What heartworm prevention and early care for my 3-month-old puppy?

Hi there. Your pup is old enough to start on heartworm prevention now. I would suggest using Heartgard or Sentinel - both of these are fine for a pup who is 9 weeks old and weighs 3.5 pounds, and both are very safe in general. Puppies under six months of age do not need to be tested first.

There would actually be several options - most heartworm preventatives and dewormers come in tablets small enough for puppies. There is no minimum for Heartgard, and I believe there is an Interceptor dose that starts at 2 lbs. Ask your vet what medications they carry and would recommend in your area.

I do recommend monthly heartworm prevention starting at 8 weeks of age. It is a prescription so a veterinarian does not have to personally give the pill but you need to either buy it from a vet or get a prescription from a vet. The only medication that needed to be at a veterinarian's office is Pro-heart. This is an injectable heartworm prevention that lasts for 6 months. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

There are several medicines to choose from, but you will need a current heartworm test and a prescription from your vet for the medicines. You can look into Heartgard or Sentinel for monthly heartworm prevention or Proheart 6 is a 6 month injection for heartworm prevention but you will need a separate product such as Nexgard or Bravecto for flea and tick control

A 10 week old puppy is too young to have a heartworm infection. Your puppy could have heartworm larvae circulating in his blood but the adult heart worms take 4-6 months to develop in the heart. I usually start puppies on a monthly heartworm preventative when they are around 12 wks old. This will kill the larvae and prevent the adult heart worms from infecting the heart. If you haven’t already taken your puppy to see a veterinarian for his puppy vaccines and dewormer, you should do that as soon as you get a chance to prevent him from getting sick. Hope this has helped. Good luck with your new puppy. Thank you for using pet coach.

If there is no history of vaccinations, I would have the Distemper / Parvo / Adenovirus vaccine administered (this is a yearly vaccine), the bordetella vaccine and his Rabies vaccination. I recommend heartgard for heartworm prevention along with yearly heartworm testing. Heartgard is a monthly chewable tablet give to prevent heartworm disease. If you live in an area where fleas and ticks are prevalent, I would also suggest a flea / tick preventative such as Nexgard or Bravecto. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I am also available via consultation if needed.

It is very important to start heartworm preventative in puppies to make sure that they are protected and never get heartworms, so be sure to get Callie started on heartworm prevention right away. This is very important in warmer climates because mosquitoes are present year round and Callie can get infected even in the winter. So, ask your vet for a heartworm prevention recommendation for Callie. Congrats on your new baby! ! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.