Keep up on dog’s heartworm meds
Truth be told, I have been lazy over the years in giving my dog heartworm preventative medication. I often will only use about six of the monthly chewable tablets in a one-year period and then when I don’t purchase a full annual supply at the time of my dog’s examination, I am politely reminded of the importance of why I should be more diligent.
My dog is a mixed breed 10-year-old dog that I got from a shelter as a puppy, and he has always tested negative. Based on my experiences, how seriously do you think that I need to be more compliant? After all, it seems that what I have been doing is working or maybe I’m just lucky. I also heard that heartworm is less prevalent in the New England area. Is this true?
I actually know someone who doesn’t even give their dog any preventative medications, so I figure that at least I’m doing something and halfway seems to work. Will my dog be okay?
Doing things halfway sometimes works and sometimes they don’t. As such, I cannot say with certainty that your dog will be safe from getting heartworm, which can be a devastat- ing and deadly disease, to say noth- ing of the considerable expense in treating it when needed.
I would be less than honest if I told you that all of my clients are fully compliant. Most of them are compli- ant since a monthly tablet given on helps. the first day of every month is pretty easy to remember, like paying your rent or mortgage. There are quite a few that forget to give the medication once or twice a year and even some that are like you in using about half of what they should.
There are various products on the market that can make things easier for owners that can be forgetful. One can ask their veterinarian about an annual preventative injection. That might work well for you but most dogs seem to like their monthly treats.
Here are some statistics. Over 100,000 dogs get heartworm every year across the country and in all 50 states. While New England does see less heartworm disease then the hotbeds farther south, we do see it here as well.
One can go online and see a map of the nation put out by the American Heartworm Society that shows where the cases are every three years. Their website also has a lot of valuable information that can address your questions and those of others. Despite efforts to use preventatives across the nation, the number of cases never goes away.
My advice is for you to do the best you can and count yourself lucky that so far, your dog has remained heartworm free. A little prevention is better than nothing and you might want to encourage your friend to do what they can to keep their dog healthy too. Hope this helps.