Heart worm test? Do they need it?
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| HMMMMM, I can't answer that but I can tell you that I give both boys heartguard every month and we don't ever get the test. A few years ago I only gave it during the spring/summer months and had to have the test before starting up again in the spring. One agvantage, according to my Vet, of giving it year round was not having to test.
So, I am interested in what others say. |
| This is the way I understand it.
The heartworm blood test detects microfilia in the bloodstream. These are like the baby worms. If there are none found, and the dog has NOT been on preventatives, then generally it is assumed there are no adults in the body so Heartworm preventatives can be given. If the meds are given for part of the year, then the vets normally want to re-test the following year to make sure the disease has not been picked up during the time no meds were given. If the meds are given without taking the test, it is possible that later on a bloodtest will show a negative for microfilia, which could be correct as the preventatives kill them. However, there could be adults worms in the heart, alive and well, and the dog is in danger. This will NOT show up in the blood test. You may wish to ask your vet what they are looking for in the bloodtest...I am not sure if dead microfilia are detectable, which may or may not be a positive for Heartworm. |
Same here Ginny. Chris, if you buy Heartguard from your vet he should be well aware Allie is getting it monthly. The only reason I can think of for the test is the bill that accompanies it  |
somehow.. .someway... i was convinced to still do the heartworm test. all i remember is... after the first year, the vet said they should be good as long as they are on a preventative, but the test is important the first year. again, i can't tell you why and did feel like i was paying for something i probably didn't need.   |
bestdogsx4 wrote: Same here Ginny. Chris, if you buy Heartguard from your vet he should be well aware Allie is getting it monthly. The only reason I can think of for the test is the bill that accompanies it
In all fairness, he can only assume that you've been giving it monthly. He knows he gave it to you, but have you been administering it properly to the dog? Putting a dog through heartworm treatment sucks. I always have them do the test because it's a small price to pay for piece of mind. |
Our first basset came to us heartworm positive. We did the treatment, and it was hard to watch. The object is to give enough of the poison to kill the worms and not kill the dog  . I grumble about the tests, but do it anyway. Its easy compared to watching your dog go through treatment. |
| We inherited a Golden, who turned up positive for heartworm on the vet check. We did the treatment and had a tough time keeping him quiet.
And he was the first dog the had ever had that GAINED weight while being treated. We had to watch his weight fo the rest of his long, healthy life. We live in an area that is high risk for heartworm. The vet explained that the meds aren't 100% effective, so the test is needed to be sure the meds are working. It's only money. <sigh> |
| One of the advantages of keeping your dog on heartworm preventative year round is that you should be able to avoid the yearly heartworm test. At least that is the case in my area, but our winters kill off mosquitoes, so it isn't a year round problem. If we only treat our dogs 8 months a year, the vet wants a test in the spring before she'll start them again on their meds.
However, if you live in an area where mosquitoes are a problem year round, the recommended regime might be different and it might be the best practice to test even if they're on year round protection. Ask the vet. |
| We give the pills every month but the vet suggests every other year for testing........but I can't remember exactly why. Was it that some heart worms are developing a resistance to Heartgaard? It's always best not to assume anything. Have the tests done.........every other year for an older dog on preventative for several years, but for the 1 year old, it would be a good idea to go ahead and do it. Maybe the baby was infected and the preventative is only keeping the worms from developing further. |
| Technically meds like Heartguard etc do not prevent heartworm, they just kill larvae before they become adult worms and reproduce.
I would do the test if your vet is recommending it, maybe it was a bad year for them? |
| Beauford just had his first puppy check up two weeks ago. I asked the vet about heartworms because I didnt think there was much of a problem with them in this area and Beauford had recieved heartworm meds from the breeder. Our vet continued the heartworm treatments and wants us to continue giving him the pill once a month and then get him checked in six months. His explaination for that is that it takes 6 months for the larvae to develop and be detected by blood test. I dont know much other than that and what I have read in the pamphlet he gave us. |
| So it sounds like, even if your dog is on heart worm, there is a slight chance that he may still get it in the first year. So I guess that it makes sense to check at one year.
