# Anyone here against heartworm medicine? or are there natural alternatives?



## MrsJohnnyG (Jan 31, 2009)

I know of several dogs who had terrible reactions to heartworm prevention treatment... bad seizures in one case. The seizures stopped once the heartworm medicine was stopped.

In general, I prefer to treat animals with natural means and as little "medical intervention" as possible (except, obviously, if it's truly necessary). So, my puppies are obviously getting their course of puppy vaccinations, but I won't have them get annual boosters unless titers testing shows that they need it, I will not let them get kennel cough vax because they will never be boarded in a kennel, etc.

I have NO idea where heartworm prevention falls in all this. I've only heard the "you must give heartworm medication" side of the story, including from my vet (then again, my vet insists on boosters and gave me sample bags of Purina ). I don't want my animals to have seizures or other serious side effects from heartworm meds. But, obviously I don't want them getting heartworm either.

Any thoughts? I'd love to hear all points of view... especially if there are any more natural/healthful alternatives to heartworm prevention.


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## agility collie mom (Jan 26, 2008)

My dogs are all on heartworm prevention. I would rather prevent than treat.


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

agility collie mom said:


> My dogs are all on heartworm prevention. I would rather prevent than treat.


*seconds this*

There is a test that can be done for ivermectin sensitivity if you are concerned (the primary active ingredient in many heartworm meds). 

I'd rather administer 'unnatural' preventative heartworm meds in an educated manner than let my dogs 'naturally' die or become permanently disabled from a preventable and very dangerous parasite.


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## craven.44 (Sep 10, 2008)

There was a client at my work who also saw a holistic vet and that vet told her to use arsenic to prevent heartworms. The woman gave her dog a tiny bit of arsenic every day. I am not at all recommending this, it does not make a ton of sense to me. I just wanted to share my experience. My dogs are on monthly Sentinel.


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## nekomi (May 21, 2008)

I'm like you, in that I choose to use natural remedies whenever possible, but in the case of heartworm, I will always use a monthly preventative (Sentinel) every month of the year.

Having watched a rescue dog go through heartworm treatment (and this was for a very low infestation), and knowing how hard it was on her and on me, I will never risk going through that again with any dog.

The treatment for heartworm CAN kill dogs. It makes them very ill in the best case. They have to be kept completely quiet, with no exercise, for 1 - 2 months while they shed the worms. Not to mention it's a very expensive procedure.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I think there was a fairly recent thread about that....if you do a search it should come up. I guess there are "natural" heartworm preventatives, but since most of them contain Black Walnut, I consider them to be just as toxic as the "conventional" meds. 

There are also things you can do to reduce the number of times you give conventional preventatives. Only give it during mosquito season, only once every 45 days, etc. Once you know the heartworm life cycle, it's not too hard to figure out when you should dose.

There are several different brands of heartworm prevention, all different drugs. If your dog can't handle one brand, another should work.

I do not consider not using prevention to be a valid option, unless there just aren't any heartworm cases in your area (like in most of Alaska, Northern Canada, etc.). The treatment is MUCH worse than the prevention.


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## MrsJohnnyG (Jan 31, 2009)

Thank you all for the replies! You've set my mind greatly at ease about giving heartworm prevention to my pups.


> I think there was a fairly recent thread about that....if you do a search it should come up.


Thanks, I'll try searching again... I didn't find one when I searched previously, but I probably had too specific of search terms.


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## txcollies (Oct 23, 2007)

Ah, an inquiring (sp) mind. 

if you join the jstsayno2vaccines list you can find a lot of people on there who do no heartworm preventatives, and who have heartworm free dogs.

Join and ask away!


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## LoupGarouTFTs (Oct 27, 2007)

txcollies said:


> Ah, an inquiring (sp) mind.
> 
> if you join the jstsayno2vaccines list you can find a lot of people on there who do no heartworm preventatives, and who have heartworm free dogs.
> 
> Join and ask away!


