Heartworms

[Coon]

My vet told us today our little Jack Russell has both heartworms and lymes disease. Said it will probably cost $800 to treat. I'm ok with that if she comes out of it, but was wondering if that sounds like a normal fee?

[B-man715]

He is doing what Vets do for a living.......... scaring you.........bending you over....... and then.......... well, ya know.

You can treat both for a tenth of what he is "offering". Do some research on Ivomec and Doxycycline.

[Coon]

you cant treat a dog with heartworms with ivomec.

[B-man715]

you cant treat a dog with heartworms with ivomec.

Did the vet tell you that?

What stage is your dog at?

[UMC]

Just curious, judging by your listed location, this did not happen in MN? Only reason I ask is it seems almost unheard of up here to get heartworm.

[Rick]

Plenty of heartworm cases to go around in MN and PA. Not so much in Western MN and the Dakotas. Also not a good idea to use ivermectin on a dog with an active adult heartworm infestation.

If you really love your dog pay the vet. I'm sure you don't want to take the chance on killing it using shaky internet advice.

Doxy is a common way of getting rid of Lymes as well as other tick & flea born diseases.

[Ufatz]

Okay. Let's quit screwing around in here. The dog needs to get back to that vet and the vet needs to do his job.

IF indeed we are looking at a full blown heartworm infection you want to get on it NOW!

Price sounds high but every time we take one of our dogs to a vet for anything serious its an easy hundred or two and we spent close to $400 on a cat that needed some minor surgery.

Go to the vet. And if you don't trust that one find somebody else but do it soon.

[Coon]

We left her at the vet last night. They did the injections on the back. They want to keep her again tonight. Just waiting to hear from them how infested she really was. They say don't start a dog on a monthly ivomec treatment plan without doing blood work done first and like a A-Hole I took the chance and she must of had em. I've been worming and ivomecing my dogs for about 6 months. From now on all my hounds and house pets will get blood work and put on Heartguard or something monthly. This is also the second dog i've got that has lymes. I have a female english coonhound that was one of the better comp. dogs around here and lymes has pretty much competeley blown her mind.

[harvey lee]

Correct Coon, you must have the test before you put them on the Heartworm meds.

Best thing you did was taking your pooch to the Vet.

[harvey lee]

He is doing what Vets do for a living.......... scaring you.........bending you over....... and then.......... well, ya know.

You can treat both for a tenth of what he is "offering". Do some research on Ivomec and Doxycycline.

Must have had a very bad experience with a Vet. My dog's vet is the best and I would never think twice about any procedure for the dog if my vet suggested anything.

I know him and would trust him with my life.

[Coon]

Just curious, judging by your listed location, this did not happen in MN? Only reason I ask is it seems almost unheard of up here to get heartworm.

Yeah i'm in Pa...don't know many folks that have had it, but they say it's getting rampant around here. Same with the lymes.

also, thanks harvey...

[Down2Earth]

Are these 2 diseases not preventable in the first place? I believe my dog get a lymes shot and the heartgard meds are given per vets recommendations.

[nolte]

I'm a little confused, something is not adding up. You said that you've been treating with Ivomec for 6 mos and then you brought the dog in and it had heartworms. Those heartworms should have been killed by the ivomec. The reason they say to not treat a dog with heartworms with ivomec is that it does kill the worms and those dead worms can cause a blockage. So I'm not sure how they were able to survive until now.

If you look at heartguard the active ingredient is Ivermectin, so it's the same stuff. I'm not sure how they go about treating a dog that already has them. I do know that you don't use ivomec plus on dogs. It's bad news for just collie types but there isn't any reason to use.

[Coon]

I don't know what to tell ya bro. I'm just very happy I didn't kill my dog. Vet said she was in stage two of 3 stages and they put injections of some form of arsenic in her spine. I have to keep her in a cage for two weeks. From now on I say screw the internet remedies. All my dogs will get tested for heartworms (same test will tell ya if they have lymes too) and do the monthly heartworm pill and the yearly lymes shot. I'm using iverhart max for heartworms. It also takes care of roundworms, hookworms, and tapeworms.

[Ufatz]

Ahhhhhh...now we are seeing a breath of wisdom. Both malady's can be prevented with medications ahead of time. Everybody should take their critters to the vet first of the year and get Lymes vaccination and buy a package of heart guard and another of Frontline or similar. It is so easy to PROTECT our pals in advance and not have to go through a medical emergency with them.

Some internet chatter is fine, but remember that your vet has a considerable amount of time invested in LEARNING about animal health.

That guy Bubba who instructed you how to take care of your pet may only have a degree in pretzels and beer with advanced studies in deep frying.

Oh. And that is not directed at anybody here.

[nolte]

Umm, Vets love guys like you. It's how they make their living. Personally, I would look around and find a vet that is more hunting dog friendly. They can/will give you a more economical medical treatment routine. It sounds like some of the ones that are being used are geared more towards the soccer mom types.

Personally I wouldn't give a lyme's vaccine. They have a very low rate of actually being effective and cost a ton. I had 5 dogs still get lymes after getting the vaccine and using frontline. Now I just use frontline and monitor the dog with signs of lymes. If they start having them they go on a doxycycline treatment. Also remember that lymes isn't the only tick borne disease that dogs can get. Two others that a lyme vaccine won't treat are anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis. Both bad news. Our Vet actually doesn't use/suggest frontline anymore. He has seen a significant uptick in lymes and other tick cases using it versus other prevention. I can't remember the product he now suggests. I have also read that there is an oral prevention medication that is out now that seems to be effective.

I've spend more time at vets than I care to and they are NOT created equally regardless of how much time they've spent learning about animal care. I'd talk to kennels or owners of multiple dogs and see who they routinely use. I'd also look around for good vets in the areas that you frequently hunt.

[Coon]

Yeah I know , but we're talking about Peaches here...our beloved Jack Russell...LOL...I know how vets work. It aint no diff here, but i've come to like this one for the most part. Local guy that was in the final 4 of the UKC world hunt a few back turned me onto them. Keep doing the redneck internet diagnosis and remedidies and sooner or later it will bite you in the azz. I learned that the hard way.

[Down2Earth]

Umm, Vets love guys like you. It's how they make their living. Personally, I would look around and find a vet that is more hunting dog friendly. They can/will give you a more economical medical treatment routine. It sounds like some of the ones that are being used are geared more towards the soccer mom types.

Personally I wouldn't give a lyme's vaccine. They have a very low rate of actually being effective and cost a ton. I had 5 dogs still get lymes after getting the vaccine and using frontline. Now I just use frontline and monitor the dog with signs of lymes. If they start having them they go on a doxycycline treatment. Also remember that lymes isn't the only tick borne disease that dogs can get. Two others that a lyme vaccine won't treat are anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis. Both bad news. Our Vet actually doesn't use/suggest frontline anymore. He has seen a significant uptick in lymes and other tick cases using it versus other prevention. I can't remember the product he now suggests. I have also read that there is an oral prevention medication that is out now that seems to be effective.

I've spend more time at vets than I care to and they are NOT created equally regardless of how much time they've spent learning about animal care. I'd talk to kennels or owners of multiple dogs and see who they routinely use. I'd also look around for good vets in the areas that you frequently hunt.

I took my dog in and it was $125 for lymes shot, yrs supply of heart worm meds, rabies, heart worm test. Peanuts compared to what it would cost for a new dog, training time, puppy stage. Maybe the lymes shot saves him from getting the disease one time out of one hundred. Worth it to me and the best pheasant dog I've ever hunted behind.

Signed,

not a soccer mom just a responsible pet owner