Any thoughts please....
 

For the past two months, when I give Bailey her heartworm pill, it's not long afterwards that she gets sick and vomits. She only weighs 3 pounds, so I wonder if it is just too strong for her little system, even though it's for small dogs. Any thoughts?? Thanks

Are there a lot of mosquitoes where you live and does Bailey spend a lot of time outdoors unsupervised when the mosquitoes are active? Is heartworm prevalent in your area? I'm only asking because I've never known anyone who ever used that stuff, but it is a poison (of sorts) anything that kills a hearty parasite like a heartworm is strong stuff - certainly strong enough to make a 3 pound creature sick. I would weigh the chances of Bailey actually getting heartworm to possibly harming her with the "cure"
What does your vet say --- or the person who doesn't sell you the stuff? If you buy it from your vet, that's not the one to ask...product sales contributes heavily to their bottom line.
I'd look at it like: It's like giving them the rabies shot...short of living deep in the sticks where small animals are abundant and the dog runs wild outside, the chances of a person's dog getting rabies is pretty much nil...but you do it so on the off chance your dog bites someone it protects that person, your dog having to be quarantined, associated costs, border crossings, etc., not to mention it gets them into the groomers - so I'd find out how many documented cases of heartworm has been in your area if none to few I wouldn't keep giving her something that's showing a connection to making her sick especially when there's no unrelated benefit like the rabies shot.
Just some thoughts. ~Kendra

Thanks Kendra...you made a good point. I did get this heartworm prevention from my vet's office, who said it's always better to be safe. I had wondered why she would need it, I'll do more research into it. Thanks for the input!!:)

Yes, she most definitely needs it, imo.
What brand is it?

I agree.

It's not worth risking getting heartworms! Heartworm treatment is SCARY and not fun. They're in confinement for months, etc. She definitely needs it. Maybe the dosage is a little high?

I wouldn't risk it!
 

My Patti is only 3 lbs. also, my vet doesn't even suggest Heart worm medication. It is a Poison made with Arsenic - and the cure is just as hard on the animal, especially small ones as it is on the heart worm. It may be why she is getting sick. I water down some Tea Trea Oil and spray it on my dogs here in the summer - keeps all bugs away.

Hope this helps!
:animal-pa

Tea tree oil can be very dangerous if licked.

The common heartworm medications do not contain arsenic, but yes they are poison. The treatment is injections of an arsenic derivative. It is given IM deep in the back and is extremely painful. Movement has to be restricted so the dying worms don't cut off oxygen supply, etc. My girl is liver compromised and I still don't let her go without it. To each their own, but in my opinion it is not optional.

Although they aren't as bad in the western US and it may be optional there...

My vet said to cut them in half, if you have two dogs they can share it but if you only have one you have to throw the other half away because it will lose it's effective ness.

However, I do not give heartworm pills. I personally believe we feed them too mny chemicals.

Re: Heartworm
 

I just mentioned what I do because there is no heartworm where I live and hasn't been - we don't have many bugs where I live - so as a prevention in the summer I just spray a light mist of tea tree oil on my babies. But I know places like Texas, Arizona, etc. in the States have a lot of cases - so take your Vets advice and ask her to lower the dose - it may be too high

:aimeeyork

What brand of pill ar you giving her? I know you are frustrated and so is she :(

I give my babies Heartgard. My Tia is 3 lbs also, so the vet suggested I cut the pill in half. I wrap the other half in foil and use the next month. We have lots of bugs here in Louisiana! :eek: My babies are not outside a lot, but, I want them protected when they are.

Is it the chewable Heartgard Plus?

Yes, the chewable Heartgard Plus.

I have seen this recommendation by vets before, but the medication is unevenly injected into the chew. One month your pups could be getting the full dose and the next month they could be getting nothing. You can call Merial to confirm. I know it's frustrating. I hate giving the whole Interceptor to Ellie, but I haven't found a way around it yet. :(

Thanks for the info....I'll definitely check into it. You're right, it's very frustrating!

