Is Nuheart a good, safe, and cheaper heartworm option for my dogs?

There are some risks associated with any medication, but certainly those risks can be more significant with some of the injectible medications. Unfortunately, we have rarely seen some serious side effects with Proheart. I am attaching the safety information from Proheart website below. http://www.proheart6.com/ "IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION: PROHEART 6 should be used in healthy dogs. Do not administer to sick, debilitated, underweight dogs or dogs that have a history of weight loss. Prior to administration, PROHEART 6 certified veterinarians should continue to assess patient health through a medical history, physical examination and if deemed appropriate, diagnostic testing. Continue to use caution when administering PROHEART 6 concurrently with vaccinations. Adverse events, including anaphylaxis, have been reported following the concomitant use of PROHEART 6 and vaccines. In some cases, anaphylactic reactions have resulted in death. Use with caution in dogs with pre-existing or uncontrolled allergic disease (food allergy, atopy or flea allergy dermatitis). Dogs receiving PROHEART 6 should be tested for existing heartworms as per the product label. In people, avoid PROHEART 6 contact with eyes. If contact with the eyes occurs, rinse thoroughly with water for 15 minutes and seek medical attention immediately. PROHEART 6 is available only to veterinarians through a restricted distribution program. Only certified veterinarians and staff can administer it. See full Prescribing Information." And here is the safety information from Heartgard's website. https://www.heartgard.com "IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION: HEARTGARD Plus is well tolerated. All dogs should be tested for heartworm infection before starting a preventive program. Following the use of HEARTGARD Plus, digestive and neurological side effects have rarely been reported. For more information, contact your veterinarian or click here for full prescribing information." If you cannot remember to give Heartgard every month, then Proheart may be a better option if the risk of heartworm disease in your area is significant. I have used Heartgard in my dogs for their entire lives and have been very pleased with the product. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your question. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Heartworm disease is completely preventable dogs. There are now multiple options for heartworm preventative is available to pet owners. Most often these preventatives are given orally once a month or sometimes applied topically once a month. There are options now also for injections that last about six months. It just depends on what your veterinarian has available. It is usually recommended to give heartworm preventative year-round but this may vary depending on where in the country you live. Any dog who has not been on heartworm preventative, should be tested for heartworms prior to starting prevention. And then heartworm testing is recommended every one to two years while on heartworm preventative.

Tri-Heart is generic Heartgard and is just as effective. I am not sure why your vet won't prescribe it for you. You cannot buy any heartworm prevention over the counter so you will need a prescription. I suggest you bring your dog to one of the VETCO vaccine clinics at your local Petco stores (see schedule below). Bring proof of his last negative heartworm test and they can give you a prescription for the Tri-Heart. There is no charge for the exam. Just the cost of the medication. Hope this helps! ( https://www.vetcoclinics.com/services-and-clinics/clinic-locations-and-schedules/?zip=77469 ) ( https://www.petco.com/shop/SearchDisplay?categoryId=&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&searchSource=Q&pageView=&beginIndex=0&pageSize=48&fromPageValue=search&searchTerm=triheart )

Yes it is safe to use these medications together. Just make sure you are using the ivermectin dose for heartworms or better yet a pre made heartworm product with ivermectin (Heartgard or otherwise). I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

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.

Fortunately, there are a number of heartworm preventatives similar to Heartgard, including TriHeart Plus and Iverhart. Other options for heartworm prevention have different active ingredients and include Trifexis, Interceptor, Sentinel, Revolution, and Advantage Multi. Simba's vet will be able to prescribe another option and make sure that Simba has had a recent heartworm test.

It's actually perfectly safe to use Heartgard (which has the active ingredient ivermectin) as a heartworm prevention if you like. It's true that Old English Sheepdogs and other herding breeds can sometimes have a genetic mutation (the mdr1 mutation) that makes them more sensitive to certain drugs, including ivermectin - this means that it might not be safe to use high doses of this drug in these breeds, such as the doses often used to treat scabies or demodectic mange. But at the very low doses used in Heartgard and other heartworm preventatives, these breeds have no issues at all - so it's fine to use this product if you like. If you're still concerned and want to choose a different drug entirely, Sentinel is another very effective heartworm preventative that has a different active ingredient (milbemycin oxime) which should not cause any issues at all.