method it takes about two years. During that time your dog will be heartworm positive. It may shorten lifespan of the worms, etc., but that isn't exactly synonymous with halting the disease. You still have worms in your dog's heart and there is n oguarantee that disease won't progress. Standard of care is still Immidicide therapy for young, healthy dogs with (I think) stages 1 and 2. I think the new research about Ivermectin is great, but there are a lot (the majority) of cases where Immidicide is still recommended.

Also, there is a lot of information about heartworms not surviving at temps. below 57 degrees. Well, that may be the case in the lab, but here in Michigan where we freeze for months, there were heartworm positive dogs that were only off of prevention in the winter. A lot of vets here strongly suggest year-round meds and yearly testing (because no drug works 100% of the time).

And as for vets being money hungry, I can't disagree. Some are.
If your vet is, find a new one.
I am really tired of all vets getting a bad name because they want to run tests, etc. It is their job. Some aren't interested in handing over drugs with testing. Many of them do give services away even if the client doesn't realize it just because they love the animals. Then they have to face clients...who think they are money hungry and don't care. I really wish they got more respect. Of course they want to make money. They have families to feed! And many of them are still in debt years after school. That doesn't mean they base their recommendations on the fact that they like money. It means they are doing their job. They don't carry around crystal balls and they can't even talk to their patients.

ETA: Some are not willing to hand out drugs without testing because they want your dog to be safe.