Why is my dog sluggish and not eating after heartworm treatment?

This treatment could cause lethargy, it's quite common and this is one of the reason restriction is a must. if she becomes too lethargic you might need to take her to the ER, especially if you notice abnormal breathing.

I would take him to the emergency clinic if you can. My main fear is always an allergic reaction which can cause shock and be life-threatening. It may be that Othello just needs some pain medication or a steroid but better safe than sorry.

A decrease in appetite is a general sign of illness. If Deke is being treated for heartworm and is showing new signs of illness, it would be best to let your vet know so they can examine him and make sure there aren't any complications from the medication or his treatment that need to be addressed. A complete exam is also a good idea to rule out any other health issues that may be causing it.

Those symptoms can be normal the first day after such an intense treatment with Immiticide and also with Tramadol. The side effects that can be seen with Tramadol are as follows: "Tramadol appears to be well tolerated in dogs. Potentially, it could cause a variety of adverse effects associated with its pharmacologic actions, including: CNS effects (excessive sedation, agitation, anxiety, tremor, dizziness), or GI effects (inappetence, vomiting, constipation to diarrhea)." With that said, I would still opt to get Clementine examined by a vet soon, especially if her gait continues to be affected and if she isn't drinking water and having normal urinations. Her gums should always look pink, and her breathing should be normal (not panting). I hope that your pet Clementine is able to recover well from her rough 1st day of heartworm treatment. Best wishes and take care.

Any change in breathing warrants a trip to the vet for a recheck. While it’s possible that there’s nothing wrong, you could also be noticing the beginning of a complication of heartworm treatment. Pulmonary thromboembolism can occur when dying worms become lodged in the small blood vessels of the lungs. Your vet might want to take a chest x-ray.

hThanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Heartworm treatment can be rough on your pets body. This involves injections given by your vet on 3 separate occasionas. The main concern after the treatment is creating a pulmonary embolism, or clot in the airway, which lead s to shortness of breath, lethargy, and inappetance. A bloated abdomen cannot be determined in this postiion and often requires a physical examination. A bloated abdomen from a heart condition if often not seen unless the heart is very far gone. This would have been likely detected in the work-up for your fur baby to determine if your pet is in congestive heart failure via a chest x-ray. Right sided congestive heart failure is what leads to a bloated abdomen. I hope that this helps and if you still have concerns about your pets health after starting heartworm treatment, then the next best step is a proper physical exam to determine if any heart murmurs exist and potentially repeat x-rays of the chest and abdomen if the physical exam warrants these. Best of luck with your fur baby Ayla moving forward. Take care. : )

Hello and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I'm sorry to hear that Lyla is not herself! I think it would be a good idea to take her to your veterinarian. There are many things that could be causing these signs in a younger dog (gastrointestinal disease or parasites, infection, heart worm disease) so I think it's very important you have Lyla examined. Good luck and I hope Lyla is feeling better soon!