Do I really need heartworm preventative?

[mhorst]

Hello, Muffin's Mom,
I'm on the Texas Gulf Coast, and my two older dogs, 7.5 year old Yorkie and 14 year old Spitz are not on heartworm preventative. They were for approximatedly a year about 4 years ago, and they were required to get a blood test to check for heartworms prior to receiving the preventative. It was my understanding that if they do have heart worms, starting the preventative can cause big problems so they should be checked first. I had children in school and life was hectic, the vet prescribed a tablet to be given every day and I eventually stopped giving it to them. Both dogs were tested this past August and are heartworm free.

My new Yorkie pup, I'm babying much more, my children are in college, Zoe was started on heartworm preventative at 12 weeks. I don't know what the vet used, but it was applied to her lower neck between the shoulder blades like you would Advantage flee preventative. I am to take her back at 15 to 16 weeks for more shots and another heartworm treatment. Zoe is tiny and would have started the heartworm treatment at 7 weeks, but she weighted only .9 lbs. Our vet wanted her over 1 lb. before starting heartworm treatment.

Wish you the best!! I agree with these folks, that we should treat our pets for heartworms, even though my older ones have been fortunate. With the newer once a month treatments, it is much simpler and with the cost of veteranary care when there is acute illness, a much less expensive approach.

Yorkies are the best!!!!!!! Marilyn

[Osso]

You should give your dogs the heartworm preventative year round because even if the mosquitos are dead it doesn't mean that they cannot catch the parasites from another dog. So if you take your dog to stores or outside they should really be on heartworm and flea medicine year round.