I agree. I personally object to using toxic chemicals on my dogs on a regular basis, even though I'm not a "holistic" practitioner by any means. I have not used flea preventatives for close to six years now and I have not had any flea issues. I do not use heartworm meds year round and I have heartworm-free dogs. I prefer prevention, too, but I don't think it has to be completely based on putting toxic chemicals on my dogs with any regularity.


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## txcollies (Oct 23, 2007)

There was someone on the yahoo list (if I remember correctly) and their dogs are raw fed, no chemicals and they live in a SWAMP and are Heartworm free on nothing. 

Pretty cool stuff.


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## MrsJohnnyG (Jan 31, 2009)

> if you join the jstsayno2vaccines list you can find a lot of people on there who do no heartworm preventatives, and who have heartworm free dogs.


THANK YOU!! This is what I was looking for... whatever I decide, I want to be intelligently informed about BOTH sides.


> I prefer prevention, too, but I don't think it has to be completely based on putting toxic chemicals on my dogs with any regularity.


Well said!! My sentiment exactly!


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## CrazyDog (Oct 16, 2007)

I do not use heartworm preventative on my dog. My dog has had sever allergic reactions to two different brands. She broke out with little red bumps all over her body and would vomit. Several vets kept telling me it was not the heartworm medicine but could not tell me what it was. The second I took her off of it she was fine. My in-laws dog had an allergic reaction to it too and does not take it. Our dogs have never gotten heartworm......... though, they are mostly inside dogs and heartworm is not that common where I live. I also don't believe pumping lot's of chemicals into my dog is very healthy.

However, after all that said I'm not recommending people NOT use heartworm preventatives. I would talk to your vet to see what works best for your dogs.


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## lillie20 (Oct 17, 2008)

My dog would get sick from the oral pill interceptor. Vet didn't believe me, but contacted pharm company that confirmed, yes side effects,doesn't agree with all. I now use for 5 months, in warmer season, revolution, which is topical. Handles much better.


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

Willowy: I must comment on your reply. The OP lives in a state where mosquitoes can be year round. Knowing the heartworm life cycle will not help; who knows which mosquito is a carrier? It's taking too much of a chance to try to determine how often and in which months you should give preventative. In my younger days, I had 3 dogs, and I didn't give preventative in the winter. Unfortunately, 2 of them ended up HW+, one of whom died from a heartworm induced embolism (very rare). She died alone and I still haven't forgiven myself. The other one lived to be 16 (6 yrs after diagnosis). The 3rd never tested positive.

Butch had HW when I got him and they were treated. Either the treatment "didn't take" or I didn't give him his pills exactly every 30 days and he tested positive again. Within an 18 mo period, he went through treatment twice. It's not easy on the dog and it ain't cheap. They now get a pill on the 1st of each month.

It's such a crap shoot that if you live in a state where heartworms are prevalent, medicate. Don't take a chance with your babies, EVER. Luckily, mine have no problems.


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## 3212 (Feb 4, 2007)

I definitely agree with you that the least amount of chemicals being put into our pets is great, but heartworm is too serious for me to ignore.

It's fantastic that so many people have been lucky enough not to have heartworm in their un-treated dogs, but that is truly luck. I live in area where it's snows half the year and we still see cases of heartworm. We had two dogs die from heartworm disease last year. 

Once the symptoms start to show there is often only a 50-50 chance the dog will survive. The treatment for heartworm disease is expensive, painful and dangerous. Just my opinion of course, but it's worth it me not to even give my dog the option to get heartworm disease.


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## heidiann (Feb 3, 2008)

We do not give either dog heartworm prevention, but they do get tested for heartworm and both are heartworm free. 

With Topaz, the seizure risk is too great for us. For this same reason he also does not get vaccinated, but Onyx does. 

Topaz has gotten some shots since we've had him, but none in the past year and a half.


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

txcollies said:


> Ah, an inquiring (sp) mind.
> 
> if you join the jstsayno2vaccines list you can find a lot of people on there who do no heartworm preventatives, and who have heartworm free dogs.
> 
> Join and ask away!



