My dog missed Heartgard. Is he safe from heartworm? What to watch for?

If you only missed 1 month, you should be fine. Just resume Heartgard right away . If you just want peace of mind, then you can have Lilly retested in 6 month from now; however, the chances of infection are pretty low. Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and best wishes with your pet Lilly. Take care!

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.

Wait two more days and it should be safe. Make a note in the calender to give it a month from now so you do not forget. Make a check mark next to the entry when you have given the medication, so you have a record of giving it to your dog. Happy Holidays!

If he has always been on it and hasn't missed any doses, then he should be fine to continue with the prevention. Now, that being said, no prevention is 100% effective so the reason we test every year is to check and make sure there was no break-though issues with the product. If a dog has heartworm disease there is a chance the prevention could cause a medical problem. In this case, I think the benefit of him taking the heartworm prevention outweighs the very tiny risk that he could be positive and have a reaction to the medication. Hope this helps. If you have more questions you can always opt for a private consultation where we can chat back and forth. That way you can ask as many questions as you'd like. Best wishes!

No, there is no need to go to the vet for missing the dose. Your dog should be fine. SHould there be microfilariae present, the next dose you gave should kill them. Just keep giving the heartworm medication as prescribed. Your dog will need a heartworm test anyway every year. No worry!

Hello. Heartguard is generally considered very safe, even in a dog with a current heart worm infection. If there was a reaction due to the presence of heartworms, it is almost always some kind of pulmonary event. So, it is possible that he has just developed a sensitivity or had a one off reaction to the Heartguard. Do think about having Buster tested before giving another pill, & do try to remember to give it every 30 days. All heartworm medications do a great job, but only if doses are not skipped, especially for dogs living in warmer climates. And if he does not seem better tomorrow, please make an appointment with your vet to have things checked out. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Ellie should be fine. Missing 3-4 days should not be a critical time period when talking about heartworm prevention. Now missing that dose over longer time periods could potentially cause a problem due to the life cycle of the heartworm and what stages the medicine kills, since the heartworm goes through several larval stages once inside a dog or a cat. The best thing to do in your case is exactly what you did, give the dose as soon as you realize you missed it and of course, contact your vet for their advice. Ellie should be fine. Great question though. I wish you the best of luck with her.