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Cooper has never been tested for heartowrm, and has never had heartworm preventatives. It was never mentioned by the vets in Vancouver, or by my new vet in Ontario (though it was winter when we saw him). Sherri (Sophie and Winston) mentioned heartworm preventatives to me a while back, and it seems that Ontario is a hot spot for it. So I got Cooper an appointment for testing and to get preventatives for July - October.

We just got back from the vet ($173 lighter). The test has been couriered out, we should get the results tomorrow or the day after (im not particularly concerned). However, the receptionist did give me the option to take the preventatives now or wait til the results come in. I took them now (will save me an hour round trip to get them) but I did check that they were returnable on the off chance that Coopers test comes back positive, as she wouldnt be able to have the meds. She said yes, but I can give her the med now, she could still have them.... I thought it was dangerous for a heartworm positive dog to have heartworm preventatives.... thats why you have to have the test done, and get a prescription if you arent buying the preventatives from the vet...

We have Revolution (if it makes any difference)...

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How about the UC Davis Canid Diversity and Wildlife Conservation Group?

http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/vgl/search_results.php?cx=01053843916593...

Determining the risk for and the prevalence of heartworm infection in an area proves difficult because factors such as the time spent outside or traveling, heartworm preventive use, and annual testing vary among dogs. For this reason, local wildlife serves as a more accurate prevalence marker for an area, says Ben Sacks, PhD, director for the Canid Diversity and Conservation Group at the University of California-Davis, Davis, Calif.

Dr. Sacks says wild canids make great sentinels for canine heartworm disease because they are found in rural and urban environments, are outdoors year-round, are not on preventives, and have not come from or traveled to Louisiana for example.

To evaluate the recent change in prevalence and distribution of heartworm infection in California, Dr. Sacks compared the prevalence in coyotes within three foothill regions, throughout two time periods. His study showed that from 1975 to 2002, the heartworm prevalence in coyotes increased anywhere from 7% to 33% in these foothills.4 The prevalence in wildlife also can be an indicator that heartworms are endemic in parts of the western United States.


Table 1. Survey of heartworm disease prevalence, testing, and prevention protocol in 11 western states.5

In a 2006 survey led by Dwight D. Bowman, DVM, MS, PhD, on heartworm prevalence, testing, and prevention in 11 western states, 6,585 surveys were distributed and 1,101 of those (16.7%) were completed. Results showed that 68% of the 2,224 heartworm-positive cases occurred in local dogs (see Table 1). Sixty-two percent of the total heartworm cases in local dogs occurred in dogs with no history of travel outside their local area. Each state reported heartworm positive cases.5

Increasing testing

Both the American Heartworm Society and the Companion Animal Parasite Council recommend annual testing for canine heartworm infection for a variety of reasons; however, some clinics and hospitals currently do not test dogs annually. In Dr. Bowman's 2006 survey, only two of the 11 states had more than 50% or more of their responding clinics test dogs annually for heartworm infection (California 50% and Colorado 51%). Dr. Bowman says the rapid pace at which heartworm disease has spread throughout the West may account for the low percentages.

"It has happened so quickly that some areas may not be aware it has reached them," Dr. Bowman says. For that reason, Dr. Bowman encourages veterinarians throughout the West to increase testing.

"If you're not testing, or even if you are testing and just seeing low numbers, that doesn't mean your community is not at risk," Dr. Bowman says. "You don't want to wait until you see a lot of heartworm disease."

Interesting article, thanks.

I found this article a while back, which I found to be interesting

http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2008/05/billion-dollar-heartwo...

  • Heartworm infection is NOT rapid and will not kill your dog overnight.
  • It takes about three months for microfilaria (baby worms) to grow inside your dog to a larval stage, and even longer for these larva to mature into adult heartworms. If your dog is dosed with a simple Ivermectin treatment at any time during this period before adult worms are present (a period that lasts about three months long), the larvae will never develop into adult worms, and will die.

Based on the information from this article, I save about 75% of the cost by...

- Giving my dog heartworm treatment every 1.5 months (the article said 3 months, but I added a buffer, just to be safe). So I give 8 times a year.

- Heartworm medications are often the same price whatever your dog size/weight. So I buy the dose that is doubled that of my dog's weight and then I halve it (which is easy for the chewable types).

I do divide certain things but my vet advised me not to do this with the heartworm pills although I don't know why. Since the kind I use, Interceptor, are individually wrapped in foil, I suspect that the pills may be hydrophilic, that is absorb water, and this sometimes deactivates or lessens the effectiveness of certain medications.

Very timely discussion as during my Vet visit last week for Murphy's ear infection, the reminder of his Heartworm Test being due came up.  I discussed with them that I treat every month, buy the products mostly from them or the Vet Clinc. They suggest I don;t split a chewable tablet between them so won't sell me the next weight size up to do so, but I have often thought of doing that if I bought it online.

Their reasoning for the testing is that 1. their test includes testing for E.Canis, Lyme disease, Anaplasma and "other parasites" as well so not just for HW. And 2. that if tested annually, AND treated with Vet Office purchased Heartguard that the Meril company will pay for all the HW treatment should the dog succumb to HW.

Well, depending on a lot of factors, whether and locale being the most important, we can either test and not treat, test and treat every 3 months, not test and treat, or not do either and probably other variations of the theme depending on personal preferance and to some finances. Yes I agree that finances shouldn't be a part of healthcare, but again, it sometimes is, unfortunately.

Having said all that and reading this discussion, I am comfortable with NOT testing every year, and treating EVERY month, as we do live in a very warm climate most of the year, and we are bordered by California and Mexico, one in which has a relatively high rate of HW+ and the other, Mexico, we may never really know the % rate, but I'd bet my homemade dog treats that it is higher than we'd like to see. 

Both our dogs have insurance and I don't ALWAYS purchase the Heartguard from this specific Vet, so the treatment coverage from Meril is a moot point for me. But it might be important for others.

Thank you for this information, and looking at my most recent cost comparison analysis, I am spending $6.50-$7.08 per month for Heartguard, and $12.66 -$13.35 per month for Frontline. (Depending on where I purchase it, what rebates or sales are offered)   So $19.16 - $20.43 per month per dog to treat. For an average total of $475.00 a year for two dogs.

Either way, I think it is important to know what you are looking for in regards to Heartworm signs and symptoms,in your dog so that you can get them to the vet to confirm your suspicion.  Even though I treat with Frontline, I still look for fleas and ticks.

See my comment above about why it may not be a good idea to split the pills.

I am in the South and HW is a big risk, so I would NEVER miss a monthly treatment. I panicked last month when I realized both dogs were out - and had DH up the next morning at the crack of dawn at the vet's office when it opened to buy more.  For $60 for 6 months for both dogs, it's worth it.

As for flea/tick prevention, I used to skip the winter months, however, found a big 'ole tick the size of my thumb nail hanging off of Peri (full of blood!) last xmas.  So you can forget me skipping winter months.

As for vaccinations, this is the ONE area I believe that we overdo.  I blood test both dogs now...Taquito hasn't had a vaccination other than rabies in 3 years and I hope Peri is immune when she gets her titers next month. 

I just don't think it's worth risking heartworms for our dogs. Maybe it's the region I am in???

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