The American Beagler Forum

I have a friend whose dog has tested positive for heartworm. Her vet told her that it would cost $700.00 to treat the dog. She stopped by and wanted me to give the dog some ivermectin and I explained to her why you cant do that. My question is this, is there a less expensive and safe way to treat a dog that is infected with heartworm ? Dave

none that I no of. I no a guy that had one treated a few years ago seems he said it costed about that not really sure what the vet treats it with but I think he said it was Ivomectin someone else may no the meds used by a vet to treat heartworms. the key was he had to keep her kenneled by herself and had to keep here calm as much as possible no playing petting or nothing that would cause excitment after the dog has recived treatment the heartworms die and start to rot away in the dog if a dog gets excited and the blood starts to pump harder it will move the heartworms from the heart causing a blood clots that is what kills the dog.

I'm not a big fan of homeopathic remedies but, this one is only 53.00 read through the page and see what you think. Might be worth a try?

http://www.wolfcreekranch.net/heartworm_free.html

Leah

Thanks for the info ! I will pass it on and try to keep you two updated on this, maybe it will help someone else as well. Anyone else ? Dave

From what I remember reading/hearing they treat the dog with small doses of wormer so the heartworm lives its normal life cycle but does not reproduce. Normal attrition of the heartworms allows them to die out and be absorbed into blood.

How is the dog's health now?
Did they run other tests to see if it had adult heartworms, or just the blood test?

EDIT: According to this site the kill them all at once. That is different from what I had read/heard previously.

http://www.placervillevet.com/canine%20heartworm.htm

Here is another site with more information:
http://petcare.suite101.com/article.cfm ... sitivedogs

What is the treatment? - The treatment for heartworms is a drug called Melarsomine, or Immiticide. The Immiticide is given by injection 24 hours apart or one month apart depending on the severity of the case. After your dog receives the injections it will require strict cage rest for 4 - 6 weeks. It is important to follow this rule, it will reduce stress on the heart and lungs while the body is eliminating the worms.

Problems to watch for include but are not limited too:
pain, swelling, and tenderness at the injection site or reluctance to move due to pain at injection site
coughing
depression
lethargy
lack of appetite
fever
vomiting
excessive drooling
panting
diarrhea
coughing up blood
abnormal heart rhythms
and death.
These side effects could be a response to the drug or the dead worms, if your pet has any side effects you should call your vet immediately.

Thanks Silver , looks like some pretty good info ! Also ,I would like thank those that pm,ed info as well. Dave

The chemical used for treatment is arsenic-based.
Many chemicals will kill the heartworm but the problem is the worm will detach from the heart lining and clog up their vascular system causing strokes, death, etc.
For some reason, arsenic will kill the heartworm but it doesn't detach. It will then dissolve over time. The dog has to be kept as inactive as possible while this takes place. Activity can cause parts of the worm to break off.

As I was told if you want to know if your dog has heartworm without having it tested first, give him some Ivomec and, if it is still alive a few hours later, then it doesn't have them.

MoBear wrote:As I was told if you want to know if your dog has heartworm without having it tested first, give him some Ivomec and, if it is still alive a few hours later, then it doesn't have them.

thats why i always start all beagles on ivomec as if they were pups