Can I give my Belgian Shepherd oral ivermectin? Is it safe for his breed?

It's actually perfectly safe to use Heartgard (which has the active ingredient ivermectin) as a heartworm prevention if you like. It's true that Old English Sheepdogs and other herding breeds can sometimes have a genetic mutation (the mdr1 mutation) that makes them more sensitive to certain drugs, including ivermectin - this means that it might not be safe to use high doses of this drug in these breeds, such as the doses often used to treat scabies or demodectic mange. But at the very low doses used in Heartgard and other heartworm preventatives, these breeds have no issues at all - so it's fine to use this product if you like. If you're still concerned and want to choose a different drug entirely, Sentinel is another very effective heartworm preventative that has a different active ingredient (milbemycin oxime) which should not cause any issues at all.

No Ivermectin is not safe, if your vet chooses to use ivermectin he must do an MDR-1 blood test prior to that, this test will reveal if your dog has the gene that causes sensitivity to ivermectin (and other drugs). if you dog is MDR-1 positive there are alternatives, personally i use Bravecto to treat Demodex in all dogs, it's very effective and works better than ivermectin in my experience, it is also safer than ivermectin.

Hello. We do need to know if Jack has mange & what kind of mange it is. Is it sarcoptic or demodex mange? Once you know this, then the injectable ivermectin can be administered orally for treatment. Please work with your veterinarian to make sure you are treating the right condition with the right medication. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello again. I am glad that you got her tested and got to the bottom of her skin problems. The veterinarian will have to give you specifics on how to give this medication because by law we are not allowed to give out the very complex dosage regimen for ivermectin without having first physically examined Pushinka. We are bound to the rules of the veterinary client patient relationship act, which prohibits this or we fear disciplinary action and even a loss of our license. If you ask your vet they will likely give you the dosages that she needs based on her weight. She will need to be on this for roughly 4-6 weeks. She needs to have 2 negative skin scrapes before being taken off the medication and skin scrapes should be done every 3 weeks. I would also continue the shampoo we discussed to also control the secondary bacterial infections that are occurring on her skin. I would then discuss with your vet about prescribing dosages for an antihistamine to hopefully help control the itch. Best of luck with Pushinka!

Yes it is safe to use these medications together. Just make sure you are using the ivermectin dose for heartworms or better yet a pre made heartworm product with ivermectin (Heartgard or otherwise). I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I don't recommend you inject your dog with ivermectin unless directed by your vet. Ivermectin can be used to prevent heartworms and also treat mange but can cause serious side effects if used improperly.

I am currently working in Belize and we have many other dewormers. Do you not have any veterinarians near you? A better dewormer would be pyrantel pamoate. You cannot get a 2g Ivermectin tablet into a small enough dose for a 1.4kg puppy. Don't even try as you will kill her.