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Originally Posted by Nancy1999  It's a very painful and deadly disease, you give the pill to "help" prevent it, you give the test to MAKE SURE that they don't have it, as you say, they can still get it while taking the pill, and then there are all those owners who skip a month. The sooner the vet catches it, the better the prognosis. Don't be fooled by the fact that very few dogs in your area are getting it, perhaps most of them are on heartworm preventatives? Here's some more info that explains the why's. |
I don't personally do this, but if you are trying to minimize the frequency in which you give the preventative, you might consult with your veterinarian about putting your pet on a 45-day schedule.
What is very distressing about heartworm testing is the fact that the dog can test negative and then 6 months later is shown to be positive for heartworm, which is what occurred in my case. When you adopt a pet whose history may be unknown, it is very prudent to get as much information as possible from your vet about false negatives involving heartworm testing.
Simply put, if a dog is heartworm positive and goes untreated, the dog will die from heartworms, should another disease, accident, or act of God not kill him earlier.