What are the best heartworm prevention options for my dog?

The dog should be heartworm tested and then started on a prevention, if negative. Heartgard, Interceptor, and Sentinel are all oral medications that work well with preventing heartworms. You should also treat him with a flea/tick prevention. I like oral NexGard, Bravecto, or Credellio instead of the topical spot on solutions.

Yes. Heartworm preventive medications work by intermittently killing the heartworm larvae that may have been transmitted to your dog by infected mosquitoes. As a result, [heartworm preventives](https://www.petcoach.co/article/3-common-types-of-heartworm-prevention) are killing larvae that may have infected a dog in the previous two months. Without the consistent administration of heartworm preventive medications, heartworm larvae can mature and cause serious signs of disease. In order to avoid this serious and life-threatening infection, it is crucial to give your dog [heartworm preventive medication](https://www.petcoach.co/article/should-i-stop-giving-my-pet-preventative-medication-in-the-winter) consistently year-round. ### Interceptor Plus is a trademark of Elanco or its affiliates.

Hello. All dogs in the United Sates need to be on some form of heartworm preventative. This is not required, but highly recommended. If you do not like the Tri-Heart, there are other options including a 6 month & 12 month heartworm prevention injection. Talk with your veterinarian as to what is best for Kira. Thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

If Vinny can not tolerate the oral heartworm prevention there are a few non-oral medications you could try. Proheart 6 which is an injectable medication that prevents heart worms for 6 months. You could also try a topical heartworm prevention like Advantage Multi or Revolution. I'm sure one of these will work well for Vinny.

I do recommend monthly heartworm prevention starting at 8 weeks of age. It is a prescription so a veterinarian does not have to personally give the pill but you need to either buy it from a vet or get a prescription from a vet. The only medication that needed to be at a veterinarian's office is Pro-heart. This is an injectable heartworm prevention that lasts for 6 months. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Heartgard and Sentinel are both good options for heartworm prevention - just make sure to check the minimum weight requirements, since I'm not sure how much your puppy weighs. He will also need to be vaccinated against distemper, parvo, and other serious illnesses that are common in puppies, and should also be dewormed if this hasn't been done yet. You should be able to make an appointment with your local vet to have all of these things done - the vet can also prescribe an appropriate heartworm prevention for your pup at that time :)

Yes, if you live in an area with mosquitos. Heartworms are spread by mosquitoes, not by dog to dog contact. The mosquito injects larva into the blood when they bite the dog and over six months they grow into adult heartworms that live in the heart and surrounding blood vessels. Infected dogs have many worms in their heart and they eventually die of heart failure if not treated. The treatment is expensive and can be hard on the dog. Heartworm prevention is given monthly for life and protects your dog from heartworms and intestinal parasites. There are many different safe products some that include flea prevention also. Please talk with your veterinarian about getting prevention for Sophie soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Sophie.