Heartworm

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#3
This is very interesting to me. After being very entrenched in conventional veterinary medicine for so long, I have just started to see how many of the protocols that I have followed quite possibly cause more harm than good. I have discontinued feeding grain based commercial dog food and eliminated canned food all together, instead opting to cook for my dogs. I have started to use more herbal and homeopathic remedies and I have really started paying attention to labels. I have been struggling with alternatives to Ivermectin. I have known for a while that it can be very toxic and one of my guys will have seizures if she gets a heartguard. I don't want to have them vunerable to heartworm disease, but I don't want to take years off of their lives by prevention either. I currently have 2 dogs with heartworms right now. They came to me already infected. My vet has me giving them monthly heartguard in lieu of putting them through treatment. We have done the treatment on other dogs, mostly sucessfully with the exception of one. We heartworm test all of the dogs at the shelter and there seems to be an epidemic of hw positive dogs, so I can't think that good health alone is a preventative. I have been very confused on just how to handle the risk. I would like to use a homeopathic solution, but I can't seem to get a good consensus on just which one is actually effective. I guess I'll have to stick to conventional methods until I can get it figured out. I would also like to give up Frontline...any good suggestions? I am "treating" 38 dogs, so the application of Frontline is very convenient for me to use...I need something that does not require daily reapplication. It is hard to go homeopathic when you deal in such large numbers as I do...
 

Suzzie

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#4
i can just imagine the response this is going to invoke, but i do not use heartworm preventative for any of my dogs. I never have. After I got Blossom 7 years ago (because she came with heartworm prevention), I did a lot of research on the issue, and decided to not put these poisons into my dogs' bodies. However, I do heartworm test twice a year each dog, but I have never in my life (nearly 30 years) had a dog with heartworm (knock on wood). I'm not using topical pesticides any more either, going the homeopathic route to see where that leads me.

I don't even treat my lawn. When I was a kid, my parents did, and all our dogs got horrible diseases such as cancer. I'm doing all I can to have my dogs die of old age.
 

Buddy'sParents

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#5
I would also like to give up Frontline...any good suggestions? I am "treating" 38 dogs, so the application of Frontline is very convenient for me to use...I need something that does not require daily reapplication. It is hard to go homeopathic when you deal in such large numbers as I do...
It may be very convenient, but it's pretty costly as well- or at least, I would assume so. Just as there are holistic preventions for heartworm, there are the same for fleas. :)
 

Sweet72947

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#6
I use Sentinel. Haven't had any problems with it. I have been wanting to try some natural misquito/flea/tick repellants though. It certainly would be cheaper than $50 for six months of Sentinal. *goes to research*
 
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#7
You are right BP...the preventatives are costing me a fortune. The vet cuts me a bit of a deal because I am such a good client...I am privately funded (my husband), so cost is an issue.

Treating daily would be a big pain. I have a hard enough time getting everyone their daily special meals and meds along with snuggle and play time. You can imagine what bath and nail trim (spa days) days are like...

I am most worried about Suzzie's point...I know the stuff can't be good...anything that says to avoid skin contact when applying can't be good. If it is not good enough to touch my skin, then I don't want to put it on them.

Do any of you have any experience with a holistic alternative that is effective? I am willing to listen and give it a try. I don't think it is a coincidence that the leading cause of death in dogs is kidney failure!
 
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#9
I used to treat for the warmest summer months because I was aware of the temp needing to be near 60 both day and night, and we often get below that at night during the summer in all but the warmest months. But now I don't treat at all, just test every year, always negative.

Thanks for the link though, very interesting, should give people something to think about at least, even if they don't agree with it.
 

doberkim

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#10
That article is full of a lot of mistruths and misleading information, in my medical opinion. If you choose to not put your animal on heartworm preventative, at least do so knowing the full truth. health animals canNOT fight off a heartworm infection just because they "eat a healthy diet" - that is bullshit. I know raw fed animals, minimally vaccinated, that have been diagnosed with the disease.
 

SizzleDog

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#11
I have to agree with kim on this one - I'm all for finding alternative ways to prevent and/or treat things, but heartworms scare the cr@p out of me - it's the ONE monthly preventative I will not skip.

