Ever treat a dog for Heartworms ? (1 Viewer)

kansast

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Adopted Buddy here early in the football season. Figure he's about 2 years old maybe. Took him to our vet, got all his shots etc.. vet said he's got heartworms. :covri:

Following the vets described treatment, last Wednesday or so he stayed at the vets overnight receiving a treatment of Immiticide.

After doing my own research into this medicine, I'm pretty upset at the vet right now, because I don't believe they fully informed us of possible affects of this medicine. But it appears to be the usual treatment for heartworms, and not treating the heartworms is not an option.

At this point the cynic in me feels like I just took my car to the mechanic and he's told me the "thermonuclear-combobulator" needs replacing and it's going to be x-dollars..

Anyways, we've been told by the vet and from what I've read, the trick now is to keep Buddy "calm" don't let him run around, don't just let him out in the yard, but take him on short walks, and let him do his business and bring him back inside.

When he came home the first night, he felt lousy enough, keeping him still was no problem, but for the last few days he acts just fine. Walks around here whining because he wants to go outside and chase down some squirrels. According to the vet Buddy doesn't have a bad or severe case of heartworms ? I'm just wondering how long we need to try and keep this poor dog confined and 'calm' ?? everything I've read says 4-6 weeks! If it is what is necessary, we'll certainly do it, but geez.

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Good looking dog, good luck with everything......
 
Just do whatever your vet says and, if you've done the research, follow the info you've gained. My last dog died of heartworms and it was terrible. His last week he looked like he was in unbelievable pain. It's not something you or him want to go through. You look like you got a good one so do whatever you can to take good care if him. Good luck.
 
Believe you me.. doin' what we can, Buddy is a good ol' dog. Never thought I'd go the Adopt a route, especially a dog a couple of years old. Have always had my dogs from when they were like 6 weeks old. So it started out weird enough. But he had the personality for it. He's quickly become part of the family. I just feel bad for him, hard to explain to a dog, "you can't run around right now you have to wait a few weeks!" He has not displayed any outward symptoms of heartworms or poor health. And according to the vet it was not a 'bad' case. Hoping he makes it through the treatment just fine. According to what I've read, the problem can come after the treatment, when adult heartworms start to die off..causing other troubles in the heart or lungs. thus the reason for keeping him calm.
 
Just do whatever your vet says and, if you've done the research, follow the info you've gained. My last dog died of heartworms and it was terrible. His last week he looked like he was in unbelievable pain. It's not something you or him want to go through. You look like you got a good one so do whatever you can to take good care if him. Good luck.

I had the same thing happen to one of my dogs. We found out on Christmas Eve last year that he had heartworms. I was heartbreaking seeing him go through this. By the time he started showing medical issues the worms were a major problem. Unfortunately he didn't make it to the second set of shots. We also had our other dog tested and found out that he had heartworms as well. Thankfully we caught it early with him and he seems to be doing fine. It was a pain to try and keep him from moving around but as time went on we all got used to it. Just keep a positive outlook and everything should work out especially if he is showing no ill effects. Our dog Buddy who passed on was not himself after the treatments. Our other dog Chacho is doing great. If your Buddy is acting like nothing is wrong then he should be fine.

Good luck.
 
...

When he came home the first night, he felt lousy enough, keeping him still was no problem, but for the last few days he acts just fine. Walks around here whining because he wants to go outside and chase down some squirrels. According to the vet Buddy doesn't have a bad or severe case of heartworms ? I'm just wondering how long we need to try and keep this poor dog confined and 'calm' ?? everything I've read says 4-6 weeks! If it is what is necessary, we'll certainly do it, but geez.

...

The last rescue that I took in was found to have had early stage of heartworms when I took her to get checked by the vet.

We were told the same thing about keeping her calm for six weeks until her cycle was completed. She successfully completed her treatment without any complications and we were able to let her gradually ramp her activity to include some minor exercise.

I think that the main thing they are worried about is chunks of the heartworms getting loose as they die and lodging in her heart so it's best to keep her as rested as possible. With big dogs, that's not exactly realistic so consult with your vet after a week or two and keep a good eye on her and don't overdo it. Otherwise, some limited exercise shouldn't be a problem.
 
According to what I've read, the problem can come after the treatment, when adult heartworms start to die off..causing other troubles in the heart or lungs. thus the reason for keeping him calm.
:9:

I had a dog that went through this treatment just fine...Follow the vets advice...Consider low activity his lenten obligation for this year...In less than a year he'll be wearing a dress at the second annual Buddy's Broads parade...
 
The last rescue that I took in was found to have had early stage of heartworms when I took her to get checked by the vet.

We were told the same thing about keeping her calm for six weeks until her cycle was completed. She successfully completed her treatment without any complications and we were able to let her gradually ramp her activity to include some minor exercise.

I think that the main thing they are worried about is chunks of the heartworms getting loose as they die and lodging in her heart so it's best to keep her as rested as possible. With big dogs, that's not exactly realistic so consult with your vet after a week or two and keep a good eye on her and don't overdo it. Otherwise, some limited exercise shouldn't be a problem.

exactly almost. The already dead heart worms can cause severe damage to the lung due to clots (edit=thromboembolism). So make sure your dog rests for 6 weeks.
The size of the dog doesn't matter.
 
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Had two dogs treated for heartworms, was able to keep them calm in a small half bath in my house, but they did not like being isolated after acouple of days.
 
I just had a boxer treated. A young dog that loved to play. When I was away at work, I kept her in a cage so she just slept. When home, I let her stay with me in the house, and I would let her in the back yard to do her business. It really isn't a big deal, and after three weeks the risks are minimal. She received her second tratment and I repeated the procedures. Six months later she was rechecked, and was completely clear. Just make sure you give the dog the prescribed medicine on schedule and that will reduce the risk of problems.
 
I had a dalmation treated for heartworms when she was about 4 or 5, she went on to live till she was about 10 or 11, so the treatment did it's job (ending up getting heartworms again in the end though).
 
This thread reminded me I've forgotten to give my dog his last heartworm pill... or two. :covri:
 
This thread reminded me I've forgotten to give my dog his last heartworm pill... or two. :covri:

I've been through 4 or 5 dogs.. never worried about heartworms, never had any. But lately seems to be happening more often around these parts.. I don't know. Vet said Buddy has heartworms, so we've been doing the monthly heartworm pills, along with this recent treatment, and will continue to give monthly pills from now on.. don't want to go through this again.

Ughhh
 
Honestly, a not insignificant number of vets in the South recommend euthanasia for heart worms. I'd worry less about the side-effects, than that there is a treatment at all. It's something that, thankfully, you don't see much up in this neck of the woods. We do, however, have some psychopath in Spokane that's been dropping strychnine-laced meatballs all over. They're hoping to use the records of who has access to it up here to generate leads track the guy down.
 

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