Itis possible that because I was only doing the half year heart guard and testing every year it never came up. I need to call the vet for another six months this week, I'll ask if they should be retested. I think one of the most vivid, graphic, UNFORGETABLE things I have ever seen is the picture on the poster in the VET'S office of the dog's heart with heartworms8O |
| So it does sound like,bottom line, even though I give her the heartguard EVERY month, the test still should be done at 1 year? The Vet has already seen lots of our cash, whats one more blood test? Hah!
Thanks everyone. |
| Yes, have the test. The vet needs to have the oil changed in his Mercedes.
Just kidding. Yes, have the test. It will be for everyone's peace of mind. |
| My Vet always did the test every year...and I don't pay for it. He's a friend. So, I'm not sure its for the money your Doc is recommending it...Not sure but I think the dog has to be clear of the heartworm to continue the preventiative or there is some sort of raction or something to the preventative. If you live in an area that gets cold, even if you give year round, there is probably less likely a chance of becoming invested and your Vet wants to be sure everything is clean for the upcoming Spring. Did I make sense I knew what I was trying to say but not sure if it came out right!
Bottom line....stick with the Vet's recommendation!  |
| My mom has had this 'discussion' with her vet several times. His thing is that dogs are sneaky and though you may think they are taking the medicine, they may be going somewhere and spitting it out. Finally, they came to an agreement that they will only do the test every other year b/c mom knows that Sadie swallows her medicine.
Enter new young vet. New young vet is not agreeable with this deal. She was claiming that, legally, they are not allowed to prescribe the medicine without the test every year. Has anyone else heard of this? I'm not sure I buy it. She was also playing the "because I'm a vet and you're not" card...  |
| Yes, I've heard of that. Not sure if its "legally" not allwoed to give meds without the test but I have heard it is common practice. If its just a blood test, and is just a matter of drawing blood, it shouldn't be risky for your dog so why not? Blood tests can show a number of things and is proabalby a good idea once a year. We do it as humans |
Ashley wrote: Yes, I've heard of that. Not sure if its "legally" not allwoed to give meds without the test but I have heard it is common practice. If its just a blood test, and is just a matter of drawing blood, it shouldn't be risky for your dog so why not? Blood tests can show a number of things and is proabalby a good idea once a year. We do it as humans
I think it is the vet doing what they are supposed to do..."whatever is in the best interest of the dog"..Vet's make recommendations and their clients make the ultimate decisions. If the dog is on HW preventatives my vet does the tests every 2 years. As for the blood test showing up a number of things, that is correct, but there are different tests done with the blood, and everything costs money. A simple heartworm test may be $35, yet to run the blood through a battery of other tests can ring up to the hundreds of dollars. I like to do those tests also, every couple of years........, but an older dog should have it done yearly.. |
| There are many of us dog owners who feel that heartworm medicine is a toxic chemical and instead of just using it liberally, we prefer to examine the real risk of heartworm in healthy strong dogs - especially in the times of year that there is little mosquito activity. We focus on things like the REAL life cycle of the heartworm and notice that the cycle can NOT be completed unless you have consistant temperature high enough to support the development of developing heartworms larvae. Thus - at least in most of the US - heartworms can NOT be a threat from about September until around the end of June. That is MOST of the year. And you don't need to treat at least a month AFTER the heartworms could complete their development - and get into the dog. Thus having dogs on heartworm meds year round is based upon - hmmm - sales perhaps.
