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There is a variety of dog medication available online that both prevent heartworm disease and flea and tick infestation. However, if you're asking about the medicine prescribed to dogs already diagnosed with the disease, I don't believe that was formulated for tick and flea prevention.
In the end, it all boils down to "ask your vet first". Dosage is very important especially when it comes to heartworm meds so this is your best bet. I'm sure your pet's life is not something you'd take chances on.
=== === == Heart worm medicine only works on heartworms not fleas or ticks.
Wiki User
∙ 16y ago
Alan William
The biggest misconception which needs to be cleared first off is – that all combination pills provide the same protection. This notion is completely wrong. Every product has a different combination of ingredients and may act differently on each pet. Moreover, the lifestyle of the pet and your family is also an important factor that decides the efficacy of the product. Thus, to choose the most suitable product for your furry companion, it is essential to have the answers to the questions read this: ibit.ly/9PIQ
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoThe heartworm prevention prevents heartworms from maturing into adult heartworms and kills the larvae (microfilaria). Get you dog tested and then use heartworm prevention.
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What is best medicine to prevent flea and heartworms in dogs?
Heartgaurd is just heartworm prevention. To prevent fleas you need a different product. Advantage, Frontline, or Comfortis to name a few. If your looking for a flea and heartworm in one, Sentinal is a good choice. Heart Guard
Are heartworms in a dog contagious?
unfortunately for us dog owners, it is. the disease is transmitted by mosquitos, so have your dog take anti heartworm medication before the mosquito season. better take the dog to the vet for a thorough evaluation. a dog can have heartworms but show no symptoms.
Is Harts Rid Worm chewable tablets just as good or the same as Heart Guard Heartworm chewable tablets?
No , Harts Rid worm is for intestinal worms (like tapeworms etc.) , and Heart Guard heartworm chewable tabs are to prevent heartworms.
Will garlic kill heartworms in people?
I have never heard of humans getting heartworms, just dogs and cats & other mammals, but I do KNOW that GARLIC would not kill them. If a dog is infected, then the Vet would use an arsenic type of poison to get rid of the adult heartworms. I do believe they use something milder or different nowadays. If you have a dog or cat, best to have them checked first to make sure they are heartworm negative by your Veterinarian, then put them on a heartworm preventative once a month year around. Mosquitoes are the intermediate host, in other words they are the ones who pass on the heartworm from dog to dog or cat to cat.
What is the medicine for heartworms for dogs?
As a heartworm researcher in graduate school and a practicing veterinarian for over thirty years I am very well-versed in all aspects of heartworm disease and welcome the opportunity to respond to this question. The treatment for heartworm disease is very dangerous, so it is better to prevent the disease than risk your dog developing the disease. If your dog is heartworm positive, it is crucial to explicitly follow the treatment plan and home care set up by your veterinarian. The difficulty in treating the disease is because of the location of the heartworms in the heart and pulmonary vessels (from the lungs). When a dog is wormed you are basically giving a medication which will "poison" and kill the parasites, but obviously, not kill the dog. With intestinal parasites, it is fairly easy as when the worms are killed, they pass out in the feces and are gone. However, in heartworm disease, it is a "closed system" so when the worms are killed the place they would go is directly into the lungs, which could lead to sudden death or other complications. The drugs used in treating heartworm disease actually kill the worms "slowly" so the dying worms can be gradually absorbed by the body. If the pet is too active during the treatment process there is a risk that the dying worms could be swept into the lungs too quickly; that is why restriction of activity during this period is essential. The protocols and drugs for treating heartworm disease have changed over the years. The current recommended treatment protocol that veterinarians follow (and is very effective) was established by the American Heartworm Society and is somewhat involved. I will outline the steps. 1) The diagnosis of heartworm disease must be verified. Restriction of activity must begin. If the dog is symptomatic with the disease, appropriate nursing care must be provided to relieve the symptoms. A four week course with prednisone (an anti-inflammatory) on a decreasing dosage regimen is begun. 2) Day one after the diagnosis, a dose of heartworm preventative is given. This should begin to kill the microfilariae so to prevent an anaphylactic reaction, an anti-histamine as well as the prednisone is given to quell any sort of reaction. (The dog is monitored in the hospital for 6-8 hours after the preventative is given in case a reaction occurs) In addition, a 28 day course of treatment with doxycycline (an antibiotic) is begun. The doxycycline prevents disease transmission and reduces the pathology associated with dead heartworms. 3) Another dose of heartworm preventative is given at 30 days. 4) At day 60, another dose of heartworm preventative is given. The first dose of melarsomine (Immiticide) is given intramuscularly. This is the drug that will kill the adult worms. Another 30 day course of prednisone is begun again. Activity restriction is heightened, cage rest and walks outside on a leash only. This is when the adult heartworms begin to die, so increased activity could lead to serious complications. 5) Day 90, the second dose of melarsomine is given, as well as another dose of heartworm preventative. 6) Day 91, the third dose of melarsomine is given, and another 30 day course of prednisone is begun. Exercise restriction is continued for 6-8 weeks following the third melarsomine injection. 7) Day 120, check for microfilariae and if positive, treat with a medication which will kill the microfilariae and restest for microfilariae in 4 weeks. Be certain to stay on year round heartworm preventative. 8) Day 271, conduct a heartworm antigen test (this tests for the presence of adult heartworms in the system) to be certain treatment was successful. As you can see, quite involved. Another complicating factor is that the melarsomine is in short supply (as of this writing) and is difficult to obtain. As I stated before, the disease is easily preventable so do not run the risk of allowing your beloved pet to contract the disease, and face all the problems that could develop from the disease as well as from the treatment.