Especially in the South, not giving heartworm meds is totally irresponsible, and sentencing a dog to an agonizing death.


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

poodleholic said:


> Especially in the South, not giving heartworm meds is totally irresponsible, and sentencing a dog to an agonizing death.


I totatlly agree. There are more dogs HW+ around than aren't if they get no HW meds. Totally irresponsible.


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## tirluc (Aug 29, 2006)

i have used olive oil and brewers yeast for the past 3-4 yrs on my dogs....they get it every night in their meal and i have never had a problem w/ any bloodsuckers w/ my dogs.....if i'm going somewhere that i know the infestation is really bad i will wipe them down w/ a fly spray for horses to keep the buggers away better....they get tested yrly to make sure they're clear, but i didn't like the reactions from mine when i did give them a few yrs back....so, not anymore....


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## AkiraleShiba (Dec 9, 2007)

agility collie mom said:


> My dogs are all on heartworm prevention. I would rather prevent than treat.


Well actually the little pills you give do not prevent heart worms but treat them. If your dog gets sick you'll get the same pills to treat them. So giving them prevention pills equals to treating a dog that does not have heart worms.

If you're using the gel/liquid drops, which I was using, I learned that it's actually a powerful insecticide that may have long term neurological side effects. (Just think about the soldiers that were in contact with agent orange during the vietnam war )

Now, we use lavender and cider vinegar in his drinking water. Both odours are known to be repulsive to mosquito. Lavender is also effective against fleas and ticks but you should apply it often. Cider vinegar has many great effects on dogs, you should check it out.


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## reynosa_k9's (Dec 14, 2007)

txcollies said:


> There was someone on the yahoo list (if I remember correctly) and their dogs are raw fed, no chemicals and they live in a SWAMP and are Heartworm free on nothing.
> 
> Pretty cool stuff.


Well, I don't live in a swamp, although near some, but I am in a VERY tropical area. My dogs are all raw fed and chemical free and have been for years. No fleas, no ticks, no HW.

For anyone who decides to go this route regular HW testing, one or twice yearly, is strongly recommended.

Jihad
and the pound puppy crew.


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

AkiraleShiba said:


> *Well actually the little pills you give do not prevent heart worms but treat them. If your dog gets sick you'll get the same pills to treat them. So giving them prevention pills equals to treating a dog that does not have heart worms*.


SO NOT TRUE. There are many types of HW preventative, some are pills, some are square soft treats. NONE of them are to treat HW. HW treatment is a very painful shot given in 2 doses several weeks apart and the dog must be kept quiet for 4-6 weeks at a minimum. It is dangerous because the poison that is injected kills the larvae and worms, and depending on how bad the infection, they die and flow through the bloodstream. If too many break loose, it can cause an embolism, which can kill the dog. 

I've had to go through the treatment with several dogs who were HW+ when I got them, so don't tell me it does no good to give them preventative.


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## lovemygreys (Jan 20, 2007)

If you live in the south and choose not to give heartworm prevention, you are making a very foolish and irresponsible decisions IMO. There are several options for HW preventions...one is going to work for your dog.


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## sw_df27 (Feb 22, 2008)

let me tell you a story of this past 6 months about a 11yr old and a 5yr old dog that had to go through HW treatment due to the owner (my now SO) not being more educated on the matter:
Chaos a 11yr old APBT never been tested for HW I took her to the vet due to a severe cough and guess what it was from a severe case of HW they were in her lungs and liver we started her treatment in june with the first shot brought her home not even 2 weeks into the 4 week resting period she got a pulminary imbolism (clot in lung from the worms) started coughing blood she had to spend 48hr at the vet to treat most time the dog dies from it. After that the vet descided against the 2 shots in 24hrs and split them up so when she got the 2nd shot we bring her home not even a week later she got KC probably from the Vet office that was so bad it turned to phenmonia in 24hrs I had to give her 4 shots of meds a day not including the tranq. shots I had to give 2 times a day and delayed her treatment over another month it's was a miracle she lived through it she finally got her third shot and has been on HW pills for 3 months now still coughs like a smoker and will the rest of her life due to the heart and lung damage. Trust me one pill a month is SO WORTH it not only for the dogs sake but your wallet too the treatment for Chaos lasted over 6 months (normally 2) and close to $2000............... And we live in the South and I agree we have Mesq. year round it's very irresponsable not giving the prevenative........


