# Heartgard & diarrhea?



## McBeck (Mar 27, 2008)

Hi - sorry for the gross title, but it is what it is.  

So, the Maister moved into the next level of Heartgard Plus protection. She's now 28lbs and after visiting the vet I gave her the dosage for 25-50lb dogs. She's just 4 months old & this was her 2nd month of Heartgard. We didn't have any problems the first time around. 

About 4 hours after taking it, she started having very runny diarrhea. She was playful but tired quickly and she drank considerably more water than usual. This lasted for about 16 hours. I called the vet, and they said the dosage is so small it's more likely that a tiny tablescrap was the culprit. Welp, we don't feed tablescraps & I haven't made any diet changes in 2 weeks. The only new item was the Heartgard. 

She's now back to her normal puppy-self, but this has me wondering if others have experienced this particular side effect. Their website indicates "following the use of , digestive and neurological side effects have rarely been reported." 

What has your experience been?


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## Gypsy22 (Feb 17, 2008)

I just gave Luna her heartworm pill the other day. Her poop has been 'bad' for a few weeks. The Doctor says it is not bacteria or worms...I do know medicines can make them have weird poop.

When she was spayed, they put her on some antibiotics for something else and yes, it made her have bad stools...runny..


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## agility collie mom (Jan 26, 2008)

Some dogs can be allergic to the beef base in the heartguard plus. I work with a tech who's dog has allergies. She gives him interceptor instead.


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## Rowdy (Sep 2, 2007)

I can't tell from the picture what kind of dog you have, but some of the herding breeds (collies and shelties in particular, and some BCs) can have a genetic mutation that makes it so that they become very sick with Ivermectin - the ingredient in Heartguard. If your dog has any of those in the mix that could be part of the problem.


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## McBeck (Mar 27, 2008)

She's a Finnish Lapphund, which is a spitz-type breed. I think I'm going to ask about Interceptor for next month's dose. I was just curious to see if anyone else had a problem b/c other than this incident, she seems to have a cast-iron tummy.


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## Maggpie (May 21, 2008)

There have been several reports recently regarding this same reaction to Heartguard. I would switch her over to Interceptor as well


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## 3dogsplus (Sep 10, 2006)

I would agree that it is more likely the carrier (i.e. beef base) than the medication itself. Interceptor is an excellet alternative. There are other heartworm preventatives available so see what your vet recommends.


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