Heartworm treatment: 2 vs 3 injections? What's safer and the cost?

You will need to make sure that you schedule the 2nd and 3rd injections so that they can be given within 24 hours of each other. So you will need to schedule it for a Thursday and Friday that week to ensure both injections are done back to back as per the American Heartworm Society guidelines. I would also contact your veterinarian and make sure that this is ok to schedule as well. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Some veterinarians treat heart worms with a slow kill method by giving heartworm prevention monthly which will kill the adult worms over time and prevent new ones. The more common treatment is with injections to kill the worms quickly. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. Doing it with a slow kill method is much less expensive. The shots are expensive, can be painful and you would need to keep your dog very quiet for six weeks. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Duke.

There is really only one treatment for adult heartworm disease which is given by injection. The other method is just continuing to use preventative medications so they don’t continue to be bitten and infected with more heartworms. The hope is over time the worms will die. This may take years and the worms will continue to do damage to the body while they exist. Heartworm disease is complicated and devastating and the treatment does have the potential for side effects. If Scooby does have heartworm disease then a long conversation with your veterinarian about treatment plans would be advised. American heartworm society https://www.heartwormsociety.org. Has some great information and resources as well. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

You will have to call different clinics to see. Some have packages where the medicine and rechecks are included, while others are separate. Some clinics will only do a 3 injection protocol it is expensive so you will likely spend $700+ though

Melarsomine is the only medication that can kill adult heartworms, and there unfortunately is not a less expensive option. Sometimes veterinarians will discuss what is commonly known as a 'slow kill' method, but in reality this means starting an antibiotic to weaken the heartworms and then giving a monthly preventative and waiting for the heartworms to die on their own. Some veterinarians do not recommend this due to the potential to develop resistant heartworm infections. If Waylon is not symptomatic this might be an option. He would be at risk for developing side effects from the dying heartworms for 1-2 years and exercise restriction is recommended during that time. You should talk to your veterinarian and ask about all of your different options, and you could also try contacting rescue groups in your area to see if there are any that could help with heartworm treatment. You also may want to look into Care Credit (www.carecredit.com).

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Unfortunately no. There is a slow kill method using oral Heartgard monthly but it can take a year or more and allows more damage to occur to the lungs of the dog. You would also need to get the medication for your Vet. Rocky would have to be exercise restricted for 1-2 years. The 3 injection technique using adulticide is the standard of care. Below is the protocol from the American Heart worm Society. I wish you and Rocky the best! https://www.heartwormsociety.org/images/pdf/Canine-Guidelines-Summary.pdf

In this case, the heartworm treatment would need to be continued, but it's not like the entire process needs to be started again. In most cases, this would call for an additional injection or two of the medication that kills the adult heartworm and continuing the heartworm preventative. The treatment may vary depending on the dog's case and the doing the treatment. I reccomend consulting with the vet doing the treatment for more information. I hope that helps and all is well with Charlie.