(read more at the following website: http://www.holisticanine.org/gpage.html) IF you read the manufacturers recommendation - they recommend giving heartworm meds every 45 or more days - not 30!!!, but most vets push 30 because that way people "will remember". So even during heavy potential heartworm life cycle support time - one can use the treatment less often and still fall within the recommendations of the people who MAKE the drug. Heartworm meds work after the fact - not as a preventative. It poisons the system to remove any worms - whether there are worms or not. Do you really want to poison your dog when there is no chance of getting any heartworms into the dogs system? There is a fantastic article just published about the IMPORTANCE of having worms in the system of humans - and how they are starting to link western civilization that has no worms due to drugs, sterile conditions, etc. with autoimmune issues including asthma, digestive issues, etc. And by giving these people worms!!! - they are cured! I have the article if anyone wants a copy - email me at Rigleyman@aol.com and I'll send it to you privately. Heartworm DOES exist but almost always in animals that have been in negative conditions - chained outside or kept outside in bad conditions, malnutrition, already immune deficient. Many dogs come into rescue situations with heartworm because of this. NOT because heartworm is so prevalent. When presented with someone like me who tosses a bizarre concept into this - one should look at it logically. When I first was assessing if I wanted to stop doing heartworm meds - I heard the argument that made me stop and think - that coyotes, foxes and wolves are susceptible to heartworm just like dogs due to having the identical system. Veterinarians who sell heartworm meds will have us think that if all canines weren't on meds - they'd all die of heartworm. Here in the US - there is no problem maintaining healthy populations of coyotes and foxes. Why??? Because healthy immune systems do not ALLOW parasites to overwhelm the system - only animals with problematic immune systems have a parasite problem. If otherwise - heartworm would have killed all foxes, coyotes and wolves in the US. What some people who choose not to do heartworm do is to test 2x a year - this picks up any evidence of worms with plenty of time to then treat the dog before there is any "infestation". IF the dog has a very mild case - something you'd catch early by testing 2x a year - a simple dose of heartworm meds will take care of it- no need for the horrible treatment when the animal is infested. It gives the people a feeling of being on top of things, of control. And of diligence. People that choose not to do heartworm prevention can be found in all states including the southern states, Florida, Georgia, etc - places considered rampant with mosquitos. They will tell you that they've chosen this for years and have not had problems. They all focus instead on feeding a better diet, not over-vaccinating, not using tons of chemicals on/in or around their dogs. Heartworm meds ARE considered toxic and not all dogs handle them well. Those meds based upon ivermectin are especially problematic in many herding breeds that possess a genetic weakness (some say) associated with the blood/brain barrier. That would be many OLD ENGLISH SHEEPDOGS. I would argue that it isn't limited to dogs with this "weakness" but many dogs suffer from negative reactions to heartworm medicine - in many breeds that are not "collie-breeds". Remember - anything you put in or on your dog that isn't normally found in or on the dog - gets into the liver - there is only so much the poor liver can handle before showing health issues. As usual - any health or nutrition choice is a personal choice - focusing on the risk that one chooses to take. My dogs have not been on heartworm for years and years - I test my dogs 2x a year and have not had heartworm positive tests ever. I live in a town that has named the town newspaper -" The Mosquito " because we have so many mosquitos. I'm only writing this to offer another option or make you aware of another perspective. Judy & Mick |
| I have been doing Heartworm preventives for 3/4 months of the year. I get a package and split it between the dogs.The vets want it June to December, but ever since I read an article in Dogs in Canada magazine about the breeding cycle I have been going by the weather.
But it doesn't help the 'flea" problem, and other parasites when nothing is given. I am one of the lucky humans who gets flea bites on my ankles any time I am exposed to fleas, and knock on wood we have been very lucky the past year....even visting dog parks 2/3 times a week. If we get fleas in the house I get bitten... 
