Heartworm Testing

frogger

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#1
This questions is for all you breeders out there. How many of you heartworm test your dogs? How many of you do spot ons for fleas and limes shots and everything else? I worm and give my own shots every year except rabies. The vet comes to my house for that. Any other problems they go into the vet. I won't dock my cocker's tail myself or do dew claws either, they will got o the vet for that. But I don't know of any breeder's who heartworm test there dogs. So far I am the only one who does the flea treatments and the yearly shots. Should I also be doing heartworm?
 

Roxy's CD

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#2
From what I understand, if it's not a problem in your area, it's not likely that they will catch it. If the particular season is extra buggy, than perhaps look into it.

I don't breed, but planned on putting my dogs on heartworm medication. When I asked my vet she said there are so few cases in our area that it's not really neccessary, or in other words NOT giving it to them is not a big risk at all.

Same with flea medication. I had my guys on Advantix? I believe... I forget, last summer. And just never got around to it this year. No fleas! :) They are outside a lot but I haven't seen any, and I check them regularly.

I think a lot of those medications/vaccinations aren't really neccessary.

I got the good lecture about over vaxing my animals, and now they will be getting their rabies only once every three years. When I mentioned it to my vet she aggreed whole heartedly. I asked her why than, do they send out notices every year to remind people to come in for rabies?!?

Her answer: With most people there's no other way I would see their dog. Otherwise I'd see their dog once every three years and that isn't enough. With people that I know, will bring their dog in for at least annual check ups, or if something seems wrong, I have no problems doing rabies once every three years. The shots good for that long so why not!?! LOL
 

colliewog

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#3
I'm in Florida, so HW prevention is a must. I give Interceptor (at Safeheart dose) every 6 wks all year round and test yearly. I use Advantage as needed for fleas, usually one or two applications a year. *My neighborhood is great on flea control, so I rarely have any fleas here*.
 

elegy

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Roxy's CD said:
Her answer: With most people there's no other way I would see their dog. Otherwise I'd see their dog once every three years and that isn't enough. With people that I know, will bring their dog in for at least annual check ups, or if something seems wrong, I have no problems doing rabies once every three years. The shots good for that long so why not!?! LOL
sad but true. where i work we try to stagger the vaccines so that distemper is due one year and rabies is due one year but both are given every three years. that way we'll get most people at least 2 out of 3 years because they see the pet is due for vaccines. so many people don't realize how important yearly exams are, even if the pet isn't due for vaccines.
 
L

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#5
Not breeding yet, but mine are on heartworm preventative.

How many of you do spot ons for fleas and limes shots and everything else?
They are on flea/tick/mosquito preventative. No lime shots, not a problem where I'm at.

Should I also be doing heartworm? I'd say you definitely need to do heartworm preventative. At this point they'd need to be checked before doing the preventative to make sure they don't have them already.
 

bubbatd

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#6
I get my yearly notice every spring from my vet for what ever is due. I always vet once a year .... stool sample, heartworm check and whatever shots are due . Anyone breeding should have ALL testing on their females before any thoughts of breeding. No fleas, no worms , healthy Mom == healthy pups ! I've never had a litter with worms .!
 

Julie

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#7
Not a breeder either...........
I give my own vaccs except rabies. Usually every other year for Parvo, k9 distemper, hep, Adenovirus, Parainfluenza, and Corona. My dogs are all adults and I don't believe an annual vacc is needed due to my research.

I give intranasal kennel cough every year.....as they are around alot of other dogs.
Rabies is given by vet every two years here...... by law.

I use pyrantel pamoate for deworming young dogs/pups. I use fenbendazole for adult dogs. I also keep some praziquantel on hand for the rare occasion I would see a tapeworm.

I use frontline plus for fleas and ticks and haven't seen a flea in many years!!
I do see an occasional tick, but I do stretch my frontline for almost two months not every month. I am very pleased with the effectiveness of this topical.

I do not use heartworm preventative, but my dogs are tested every year. I think heartworm preventative is overrated and I think in my case and area the preventative is not worth the risk. It is really a personal decision you should make depending on your area.
 
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#8
I give my puppies vaccines myself. What I do as far as vaccines is the dogs get all puppy shots and then they get like I think a 6 month and a one year booster, then I dont give anything other than rabies for the rest of the dogs life. I have never had a problem, and rabies is only mandatory every three years in TX. So they get shots once every three years after they get the original sets. I DO have everyone on monthly heartworm preventative, and I think everyone should even if their area doen't have many mosquitoes. I use ivermectin, which is given orally, it also kills all other worms aside from tapeworms. All dogs are on pretty much year-round topical flea-tick preventative. There have been very few times I haven't given it monthly, but I attend shows, and I would hate to bring home an infestation. plus we have cats who are indoor/outdoor, and so all of our cats are on topical preventative too.

My dogs do go in for a once a year check-up.
 

wolfsoul

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#9
For vaccines, my dogs get parvo and distemper as puppies and then nothing else for the rest of their lives.

I don't use a flea/tick preventative. Lice is very common in the area and I work in a grooming parlor (my dog comes to work with me) so she would be at high risk if she wasn't healthy, but her immune system is strong eough to ward off any parasites. When every other dog in the shop got lice, she did not.

We don't test for heartworm or use a preventative. There isn't a high risk factor here. There were only two cases of heartworm in the entire valley last year (which takes up a HUGE portion of the province), even though we are one of the worst areas of the province for mosquitos.

Honestly if I can keep my dogs away from unnecessary chemicals and vaccinations, I will. I've seen way too much bad happen. Visa almost died after recieving her parvo shot as a puppy. Two of her littemates did die. I titer anually.
 

bubbatd

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#10
I've seen too many cases of everything ..... I won't take chances and my vets don't believe in over vaccinating....I trust them over my own knowledge.
 
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#11
get your dogs heatworm tested and keep them on preventative. my dog is only two and he just had to be treated for heartworm. at the cost of 1500 + and we almost lost him twice. so idf there is anything you can do for your dog it is keep him on preventaive.
 

pitbulliest

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#12
Why do some of you vaccinate every year? Vaccines can last in the dog's system for 3 or more years!

They aren't healthy and they slow down the immune system ALOT...for anyone that vaccinates every single year, I suggest doing titer testing to see if the dog really requires shots or if they are protected.
 

pitbulliest

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#13
SHORTY13TH said:
get your dogs heatworm tested and keep them on preventative. my dog is only two and he just had to be treated for heartworm. at the cost of 1500 + and we almost lost him twice. so idf there is anything you can do for your dog it is keep him on preventaive.

I think it also depends on where you live...and how high the risks are there.
 

Ash47

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#14
I don't breed. But, I do have 5 dogs. I can't live without heartworm preventive. I always say that I really could go without having my animals vaccinated for anything. But then again, I think about how prevelant Parvo is here. If I had to choose which I think is most important of the vaccines, I would say Parvo for sure. Rabies is required here every year, but we don't have to have licenses for our dogs, so what the state doesn't know won't hurt them!! LOL
But my four big things are Neuter and Spay/Heartworm Preventive and Check/Yearly Exam/Yearly Bloodwork to check for abnormalities not seen during the normal exam.
 

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