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## 3212 (Feb 4, 2007)

sw_df27 great story! I'm glad the dog lived through it! 

We have people here that don't treat year round because of the snow, but in places where it is hot ad humid (the south especially) it really is better to use a preventative. 

I definitely think a different route should be taken for dogs who don't tolerate the preventatives or have reactions, but if there is no reaction is much safer to prevent than to treat. There are so many different preventatives for heartworm...the one I give Bridgette is even safe for collies now (because they cannot have ivermectin).


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## txcollies (Oct 23, 2007)

MrsJohnnyG said:


> THANK YOU!! This is what I was looking for... whatever I decide, I want to be intelligently informed about BOTH sides.
> 
> Well said!! My sentiment exactly!


I'm glad you are wanting to educate yourself! I can PM you a lot of information if you'd like.

And as to it being "responsible" or not, I think that's in the eye of the beholder. I guess you could always ask the people who don't use HW preventative and see how many cases (if any) of heartworm they get.

A dog that is raw fed isn't near as appealing to 'critters' as a kibble fed dog.I've heard owners say that they've been out there being eaten up by the 'skeeters and the dog isn't being touched.

And a raw fed, vax free, chemical free dog has a much stronger immune system and according to the breeders/owners of such dogs, are resistant to a lot more than normal dogs.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

alphadoginthehouse said:


> Willowy: I must comment on your reply. The OP lives in a state where mosquitoes can be year round. Knowing the heartworm life cycle will not help; who knows which mosquito is a carrier? It's taking too much of a chance to try to determine how often and in which months you should give preventative.


Yes, I have no experience with living somewhere that's warm year-round. Though, if you REALLY study the mosquito lifecycle and keep track of overnight temps, you could go without sometimes.....but it would be really labor-intensive. I was just saying that it could be done.


txcollies said:


> There was someone on the yahoo list (if I remember correctly) and their dogs are raw fed, no chemicals and they live in a SWAMP and are Heartworm free on nothing.


Well, if live IN the swamp, no wonder their dogs are heartworm-free. They'd be the first animals bitten, if they were farther from the swamp and the mosquitoes bit another, heartworm-positive animal first, I wonder how it would go. My aunt and uncle live RIGHT NEXT to a slough. Their (untreated) dogs never get heartworm. Their neighbors, a mile away, lose a lot of their dogs to heartworm.


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## txcollies (Oct 23, 2007)

alphadoginthehouse said:


> SO NOT TRUE. There are many types of HW preventative, some are pills, some are square soft treats. NONE of them are to treat HW. HW treatment is a very painful shot given in 2 doses several weeks apart and the dog must be kept quiet for 4-6 weeks at a minimum. It is dangerous because the poison that is injected kills the larvae and worms, and depending on how bad the infection, they die and flow through the bloodstream. If too many break loose, it can cause an embolism, which can kill the dog.
> 
> I've had to go through the treatment with several dogs who were HW+ when I got them, so don't tell me it does no good to give them preventative.


They use the same poison used to treat heartworm disease, but in a lower doseage in order to kill of any infestation the animal may have contracted within the past 30-60 days. So it's not really a 'preventative'.

I read it straight from a vet once that you can treat HW with Heartguard. 

.


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## Pai (Apr 23, 2008)

Here is a map showing the total number of dogs tested positive for Heartworms in the U.S, per state, *over 7 years* (2000 to 2007). 

Heartworm larva (which live ONLY in the body of mosquitos) *die if temperatures ever dip below 57 degrees*. Temperatures have to stay ABOVE 57 degrees for *45 straight days* before the larva develops to the point where they can be transmitted via mosquito bite to your dog. 