I've seen happy, healthy, well cared-for dogs get heartworms. Heartworms are a big risk out here, and I'm not taking any chances.
 

noludoru

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#14
Ditto what Lizzybeth said.. I've never heard of holistic options for heartworm prevention, and while Middie was lucky and didn't get any in the 2 years he went without preventative, I'm not wanting to take that chance.
 

Buddy'sParents

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#15
I realize there are some areas that are more prone to heartworm than others. But I suggest people not be fooled by the terms 'heartworm prevention' because that is NOT what heartguard and those other meds are. They don't act until a dog actually HAS heartworm. So every month chemicals are injected into a dogs body just because. This is what I do not like for my crew. Everyone thinks and feels differently and has different circumstances for their dogs. :)

I'm pulling resources together, so if any of you are interested, PM and I will email them to you, it does require an open mind, though.
 

elegy

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#16
it's not "just because". if you kill the microfilaria monthly before they can get where they're going, grow, and become a problem, you're still preventing the clinical disease. i'd rather give something with an extremely low risk of causing problems than have to go through heartworm treatment with much higher risks.
 

Buddy'sParents

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#17
The National Resources Defense Council has an article titled, Poisons on Pets: Health Hazards from Flea and Tick Products, I have it in PDF is anyone is interested.

Article on Managing Fleas without Poisons

Natural Pest Control


Natural Flea and Tick Products


Natural Pest Control


Natural Flea/Tick Control


Natural Defense


Natural Heartworm Prevention


More on Heartworm Prevention

Heartworm


Mosquito and Insect Shield


Neem Oil

Natural Flea Prevention

NatureLine products


Natural pest Control

A couple natural "recipes":

**Boil 500 grams of dried thyme with 1 litre of water and one sliced lemon for
some minutes, let it run through a coffe filter and put it on a spray
bottle, leave it in the fridge. Spray the dog every day, and if you're in
"tickland", before you get out.

**Natural flea remedy.
Take a BIG fat lemon (the more rind the better) and slice it
paper thin. Put in a bowl with a tablespoon of crushed rosemary leaves
(or a
6 inch sprig of fresh). Pour over with a quart of hot, near boiling
water. Let steep overnight. Strain and put into a large spray bottle.
Keep in fridge. Shake well before applying.

The d-lemeone in this spray along with the rosemary oil will give
your dog a beautiful shiny coat and keep fleas and other bugs away ..
including mosquitoes, so you get extra heartworm protection. If your
dog has dry skin or allergies add a
teaspoon of tea tree oil and a tablespoon of Aloe pulp.
Use the spray at least twice a week to keep the scent on the coat to
repel bugs, and spray it around your doors and through the carpets. If it's a bad flea time, spray daily on the belly and feet to repel them.
 

Lizmo

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#18
I have to agree with kim on this one - I'm all for finding alternative ways to prevent and/or treat things, but heartworms scare the cr@p out of me - it's the ONE monthly preventative I will not skip.

I've seen happy, healthy, well cared-for dogs get heartworms. Heartworms are a big risk out here, and I'm not taking any chances.
Gotta agree, Sizzle.
 

doberkim

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#19
and all-natural is better, right?
d-limonene (which I am assuming is what you mean in that post) causes renal tubular carcinomas in male rats, for instance. so while you may spray that on your dog, i'm expected to put something on my dogs that will expose my rats to something that has been shown to cause renal tumors in male rats (both benign and malignant?)

natural doesn't mean safe. keep that in mind. or maybe find a website that tells you so. me? ive seen "healthy" dogs die from heartworm disease, ive had to live with an animal that apparently SHOULD have been able to kill off the heartworms in his system on his own, but couldn't so i had to kill them off myself... Nope, I'll give interceptor ever 6 weeks.
 

Buddy'sParents

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#20
No, I'm just offering alternatives. I want people to know as much as possible. As for the natural recipes, those were copy and pasted and I don't use them, again, just offering alternatives. And not every dog owner has rats. You can do what you want, just as I'm sure every poster in this thread will continue to give inteceptor or what have you, I'm just offering alternatives, and if just ONE person reads every link and reads that article from NRDC then that is one more person that holds more knowledge. That is what I want. I want people to know what they are giving their dogs. Not every vet may be as open-minded as you are, Kim. Not every vet says to give heartworm stuff every 6 weeks versus every month to the date, not every vet supports an individual that choses to feed a raw diet. I just want people to know more, that's all. :)
 

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