Tag: Heartworms

#167 April in Heartworm Awareness Month

Most pet owners have heard about heartworms but may be fuzzy on the details about the nasty little critters. I hear clients ask ”why should we do a blood test when they look at their dog’s poo and don’t see worms”, or that they are “just backyard dogs” and never encounter other dogs. Here are 5 IMPORTANT FACTS EVERY PET OWNER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HEARTWORM DISEASE (but were afraid to ask)


#1: Blame the mosquito! Pets do not infect each other with heartworms; pesky mosquitoes spread the disease. In fact, just ONE BITE from an infected mosquito is all it takes to infect your pet with heartworms.
#2: Heartworm infection has been diagnosed in all 50 states, but it is very prevalent in Texas. (Link to HW incidence maps- https://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/incidence-maps)
We routinely diagnose 3-6 cases of canine heartworms a year at Garden Ridge Animal Hospital.
#3: Cats as well as dogs get heartworm disease. Fortunately, there is a monthly topical prevention for cats called Revolution, and it controls fleas and intestinal parasites too! Unfortunately, cats are not the correct host, and their immune system goes into high gear to fight the migrating larva, which causes severe, and often fatal, lung disease.
#4: There’s no season for heartworm disease. That is why the American Heartworm Society recommends year-round prevention.
#5: Heartworms are deadly, but heartworm prevention is affordable, highly effective and (usually) easy to give. The America Heartworm Society and Garden Ridge Animal Hospital recommend testing dogs for heartworm infection every 12 months and giving heartworm preventives all 12 months in a year. Here at Garden Ridge, we carry 2 affordable complete heartworm/intestinal oral preventions for dogs, and you can order ANY heartworm prevention brand from VetSource, our online pharmacy with a link on our website front page. (http://gardenridgeanimalhospital.vetsourceweb.com/site/view/HomeDelivery.pml)


Some dogs are extra picky and require some “pill pockets” or human food to hide the medicine. Our goal is for your dog to just think he is getting a “special treat” once a month.


Or we have a 12-month injection to prevent heartworms called Proheart 12. https://www.zoetispetcare.com/products/proheart


For more information about heartworms: https://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources

122 New Heartworm Prevention 12 Month Injection

Heartworms in dogs aren’t new, but a 12 month prevention shot is! We have lots of great oral monthly preventatives, a few topical medications, but ProHeart Heartworm Injection is now approved to last 12 months. Imagine if your dog could get a “shot” when he had his annual exam and vaccines, and was protected against heartworms for a full 12 months! No pills to remember. I think a few clients would like to have another option.
ProHeart isn’t new, but it was previously labeled for 6 months, and has been in the US since 2008. The ProHeart 12 has been used in Australia since 2000 successfully and is the number one Heartworm prevention there. It is the number two Heartworm prevention worldwide.

I had decided previously to NOT use ProHeart 6 previously, but I will be offering ProHeart 12 when it becomes available in mid-August. My previous concern was the slightly less efficacy for intestinal parasites. ProHeart does control hookworms, but not roundworms or whipworms. Zoetis does offer to pay for any deworming treatments if dogs test + for hooks, rounds, or whips, just like other oral heartworm preventions. No preventative controls coccidia or giardia.  Two of my staff members have worked in clinics that used ProHeart 6, with great experiences.

How does it work? The active ingredient in ProHeart 12 is moxidectin, in tiny time release spherules, that slowly release the moxidectin, not all at once. It is a thick solution, and is injected under the skin just like vaccines, not deep in a muscle. Very few dogs have reactions, and it is safe enough to give to any healthy dog at the same time as vaccines, with a current heartworm test.

What is the cost? For most dogs, the cost is about the same as a year’s supply of oral heartworm prevention.

What is the downside/reactions? ProHeart must be administered by a veterinarian after an exam to make sure they are healthy, and is based on an accurate weight. They must be an adult dog, not a growing puppy. The needle is larger than regular vaccines and might hurt a little more than a regular infection due to size. Adverse events are rare, between 1-10 per 10,000 doses given. The most common adverse events are vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. Less commonly mild injection site reactions (warmth, swelling) have been noted in some dogs. In a field study, ProHeart 12 had a similar adverse events profile to Heartgard® Plus.

105 Heartworm Awareness Month Specials

April is National Heartworm Awareness Month again, and we have decided to kick it off a monthly special to help save you money on your dog’s heartworm testing and medicines.

For the month of April, 2019, we are offering a FREE Heartworm test (regular value $25) with the purchase of 12 months of heartworm prevention here. We carry both Interceptor (which gets heartworms and intestinal worms), and Trifexis (which gets fleas, heartworms, and intestinal worms). Plus the manufacturer, Elanco, is also offering a rebate on each product ($15 on Interceptor, and $40 for Trifexis), so you get more money back from Elanco after the purchase. We do need to have a current exam on file, and the special only goes until the end of April.

Our online pharmacy, VetSource, is also offering some manufacturer rebates at different weeks in April, which might help if you shop online for many different brands of heartworm preventions. We do need to have a current (< 12 month) heartworm test before we will approve online heartworm medicines, but we are trying to give many options. There are even TOPICAL heartworm preventions that you can get online, and we are looking into 6 month heartworm injections (no more pills). Remember that heartworms are transmitted by mosquitos, so all dogs are affected.

Goodness knows we get mosquitos, and they will be out if larger numbers soon.

https://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/incidence-maps https://www.elancorebates.com/