Should my 4-month puppy get heartworm meds before her 6-month test?

Hi there. Your pup is old enough to start on heartworm prevention now. I would suggest using Heartgard or Sentinel - both of these are fine for a pup who is 9 weeks old and weighs 3.5 pounds, and both are very safe in general. Puppies under six months of age do not need to be tested first.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is never too late! At 7 months old I recommend that your Vet test Midna for heart worm disease now. If she is negative start Heartgard then retest her again in 6 months. It takes a heart worm 6 months from the bite of an infected mosquito to mature in to adults and cause a test to be positive. So testing now only proves she wasn't bitten in the first 1 month of life. I highly recommend year round heart worm prevention for the entirety of the pets life. Getting heart worm disease can be deadly and treating heart worm disease is expensive and can also cause be deadly. I hope this helps and I wish you and Midna the best.

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.

Yes, I usually start dogs under six months on a heartworm medication without a blood test. The test checks for antibodies to adult worms and they need six months to grow into adults so that’s why the test isn’t needed. I’m glad you are using heart guard since it’s safe to use even if by some chance he has an early heartworm infection. Certainly have his blood tested at your annual exam and vaccinations. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Jac.

A 10 week old puppy is too young to have a heartworm infection. Your puppy could have heartworm larvae circulating in his blood but the adult heart worms take 4-6 months to develop in the heart. I usually start puppies on a monthly heartworm preventative when they are around 12 wks old. This will kill the larvae and prevent the adult heart worms from infecting the heart. If you haven’t already taken your puppy to see a veterinarian for his puppy vaccines and dewormer, you should do that as soon as you get a chance to prevent him from getting sick. Hope this has helped. Good luck with your new puppy. Thank you for using pet coach.

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 :)

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! We don’t start heartworm and flea/tick prevention until around 8 week of age. Nexgard is the only oral flea and tick preventative approved in the US for 6 months or younger. I would continue the Nemex every 2 weeks until they start heartworm prevention. I hope this helps!