What heartworm meds are safe for my Collie mix with the MDR1 gene?

Revolution is safe for collie breeds however it only covers heart worm and flea prevention. Bravecto is an oral flea/tick prevention that can be given every 12 weeks for flea/tick prevention. It has been proven in studies to be safe in dogs with the mdr1 gene mutation and is usually given along with a monthly heartworm preventative such as Interceptor. You can discuss with your veterinarian possibly preventing vaccine reactions (vomiting, diarrhea, facial swelling, hives) by pre-treating with Benadryl. Good luck!

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.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Timo. Great question! You are correct that collies can be more susceptible to ivermectin, which is one of the main ingredients in Heartgard. That being said, this lethargy, loss of appetite, and vomit can all be normal side effects of the Heartgard. If he carried the gene that made him sensitive to ivermectin, I would expect to see a reaction every time he was given it, not just on occasion. I do suspect that it's normal side effects, but you should check with his vet just to be safe. The Bravest will be fine. I hope this helps!

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.

Side effects are generally very rare in heartworm preventative medications, but are certainly possible. I have attached a handout below that discusses the different heartworm preventative products. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=488 As you can see, there are a huge number of products on the market. Some herding breed dogs (such as Blue Heelers and Australian Cattle dogs) will be sensitive to ivermectin (the active ingredient in Heartgard), so I would discuss your other heartworm preventative options with your veterinarian. I have been very pleased with Interceptor or Sentinel for herding breed dogs. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Hi there. While there's technically no reason that these two medications can't be used together, they are both heartworm preventatives - so there's quite a bit over overlap in what they do, and both should not be needed at the same time. If your pup is currently on Interceptor and you want to add a second medication to cover fleas, I would recommend using something like Nexgard or Bravecto - these are flea/tick meds only, so you wouldn't be treating her unnecessarily for heartworms with two different meds.

None of these medications should cause problems related to Tasha's MDR1 gene. Personally, I prefer giving oral deworming medications rather than injections, but as I said, this is purely personal preference. Either Droncit or Dolpac 10 should be effective to treat tapeworms and it should not be an issue to administer the additional active ingredients in Dolpac 10. Many deworming medications contain more than one active ingredient and simply provide for a more broad spectrum of treatment. If Tasha would experience a reaction to the Dolpac 10 (which would be quite unusual), you could also ask your vet if he can prescribe Droncit tablets from either a local or online pharmacy if you are more comfortable with this course of treatment.