I accidentally missed my dog's Heartgard. What now for heartworms?

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.

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!

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.

Rocky should be ok. Heartworm disease is in fact transmitted by mosquitos. Thankfully in your location during the time missed there are not that many mosquitos around. It can take 6 months to show up positive on the test so I would recommend testing in October of this year the latest. I wouldn't stress too much. You can look out for coughing and exercise intolerance. Just continue giving the medication monthly at this point. Here is a website for the Heartworm Association if you have questions. https://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources Thank you for using PetCoach.

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.

No worries, it's easy to forget these things and happens all the time. It will be perfectly fine for her to get vaccinated anytime from now on and you can make an appointment for Sunday. Petco does test and treat for heartworm, so you will definitely be able to get that done at the same time as the vaccine. Just make sure to let the receptionist know that you will be requiring this as well when you make your appointment. I hope that helps and all is well with Cady.

Most of the monthly oral preventatives have a wide safety margin. Heartgrad is very safe, so if that is the preventative you use, then a second dose will not be harmful. If you use a different medication, check with your veterinarian before giving another dose.