My dog gained weight. Is extra heartworm medicine necessary?

Hi there. What a great question! I am pretty certain Willow is going to be just fine but that being said, it is possible she wasn't fully protected. There is really no sense in testing her now. If she was infected sometime in the last couple months when she was over the weight range she wouldn't show up positive on the heartworm test. The heartworm test only tests for the presence of adult heartworms in the heart and that process takes 6 months from the time the dog is bitten by a mosquito carrying the heartworm larvae. Those larvae go through many stages in the dog's body before becoming adult heartworms where the test can detect them. If she was my dog I would just keep her on the correct dose of heartworm prevention for the next 6 months and then have her tested. I see you are in Maryland. I'm guessing you haven't had a lot of mosquitos yet these past few months and since that is how heartworms are transmitted I don't think she has really had the opportunity to be infected. I hope this helps. Best wishes to you and Willow :) Try not to worry too much, keep her on the correct dose for her current weight and get her tested in 6 months. Dr. Amber

You should give him the appropriate size. If you don’t give him the appropriate size you don’t get the full course of action. You may talk to your veterinarian and see if they can exchange the product for you. All clinics that have different policies. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

Sentinel has no tick coverage and does not kill fleas. It only sterilizes the eggs. I always go up a size to be safe as most dogs gain weight but rarely lose weight. It has a good safety margin so using the 25-50 pounds medicine would be best. You will continue to need the Simparica or nexgard with this

Heartgard plus comes in different sizes. Since the next size up is 26 to 50lbs, and she was weighed with leash and collar she can take the 1-25lbs dose. However keep weighing her before giving the dose, as she may gain weight and once she hits 26lbs+ she will need the next higher dose.

No you should not give him three Nuheart tablets for up to 25 lbs. You need to take this box back and exchange it for the proper size tablet. The three tablets will not have enough medication to prevent heartworm for your 92lbs dog.

She'll probably be fine for this month if she's just a pound or two over. But in the future, if she's gained a bit of weight and is now borderline or just over the maximum weight for her current dose, I would get the next size up. Nexgard has a very wide margin of safety, so the manufacturer recommends "rounding up" if a dog is near the upper limit of the weight range. :)

Please don't be scared, there's no reason for it! No, this prescription medication for flat and roundworms will not treat heartworms, you need a medication specifically labeled for that like Heartgard. It's part of a dog's normal healthcare to prevent against heartworm if it is prevalent in your area, and you can give your vet a call to see if heartworm is a concern in your country. If it isn't, then there's not need to worry :-)