Heartworm Blood Test I give my Lola her heartworm medicine every month. Every year at this time my vet sends me a card to come in for her heartworm test. The test up here around Chicago costs almost $50. I have always taken her for the test but this time I'm questioning it a little. I was told that the heartworm medicine doesn't prevent heartworm. Up here in the mid west I don't think heartworm is a epidemic almost non existent in il. I was wondering does everyone else go for the yearly test even though you are giving the medicine? |
i do not only in my princess because she was a rescue and i do not know her previous history. i give cedric his meds every month and have not tested him for it as he is just shy of a year old. |
I took my mom's Ruby to the Petco Vet, he comes to the store one saturday a month and their prices are GREAT, she got her rabies vaccine for $5.00 last month, they were running a sale, and her heartworm test done the test was $31.00 and the heartworm meds were $47.00 for the year, my mom does not have a petco in he town, so I brought Ruby to my home while my dad was in the hospital having his pacemaker checked and got her up to date in those to things that she needed. her vet charges $50.00 alone for the visit plus the test plus the meds plus the Rabies vaccine he charges another $40.00. now she is all done until next year.. if you have a Petco store around you is worth checking. hugs, |
I do the yearly test and also did when I lived up north. You just never know. I would not want to skip it only to end up with a pup with heartworms. Better to catch them early before they cause major problems. I have never had a pup come up positive, but it can and does happen. Perhaps you should ask around....$50 is quite high for a heartworm test unless there are other things being tested as well. My vet charges just under $50 for a blood test yearly on my pups....a mini panel and heartworm test. Basically the heartworm test is free with that blood work. |
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"These medications interrupt heartworm development before adult worms reach the lungs and cause disease." The preventatives cannot kill off adult heartworms, only microfilariae. Immiticide treatment kills off adult heartworms. You do NOT want to go through that. You are always better off giving preventatives. For information regarding the number of reported cases of heartworm in your area, see: American Heartworm Society | What Is Heartworm Disease? |
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. Quote:
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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. |
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I give monthly prevention and test annually. I don't alter recommended schedules on HW and give meds all year round despite being in a fairly low risk area (northeast). I also test annually, and the test is free with their comprehensive wellness blood work. |
Hi, i give all 3 of my dogs heartguard plus year round. We have a huge mosquito problem here. However i don't do the test every year. Usually every 2 years . |
My vet does it every year at the time of annual shots |
I give Callie monthly heartworm prevention which I think is very important as well as a yearly blood test. Heartworms is nothing to play with. |
Luckily, we don't have problems with heartworm where we live, but we still give heartworm preventative and do the annual heartworm test. |
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dry summers so the bugs are not around long . i don't want to take a chance with my dogs so that is why i give them the heartguard yearround. i don't do the test every year because it is very stressful on my dogs going to the vet . |
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