Therefore, unless you live in a very warm year-round climate, there is no need to dose for heartworm every month. At most, once every 3 months is sufficient even then, because of how the life cycle of the larva works (it takes 6 months for the larva to become actual worms inside your dog, and one dose of heartworm medication will kill them at any point during those 6 months). There's no need to put those chemicals in your dog more than absolutely necessary, imo.

Heartworm medication like Heartgard is not a PREVENTATIVE, it just kills any worm larva that are ALREADY in your dog (the only thing they 'prevent' is larva becoming _grown worms_). The stuff used to treat full-grown worms is just a HIGHER dose of the same stuff.


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

Well, I must be the most unlucky person. 2 of 3 dogs tested positive. Plus 2 dogs I adopted were HW+. You do the math. I live in Texas so I will treat my dogs. I won't take a chance ever again. As I stated before, it's a crap shoot and I'm not much of a gambler to take a chance with my dogs.


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## Pai (Apr 23, 2008)

Sigh. Nowhere does anyone say not to treat your dogs... just that dosing for HW _every month year round_ is too much. Even in Texas, one dose every 3 months is perfectly sufficient, because it takes 6 months after any initial infection for larva to even _become_ heartworms.

Ivermectin is _poison_, putting toxic agents in your dogs should be done by the bare minimum. Over-medicating your pet is just as bad as under-medicating them.


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## junetan7 (Apr 28, 2013)

looking for a good alternative... 
have been reading about heartworm preventive and many said that their dogs still got HW despite put on prevention. 

am living in a humid and warm climate


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## georgiapeach (Mar 17, 2012)

agility collie mom said:


> My dogs are all on heartworm prevention. I would rather prevent than treat.


Ditto!! I live in the deep south, where heartworms are a problem year round. I'm not willing to take a chance, when it's so easy to prevent them.


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

agility collie mom said:


> My dogs are all on heartworm prevention. I would rather prevent than treat.


This is us too. 
My dog will be starting his very first dose of heartworm & flea prevention meds on June 1st.


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## Miss Bugs (Jul 4, 2011)

no heartworm where I live, so thankfully not something I need to worry about. I have though been getting annoyed at the number of vets pushing heartworm prevention in my area, telling people that OMG we have heartworm here now!!! why? because 2 years ago ONE dog of untracable origens was diagnosed with heartworm...one dog...ever..in history. .. and there has not been another since.. and we have people dumping chemicals into their dogs to prevent a nonexistent threat. I find it sad really


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## moluno (Apr 29, 2009)

alphadoginthehouse said:


> SO NOT TRUE. There are many types of HW preventative, some are pills, some are square soft treats. NONE of them are to treat HW. HW treatment is a very painful shot given in 2 doses several weeks apart and the dog must be kept quiet for 4-6 weeks at a minimum. It is dangerous because the poison that is injected kills the larvae and worms, and depending on how bad the infection, they die and flow through the bloodstream. If too many break loose, it can cause an embolism, which can kill the dog.
> 
> I've had to go through the treatment with several dogs who were HW+ when I got them, so don't tell me it does no good to give them preventative.


Well I know this is really old, but these statements depend on how technical you want to get. Heartworm medications kill a certain stage of larva, so yes a dog has to be infected before Heartgard actually does its job. This is why, if people only give Heartgard seasonally, it is important to give it a month AFTER the mosquitoes are gone. To kill whatever the dog was infected with the previous month. Straight from the info packet in my box of Heartgard: "For use in dogs to prevent canine heartworm disease by *eliminating the tissue stage of heartworm larvae for a month after infection*..." etc etc. 

You can "treat" HW+ dogs with Heartgard as well, which I am currently doing with one of mine. She's old and mostly asymptomatic, trucking along just fine despite the disease, so no sense in putting her through the injections. The Heartgard prevents her infection from getting worse - kills the babies so they don't turn into adults. And in time, the adults will die of.

I like to be as "natural" as possible with my dogs, but I don't feel bad at all about giving them Heartgard. It is such a small dose of the drug, anyway. I don't doubt that it's possible to have bad reactions to it, but the worst I've seen is GI upset.


