PetAgree
This is the time of year when many people start getting those little reminder cards from their veterinarian about testing for canine heartworm disease. I thought this would be a great time to give everyone a little review about the disease and some of the products available to prevent this disease in our dogs.
Heartworm Lifecycle:
- Begins with a mosquito that bites an infected dog and ingests the microfilaria. Microfilaria are immature heartworms or I think of them as offspring of adult heartworms.
- The mosquito is the intermediate host and is required for the heartworm life cycle to continue. The disease is not spread directly from dog to dog but is transmitted via the mosquito to the dog.
- Once the microfilaria have matured in the mosquito (approx 10-30 days) they are called infective larvae and now when injected into a dog may develop into an adult heartworm.
- Once injected into a dog the infective larvae migrate to subcutaneous tissues where they mature into young adult heartworms. Young adult heartworms continue to migrate to the pulmonary arteries and heart and this is where they prefer to live. Mature females then begin reproducing and release microfilaria where they are then picked up by mosquitoes and the whole process begins again!
Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal disease in dogs. Some clinical symptoms of heartworm disease include coughing, shortness of breath, weakness and listlessness. Dogs infected with heartworms may not show any symptoms of disease for a few years. This does not mean they aren’t affected by the disease because they are still damaging the heart and lungs and often the liver. Treatment for heartworm disease is available but it can be costly and isn’t without side effects. Prevention really is the safest option. With the safe and affordable heartworm preventatives available today, no pet should ever have to endure this dreaded disease. Below is a list and brief description of some of the heartworm preventatives available. Ask your veterinarian which product would work best for you and your dog’s lifestyle.
- Sentinel, a monthly tablet that prevents heartworms, removes and controls whipworms and roundworms and controls hookworms, sterilizes fleas (this way they don’t reproduce and cause an infestation in your home).
- Interceptor, think of it as Sentinel without the flea prevention. Many people use interceptor and then add a flea/tick prevention for example, Frontline or Advantix
- Heartgard Plus, a monthly chewable tablet that prevents heartworms and also kills roundworms and hookworms.
- Revolution, monthly topical that prevents heartworms, kills adult fleas, treats and controls ear mites, treats and controls sarcoptes mange and controls American dog tick. Great product for food allergy dogs because it is topical and not ingested.
- Trifexis, a monthly chewable tablet that kills fleas, prevents heartworm disease, treats and controls adult hookworm, roundworm and whipworm infections. This product I am not familiar with but found it in my heartworm research, please see your veterinarian about this product prior to using it.
Because this is a disease I can prevent I am passionate about it. Most veterinarians recommend yearly or every other year heartworm testing prior to beginning heartworm prevention. It can be dangerous to begin a prevention product if the dog is positive for heartworms, which is why they want you to do the heartworm test first. I also would recommend treating for heartworm disease year round instead of seasonally if you can fit it into your budget. That way you can prevent many of those pesky intestinal parasites during those winter months too!
