Year round heartworm meds for dogs

[soocool]

I give my dog Heartgard year round so that he doesn't have to get the blood test every year. Friday he had his annual check up and shots and the doctor insisted that he have a heartworm test. I told him I keep him on Heartgrad all year round and was told he did not need the blood test. The vet insisted that he have the test every 2 years despite being on the meds because I could have missed a dose, could have been late with the meds, blah, blah, blah. I never miss a dose. He gets it on the 1st of every month.

I felt this was his way of getting an extra $30. So on the receipt he noted that my dog needs to get a heartworm test again next year. This time when I questioned him he said well, he should have had one last year. I love this practice, but this vet is the oldest in the group and when I make the appointments way ahead of time I never know which of 4 vets I will get. Perhaps next time I will make sure I ask for one of the other 3.

So does anyone who keeps their dogs on year round heartworm meds get their dog tested for heartworms yearly or every 2 years?

 

[february2003bride]

We've only had our dog 6 weeks but I give her her Heartworm meds and Frontline on the 19th of every month and have it on my calendar so I'll never forget. If you know you haven't missed a dose you can always decline the test They can't force you to do a test you don't agree with. I probably will ask for the heartworm test every 2 years though, just for peace of mind that the monthly meds work.

 

[elrohwen]

This sounds like one of those unnecessary tests to me. I wouldn't say it's just to make money for the practice - it could just be that the vet know most people won't keep up to date with the meds and would rather test dogs every two years. In your case, I don't think you should feel bad declining it.

I take my rabbits in for yearly physicals and the vet requests a stool sample every year. The sample costs $60 to run, so it's not cheap for two rabbits, and they're just checking for parasites that are passed from rabbit to rabbit. My buns live indoors and never have contact with other rabbits, so I feel fine declining the test because there is no way they could contract these parasites. It seems like a similar situation to your heartworm test.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

I disagree. If you read the heartworm package and how it works, it doesn't prevent heartworm, it kills them in a very small stage. By giving it every month, if your dog were to get heartworm, it would kill the babies. I would think that as with any medication there is a very tiny failure rate and he could be checking for that. My vet will "charge" for the test but then give two free months of medication so it evens out.

 

[JewelFreak]

Nobody is more cynical than I about unnecessary tests -- but this isn't one of them. You need to test yearly for heartworm. The meds aren't 100% effective. Heartworm is awful on the dog to cure -- it's a case of finding the edge between poisoning the parasite & poisoning the dog. If not detected, it causes slow smothering death -- so must be caught early in the worm's development.

$30 a year is a small amount to be certain. My vet requires an annual test for a new prescription. Worth it.

--- Laurie

 

[davi_el_mejor]

I think it's a test worthy of every year.

Heartworm treatment takes a lot more work then prevention, so I err on the side of caution and treat year round even though I don't have too during the late fall/winter/early spring.

 

[elrohwen]

Interesting! I learned something new today.

I don't currently have dogs but had them for 20 years growing up and I don't think our vet ever required testing as long as we were giving the meds. Now I know better.

 

[ChloeTheGreat]

My dog gets a monthly dose of Sentinel. It was my understanding that dogs need to be heartworm tested every year anyway. Last year, she was tested when I took her for all her yearly vaccinations.

 

[soocool]

My dog gets a monthly dose of Sentinel. It was my understanding that dogs need to be heartworm tested every year anyway. Last year, she was tested when I took her for all her yearly vaccinations.

When my dog was first tested for heartworms. the vet at this practice (there are 4) said I had a choice. I could keep my dog on Heartgard all year round or take him off December - February, but then he had to get a heartworm test each year. I even wrote down what he said . Last year's checkup I was asked if he is on Heartgard year round and I said yes. Another vet from this practice said then he does not need a heartworm test then. Now last week a third vet from this practice said he needs a heartworm test. I am questioning why the story changed.

 

[JewelFreak]

Different vets may have different opinions & varying experiences. Everybody in a practice doesn't do everything just the same way. But meds & physiologies aren't predictable like other things. Some dogs (& people) take preventives against diseases but occasionally still get them. I do Frontline on mine, for example, all year w/out fail but one of my dogs still got Rocky Mt. Spotted Fever (Southern version of Lyme). He was a hurtin' unit.

With the test you're sure. Think how you'd feel if he turned up with heartworm that got advanced due to not having been found early. Look at one of those models most vets have -- the worm grows to fill completely the cardiac chambers. Worth 30 bucks to avoid that!

--- Laurie