Thanks for letting me know about tea tree oil, I dilute it quite a bit, but won't put it on any more. It was suggested to me by a friend, so thanks again.

Well, it's something I've heard rumors about and such. Not a chance that I'd take, but many people seem to like it. So to each their own. :) It is in many dog shampoos.

I just got from my vets office the Heartguard Plus (Ivermectin/Pyrantel) chewable for small dogs under 25 lbs. My girl is 3 months old and 2 pounds 1 oz. The chewable pill is kind of big in my opinion. Too big for my little girl to handle in one bite. I broke the pill into 4 pieces. She only ate 2 or a half of the pill. I tried over and over again to give her the rest, but she wouldn't take it - I'd put it in her mouth and she'd spit it right out. Not sure how to get her to take the entire thing?? Being so small I wouldn't think she would need to take the entire pill, but the directions said to make sure they take the entire thing or you have to restart the dose....

Are you feeding her prior to the heartworm med. Giving on an empty stomach can cause the reaction you're getting.

You haven't mentioned what brand you are getting. Intercepter is packaged closer to weight and does have a puppy strength....you may want to discuss this with your vet.

I see you live in Oklahoma.....mosquitoes are rampid there....

I personally would just let it go for this month since it is very unlikely that a dog her age would get heartworms. Apparently there is still a chance though. Breaking it up is fine as long as she will take it all. If she won't, you can get the plain Heartgard pills and pill her that way. You could also use Interceptor.

Thanks for all the help!! Bailey is on Heartgard, and I spoke to her vet who said that even though it's the smallest dose that they come in, we are going to just start giving her half of one, instead of a whole. The vet said that at only 3 pounds, it is probably just too strong. But he firmly urges me to keep her on it because we do have quite a bug problem here in Oklahoma during the summer.

If the chew is split, she could be getting the whole dose of drug one month and none the next. Any way you can try Interceptor? It seems that small dogs do really well with it.

I think you're right Ellie May, there is no way that I would know whether she was getting a small dose or large dose. I will look into the Interceptor brand, I just hate it when my poor little girl gets sick over anything!!

The major concern would be that there is really no room for inaccurate dosing in a state like OK. She may do very well on Interceptor. Mine does well with it and she has lots of health issues. :)

You are so right...and we love to go to the lake almost every weekend, Bailey is quite the little swimmer, she loves the lake...anyways, it would be too dangerous for her not to be on something for heartworms and get the correct dosage.

We're from OK too! Norman here. :) We NEVER skip heartworm preventative. Because it hardly ever freezes here, the mosquitoes sometimes don't die and can be a problem year round. I recently did a presentation in my Parasitology class over heartworms and they are yucky! It can take up to 6 months for a dog to test positive for heartworms and by then it's too late. The treatment for heartworms is dangerous and expensive. I just wouldn't risk it. We give Interceptor and while our Yorkies are bigger, they do well on it. It has the lower 0-10lb dosage which might help.

We use Interceptor with no problems at all and I also have one with many health issues.

Heartworm prevention is the only thing I do regularly. I would not skip a month even though we are in an area that gets cold winters and lots of snow, as you can always find an errant mosquito. And my girls are indoor pottiers only. My vet also recommends heartworm prevention for indoor cats as there have been lots of indoor animals dying from heartworm in our area.

Heartguard is a heartworm prevention that has a very high incidence of reactions. My vet also concurred that you cannot cut the dose in 1/2 as it is not spread evenly throughout - so the up to 25 lbs is the smallest dose available.........

Roxy did the same thing at first. She hadn't eaten yet that day. Now I make sure she gets if when she has food in her stomach. No problem since.

Be very careful as tea tree oil can be deadly to your dog if ingested.

Yes, that's what I've read
 

and what the vet told me about the chewable. Nicky got sick on it, so we switched him to 'Interceptor' Though Nicky hasn't gotten sick with it (I mean immediately after giving it) I still hate it as well, and like you, I haven't found a way around it either :animal-pa