But yes, a test 2 times a year makes a lot of sense....Something to think about for sure.... I would not want to have a heartworm postive dog, and have it bitten by mosquitoes and have it transmited to other dogs, though, just because I didn't want to use preventatives, though. Pretty irresponsible..but how to get around it? Also, I don't want to makeit out like this is not a serious concern. Since the Katrina disaster, many Canadian rescue groups went down and brought back "Katrina dog and cats" to be vetted and then placed by Canadian rescue groups and shelters. One of the criteria that was used in choosing whcih animal to bring back was a heart worm test. Positive dogs were not brought up., The instance of Heartworm in Canda is very low, and there is not a lot of experience in the treatment up here. I cannot recall the exact numbers, but it is very high...like 50% of the dogs being considered and so tested were positive...and some that tested negative at the time were re-tested once they were here for 4-6 winter months and then tested positive. Education is key, but I know I am very relunctant to put anything chemical into one of my dogs. She had a huge struggle last year againt mange, allergies and infection with a low immune system. She is healthy now, and I am torn even to give her updated vaccinations. We, as the guardians, need to be adequately educated in order to make the best decisions for our dogs. |
| I can not stress the importance of having you pet tested every year. It is a simple small blood draw from the front leg. The blood is then looked at under a microscope for "microfilaria" baby heartworms, even if none are present at the time this does not mean your pet is heartworm negative. You should ask if your vet uses an "antigen" test, this is a small test for the "protien antigen" adult heartworms put off. This simple and cheap test is worth every penny.... compared to having to treat your pet or even put them to sleep because of the complications they suffer from heartworms.
I am a vet tech and we have put many pets "down" because of heartworms and it makes me mad that people expect their pets to love them no matter what and yet the owner will not give a pill once a month to help prevent heartworms, let alone a simple $20 test for them once a year. If you love your pet protect them !!! |
| I work for a rescue organization and have been a dog owner for quite a few years myself. I HAVE dealt with heartworms in dogs before. The reason you are supposed to give your dog a Preventitive each month is to prevent an infection of heartworm. But just because you give them a preventative like Heartworm and (hopefully)another preventative for fleas/ticks/mosquitoes every month (even in colder climates their can be a few mosquitos in winter months) it does not guarantee that your dog will not be bitten by a mosquito carrying the microfilae (the organism that gets inside and spreads and becomes the basis of the heartworm problem for your dog). Now these monthly action don't completely guarantee your dog will not get heartworms because just like strains of the flu, these mosquitos become more resistant to their environment and food source, which includes our medicated dogs.
The test the vet gives every year is incredibly important because if heartworm is detected (again, read above...heartguard and a frontline like meds every month is your best defense, but nothing is guaranteed) continuing to give your dog a heartworm preventitive will not cure the problem. The dog must receive a medicine like doxycycline and then will have to undergo treatment...and believe me this is neither cheap nor pleasant for you and your furry friend. If heartworm goes untreated or undetected it can and will kill your best friend. If interested in how these "worms" look and how quickly they can multiply just type heartworm in to google. |
| I highly recommend heartworm medicine every month year round. Back in the early 70's before there was preventative our first sheepdog contracted heartworms at two years of age. He was not in poor conditions or malnourished and was a very healthy and well cared for dog.