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## juliemule (Dec 10, 2011)

My property backs up to a swamp. I have had a total of four dogs on heartgard or triheart test positive. Never missed. The Mississippi valley area now has ivermectin resistant strain of heartworms. 

Pretty much here, if a dog is 6 months or older, not on prevention, they test positive. Even some on prevention. We are checking into proheary and several other medications to see which would be the best. Treatment is very expensive and extremel hard on the dog. Not to mention my old guy has gone through treatment twice now, and will continue to get reinfected since there are so many strays not on prevention. Topicals are not my best bet, so oral or injection are what I'm looking at now.


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## Losech (Apr 5, 2011)

No skeeters here in the winter (too cold) but there are in the summer. Unfortunately, my county is the worst in the entire state of Oregon for heartworm infections, specifically my area. Many of my neighbors do not take the best care of their dogs, if they get heartworm prevention they are lucky. But I doubt it.
Due to the statistics, presence of skeeters in the summer, and lack of care of dogs in close proximity to mine, I do give prevention. But only in the warmer months. I self-dose with liquid ivermectin around 40-45 days apart, never had a problem with doing it this way. 
In my area, people who don't dose their dogs at least in the summer are just asking for an infection.

The vets here really push testing and prevention meds. They see way too many dogs that get infections, so it's not just them trying to make a buck off unsuspecting owners.
Heartworm infection, salmon poisoning, and trauma (getting hit by a car) are the top three causes of death for dogs in my town.


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## Well Balanced Pet (Jan 15, 2013)

The logic to keep in mind that both the prevention and treatment are a form of poison for heart worm. You are really choosing the lesser of two evils when deciding to prevent it. Because in the end, you are just giving your pup a mild poison to prevent rather than a strong to treat. However, there are multiple preventive health avenues to explore if one has adverse effects, while the options to treat are far more limited.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

nekomi said:


> I'm like you, in that I choose to use natural remedies whenever possible, but in the case of heartworm, I will always use a monthly preventative (Sentinel) every month of the year.
> 
> Having watched a rescue dog go through heartworm treatment (and this was for a very low infestation), and knowing how hard it was on her and on me, I will never risk going through that again with any dog.
> 
> The treatment for heartworm CAN kill dogs. It makes them very ill in the best case. They have to be kept completely quiet, with no exercise, for 1 - 2 months while they shed the worms. Not to mention it's a very expensive procedure.


Just thought I would mention that for a light heartworm infestation, you can do slow kill method, where you do 1 mo of Doxycycline, and 1 heartguard pill a week for several months, then repeat mo of Doxy, while continuing Heartguard weekly. This goes on for a yr or 2. Dog is tested for heartworm after 1 yr, and if not clear, stays on it for another yr.
It will kill the larvae, and the doxy kills a parasite that will then make the adult heartworm weaker, and unable to reproduce. Adult heartworms die off, and dog is clear.
I'm doing that now on a stray I took in, that absolutely freaks out with strangers. Even tranqued, the vet still had to put him under general anesthesia to draw blood, because he blows thru the tranqs. We decided the fast kill method would kill him, since you aren't supposed to get their heartrate up once you give 1st shot. Since a 2nd shot is needed the next day, and he wouldn't be able to go under anesthesia after the first shot, we opted for slow kill. It's been about 9 mo and he can go for walks, play, etc, and he is fine.
Cost is minimal, as it is just Heartguard and Doxy.

If I ever get another dog that is heartworm positive, I have to say I would probably do the slow kill rather than the fast kill, based on the complications I have heard about, and needing to keep them restricted. (that is assuming it is a light wormload, and vet oks it).


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## voodookitten (Nov 25, 2012)

agility collie mom said:


> My dogs are all on heartworm prevention. I would rather prevent than treat.


Same here. They get their once a month treat (Id love to able to afford a once a year treatment but not able to as yet) and they think its great. And I know they are looked after. One less thing to worry about. I worry enough about them already.


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