From our friends at the American Heartworm Society: Heartworm prevention for dogs is an important concern for every dog owner. Prevention is an important part of providing essential care, and heartworm disease prevention for dogs is something every owner can do. Consider this:
- Dogs have been diagnosed with heartworm disease in every state in the U.S.
- Heartworms are spread by mosquitoes, so dogs in Florida are at high risk.
- Year-round heartworm prevention for dogs is critical. Dogs don’t just need prevention during warm-weather months. Heartworm preventives work by treating heartworms that already infected the dog within the past month or longer; meanwhile, preventives need to be given on time, every time to be effective.
- The American Heartworm Society estimates that more than 1M dogs in the U.S. have heartworm disease—and heartworm disease can be fatal.
- Heartworm preventives are safe, relatively inexpensive and easy to give, but if a dog becomes infected, heartworm treatment can be costly and difficult, requiring multiple vet visits and months of exercise restriction.
- While there are drug-free strategies owners can put in place to reduce a pet’s exposure to mosquitoes, there’s no such thing as a “natural” heartworm preventives.
Heartworm preventives come in different forms, including monthly chewable pills and topical “spot on” medications, as well as an injectable medication that is given every 6 or 12 months. Heartworm preventives are available only by prescription from veterinarians.
Some preventives only prevent heartworms, some protect dogs from heartworms and intestinal parasites, and some protect dogs from many different parasites, including heartworms, intestinal worms, fleas, ticks and mites. Because vets know which parasites are common in the area in which they practice, talk to your own vet about what product(s) will be best for your pups.
Click here for some DO’s and DON’T’s of Heartworm Protection: https://poodleandpoochrescue.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Think12Dog_Dos_and_Donts101316.pdf