Do dogs really need heartworm prevention medication year-round?

Heartworm disease is completely preventable dogs. There are now multiple options for heartworm preventative is available to pet owners. Most often these preventatives are given orally once a month or sometimes applied topically once a month. There are options now also for injections that last about six months. It just depends on what your veterinarian has available. It is usually recommended to give heartworm preventative year-round but this may vary depending on where in the country you live. Any dog who has not been on heartworm preventative, should be tested for heartworms prior to starting prevention. And then heartworm testing is recommended every one to two years while on heartworm preventative.

Hi there. Most heartworm preventatives, including milbemycin oxime (Sentinel), do not work by staying in the dog's body the entire month. Instead, they are active for a few days, and kill any heartworm larvae and/or intestinal parasites that are present at that time. As long as you give the product monthly, it will prevent heartworm disease from developing because any larvae that the dog is exposed to will never have a chance to develop beyond one month of age. For intestinal parasites, you can think of it as doing a routine deworming once monthly. Revolution (selamectin) and Advantage Multi (moxidectin) are the exceptions to this rule. They do stay active in the body for the entire month, and kill larvae continuously as the pet becomes exposed. However, in practice this difference really doesn't matter one way or the other - all of these products are effective at preventing heartworm disease and keeping dogs from picking up intestinal parasite infestations.

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.

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.

Heart worms are transmitted by mosquitoes. Since it is impossible to keep mosquitoes out of the house, your dogs can be infected even if they never go outside. So this is why it is important to do heart worm prevention. Your dogs will need to have heart worm tests done before they can get prescription heart worm medication.

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.

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.