Can dogs pass on heartworms to humans?
Yes, humans can get heartworm, although it is very rare. It is most common for humans to get heartworm by being bitten by a mosquito, which then deposits the larvae for the heartworm into the human. Even then, heartworm in humans is usually found in the lungs and isn't severe. There have been some cases in which humans got diseases from heartworm. Heartworm can also be transmitted by 'flies, ticks, fleas, and lice'. See related Source link below.
If a male dog is heartworm pos he get a female dog with pregnant will the puppies be heartworm pos?
No, the puppies will not be heartworm positive just because their mother or father was. However, having a heartworm positive dog around makes it much more likely that the other dogswill contract a heartworm infection if they are not kept on heartworm preventative regularly (and in the case of puppies started on it early) due to the fact that the heartworm dog serves as a reservoir from which mosquitos pick up infective heartworm larva and then they bite another dog and infect it.
What can dogs get from mosquito bites?
Yes and you might catch the dog either scratching at it or biting at it b/c of the itchiness. Same for spider bites. If your dog doesn't stop messing with the bite, you might have to get a neck cone to prevent him/her from biting it so it doesn't get infected
When do the signs of heartworms start showing in dogs?
Normally when it is too late to treat. A dog will not usually show symptoms of being infected with heartworms until the number of heartworms becomes very large in the heart. Therefore the chances of treatment working is not as good as too many heartworms in the heart to clog the heart valves as they die off due to treatment. This is the reason to have your dog checked first for heartworms then put on once a month treatment to prevent the H/W. Also your Veterinarian should test your dog once a year for H/W just to be on the safe side. Symptoms of a severe case of heartworms include coughing, tired all the time, color is not good, bluish at times, etc.
Is there a pill for flea and ticks for animal?
There is one called Sentinel Flavor-Tabs that is an once a month oral medication given for the prevention of Heartworms, fleas (doesn't do ticks), roundworms, hookworms & whip worms. It does it all once a month.You can also use the topical medications that are a bit cheaper such as Frontline, put directly on the skin once a month to prevent fleas & ticks. Then, for the heartworm prevention, which is extremely important, you can give orally something like Iverhart Plus or Iverhart Max which is the generic version of Heartgard and much cheaper than Heartgard.There is also another topical one that does it all but topically (put it directly on the skin). That one is called Revolution, which protects against heartworms, fleas & ticks, plus a spectrum of other internal parasites. If you wanted just one treatment for all, then I would recommend this one, Revolution, as it prevents more things than the oral medication Sentinel Flavor-Tabs, but it is put on topically and not given orally. Check with your Veterinarian too about these different medications to see which one he or she would choose. I personally use the Frontline once a month for prevention of the fleas & ticks and the Iverhart Plus for the prevention of Heartworms, roundworms and Hookworms which is an oral medication. My Veterinarian likes the Revolution, once a month topically, which does it all. It is a personal and financial choice but just make sure your pet is treated once a month YEAR AROUND for prevention against Heartworms, Fleas & Ticks and internal parasites.If your pet has never been checked for Heartworm by your Veterinarian, then have your pet checked first with a little blood test, to make sure she or he is heartworm free before starting them on a heartworm preventative.
What are the symptoms of heartworm?
The symptoms of heartworms in dog varies on which stage the heartworm and disease is in. At the start of the disease there may not be any symptoms at all, or sometimes just a cough. The worse the disease gets, more symptoms appear, and the worse a cough becomes. If a dog has a later stage of this disease, they may have anemia, fainting spells, hard time breathing and is reluctant to exercise.
How do dogs get heart worms?
The best advice is to take the dog to your veterinarian. The veterinarian will determine the condition of your dog and the best course of action to follow. Obviously, the typical course of action is to treat the dog for the disease. But here is the "preach." As the adage goes, "An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure." Heartworm disease is easily prevented with the preventatives which are currently available. Routine heartworm testing is also strongly recommended. It is very expensive and risky to treat heartworm infected dogs, so thinking you are saving money by not heartworm testing and not giving preventative is ill-advised, just hoping your dog will not get heartworm disease. The treatment can be very dangerous and you must follow the recommendations of your veterinarian. When a dog or cat is wormed for intestinal parasites the worms are killed by the drug and pass out of the body in the feces. However, in heartworm disease, as the heartworms are in the heart and the blood vessels from the lungs, it is a "closed" system and if the worms are "killed" by the drug, they would be swept into the lungs, leading to sudden death. That is why the drugs used to treat heartworm disease are drugs that "slowly" kill the heartworms so that the body can slowly "absorb" them. In addition, it is important to keep the activity restricted as too much activity during the treatment period could cause the dying worms to move into the lungs quickly, causing severe problems. There is a relatively new protocol that has been recommended by the American Heartworm Society which veterinarians are familiar with and is very different from the old protocol that was used. There have been problems obtaining the drug which has been used for treatment (as of this writing) as it is in limited supply.