The treatment was harsh-long- and tedious. And even at that time was very expensive. The heartworm treatment after the fact is still very much the same as it was then (it hasn't gotten any easier to treat) and it was very hard on our dog. But now we DO have medication to prevent a full blown case of heartworms--I highly recommend that as opposed to the treatment and then the problems that arise as a result of the treatment. At the time that our dog contracted heartworms we were stationed at Ft. Campbell, Ky. and the soldiers were returning from Viet Nam. The vet told us that there was an epidemic of heartworms there and that it was believed that the soldiers were infected but that heartworms do not develop in humans as they do in dogs, however they believed that that was the origin of the problem in that area. Don't know if there is any truth to that but it made sense at the time. Duffy survived the treatment, however at 9 yrs. of age he developed tumors on his spleen and the vet said it was from the earlier heartworm treatment. They operated to remove his spleen, he survived the surgery but died suddenly of a blood clot to his lungs the day after surgery. I take no chances and even though I give heartworm medication year round- I have both my dogs tested every year. We live in the south and it is very possible that mosquitoes survive the winter. Heartworm medication does NOT prevent heartworms but does kill the larvae within seventeen minutes of ingestion. My vet recommends giving the treatment every 45 days rather than 30. The problem with giving any heartworm medication without the test is that if the dog does indeed have heartworm- the medication can be fatal. So the test is necessary if even one to two months are missed. It is a small price to pay to prevent long term problems. |
Saltydog wrote: When presented with someone like me who tosses a bizarre concept into this - one should look at it logically. When I first was assessing if I wanted to stop doing heartworm meds - I heard the argument that made me stop and think - that coyotes, foxes and wolves are susceptible to heartworm just like dogs due to having the identical system. Veterinarians who sell heartworm meds will have us think that if all canines weren't on meds - they'd all die of heartworm. Here in the US - there is no problem maintaining healthy populations of coyotes and foxes. Why??? Because healthy immune systems do not ALLOW parasites to overwhelm the system - only animals with problematic immune systems have a parasite problem. If otherwise - heartworm would have killed all foxes, coyotes and wolves in the US. Well, I got curious with this. Do you really know if coyotes, foxes and wolves are free of heartworms? Has anybody done studies on that? Also, heartworm is a slow killer, so a coyote, fox or wolve can well be infected and still be able to live suficient time just to end up killed by another thing. And I really find it funny that immune systems are an answer to everything. Well, if the immune system could control parasites, there would be vaccines against them, don't you agree? Saltydog wrote: Heartworm meds ARE considered toxic and not all dogs handle them well. Those meds based upon ivermectin are especially problematic in many herding breeds that possess a genetic weakness (some say) associated with the blood/brain barrier. That would be many OLD ENGLISH SHEEPDOGS.
I also got curious with your words "genetic weakness (some say)". I'd like to know what you have to say about this. By the way, doses of ivermectin in heartworm preventatives are at least 1/10 of the doses that can cause problems, so even the dogs with that "genetic weakness" go well on heartworm preventatives. Finally, only a person that has never had to treat a dog for heartworm can say that you can wait for the dog to be infested and then treat... |
| I had a dog, long ago, (a cocker spaniel/poodle mix) back in the 70's, BEFORE Heartworm meds were the norm that did contract heartworm. The symptoms were not really "visable" until he got older & by then it was too late to really treat him. The treatment probably would have done as much if not more harm than the heartworm at that stage of his life. I went 3 years without a dog after him (longest 3 years of my life I might add). Since then I have ALWAYS given hearworm preventative. Where I live, we test in April, start monthly preventative (I use Interceptor) in May & continue thru November & sometimes December if we are having a "warmer" winter. Then off until the next May. Years ago Interceptor had a daily pil to give. When they came out with the monthly one, my vet preferred it over the daily. |
| This thread is a good example of why one should take anything posted in a forum with a grain of salt. It's amazing how contradictory the responses are and yet, everyone who has an answer is sure that they are correct. When responses vary widely, everyone cannot be right and, frankly, some here are talking out of their a*****. It's not good when people who really don't know what they are talking about pretend to be authoritative and spread misinformation which could result in harm to someone else or, in this case, their pet. People should not guess. If you are unsure of the correct answer to a question, don't pretend to be an expert. My son is a veterinarian and he is a truly good one. He has explained to me why the test is most definitely NOT necessary every year and is not necessary at all if your dog has received heart worm medicine at the appropriate times. And you do not have to give your dog the medicine every month. In most parts of the country, you only have to give your dog the medicine a few times a year to break the heart worm cycle. Rather than going into this in detail, read the info at this link. It explains the situation and my son has reviews it and says it is true. http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/20 ... -scam.html |
| ... A couple other points: Some here have a "why not" attitude about the test. They say it's only money. The real question should be "why?" If there is no logical reason to have the test done, the test should not be done. And I, for one, don't even want to go to a vet who would do unnecessary tests. If your vet recommends unnecessary tests, you should get another vet, not go along with their recommendation. A vet tech here, who obviously has bought into the sales hype actually said that you should have the test done twice a year! (Hopefully, that was a typo. If not, I would DEFINITELY not take my dog to his clinic!) Second, someone here recommends that you get the test every year because other conditions can be identified. Apparently they don't realize that the heart worm test does not test for those other conditions. If they think the heart worm test is a comprehensive blood work-up, they are sadly mistaken. The heart worm test only tests for heart worms. Nothing more. Third, your dog will not die if he or she is given the "preventative" and if you vet tells you that, he is not being truthful. Get another vet. Bottom line: Learn the facts for yourself so you can best protect your dog. But don't let a vet do unnecessary testing and don't give your dog more medicines than necessary. And, by all means, don't naively go about with a "why not" attitude. Your pet is worth more than that. Get the facts. Ask questions. Being a responsible pet owner does not mean blindly going along with what your vet may say. In fact, do so could be harmful to your pet. The sad thing is that the people here who have a "why not" attitude and who seem to think having that attitude makes them a responsible pet owner may, in fact, be potentially harming their dogs by not asking the right questions and learning the facts. I know that it can be difficult to question your vet when what they say doesn't make sense but it is your responsiblity to do so just as you do when you go to your own doctor. Believe it or not, vet clinics are a business and they are in business to make profits. Some doctors prescribe unnecessary treatments and medications. It should be no suprise that some vets do too. |
| [quote="Guest"]...Second, someone here recommends that you get the test every year because other conditions can be identified. Apparently they don't realize that the heart worm test does not test for those other conditions. If they think the heart worm test is a comprehensive blood work-up, they are sadly mistaken. The heart worm test only tests for heart worms. Nothing more. quote] Well, actually most heartworm snap test will test for lyme and ehrlichia as well. (tick borne diseases) Also you can at the same time send off a full vet screen and just add in for a few more dollars a heartworm test. |
| I know at the clinic that I work at, we don't prescribe heart worm meds without a yearly exam. I asked the same question you did, and she told me about her mom's cat. Her mother religiously gave her cat heart worm meds. After the cat died, they were cleaning the house and lifted the couch. Hidden in the carpet were the remnants of over 14 heart worm pills. We've also had cases where the dog has actually had an entire and undigested Heartgard pill in their stool the day after consumption. Even if you are giving the meds religiously, there are circumstances where the dog/cat may not be getting it. It's always safer just to check. |
| We had a registered basset hound that was diagnosed with heartworms at age 8. We were told by the vet that the treatment to kill the worms would probably kill her because of her age. We did use a heartworm preventative / flea drop on her for years afterwards. She lived to be 17 years old, so I question the lethality of heartworms in the first place. |
| Using certain heartworm preventatives is considered to be a slow-kill method of heartworm treatment. It prevents new worms but does not kill the adults already present which continue to do damage to the dog's heart/lungs. Adult worms are said to have a shortened lifespan of about about 2-3 years when using this method... lifespan otherwise is said to be about 5-7 years. So the dog needs to outlive the heartworms and come through it without excessive physical damage. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=610 http://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-own ... s.html#q36 Either way, I'm glad your dog lived to a great old age.  |
ButtersStotch wrote: bestdogsx4 wrote: Same here Ginny. Chris, if you buy Heartguard from your vet he should be well aware Allie is getting it monthly. The only reason I can think of for the test is the bill that accompanies it In all fairness, he can only assume that you've been giving it monthly. He knows he gave it to you, but have you been administering it properly to the dog? Putting a dog through heartworm treatment sucks. I always have them do the test because it's a small price to pay for piece of mind. Same here. Mine are on the preventative year-round. They don't necessarily need the test but I feel much better confirming annually that they don't have heartworm. |
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