Malamum Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 At present we have been using a product called HeartGard 30 Plus as a heartworm preventative. This is a chewable tablet that comes in weight ranges. Indy has been on the largest weight range for a while now, however it only covers dogs up to 45kg. As he is now 40kg, I'm sure he will be over the 45kg limit in the next few months. Once he hits 45kg I can then add another tablet from one of the smaller weight ranges to cover the excess weight. Or as an alternative to the HearGard, the receptionist at the Vet surgery suggested a once yearly injection, which can be done at the same time as his yearly vaccinations. I haven't had a chance to talk to the vet yet about the injections and wanted to find out what methods other people use. Quote
alicat613 Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 The shot is too risky IMO. If your dog has a reaction, he could die. 6 or 12 months of chemicals is a lot, and there have been a number of dogs who had bad reactions to it, even seizures and death. I don't use anything, we don't have heartworm here right now. I use natural methods to keep any mosquitoes down in our yard, and come summer if we do end up with a mosquito population (here we don't generally get them, the weather isn't right for them), I'll use black and green walnut hulls as a homeopathic treatment/preventative. Quote
Luka-pop Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 We own a small wooded area, with a pond and lots of puddles in the woods, so we have a ton of mosquitoes. We use Heartgard Plus with Luka. He's 58 lbs. I've never heard of the shot, but I'm sure that if it was a good idea, his vet would have talked to us about it. I've actually never heard about it 'til now. :oops: Quote
Luka-pop Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 BTW, there was another post about Heartworm here on Dogo, WAY befoer I joined. Here's the link to it. http://forum.dogomania.com/viewtopic.php?t=1077&highlight=toxic Quote
Hobbit Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 Luka --- isn't your dog a Border Collie cross? If so, PLEASE stop using Heartguard on him. Products that contain Ivermetrin can have fatal results on herding bred dogs. The shot contains a chemical from the "ectrin" family and is also having fatal effects on not only herding bred dogs, but also other breeds of dogs. A product that is more safe for herding bred dogs is Milbemycin or "Interceptor". Quote
Malamum Posted March 24, 2003 Author Posted March 24, 2003 Thanks for the info. After asking around a few various places, I've already decided not to go with the yearly injection - every person has said something negative so that's enough for me to keep away from it. The HeartGard chewable tablets have been going fine so will probably stay with them. However, my main concern was that when he hits 45kg (approx 100lbs) I am going to have to combine two tablets from different weight ranges and wanted to make sure that this was just as effective. Does anyone else have large dogs that they do this with? Quote
alicat613 Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 All the Dane people I know that do heartworm stuff use Interceptor for the reasons stated above. A lot of people are steering clear of the Ivermectin. Quote
DogPaddle Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 Oh crud, I just looked at our hearworm med - ivermectin/pyrantel. Ironically it has a picture of a BC on the packaging. Quote
Luka-pop Posted March 24, 2003 Posted March 24, 2003 Luka's definitely not a border collie mix. Although we can't be sure of it, I think that a lab/pointer mix is pretty accurate. Thanks for the warning though. I'll ask his vet. That's the thing with mixes... you never know what's in them, especially a shelter rescue. Just to be safe, does anyone else think he looks like a BC? Or can anybody predict what he is? Quote
alicat613 Posted March 25, 2003 Posted March 25, 2003 Your girl in your avatar? I wouldn't think Lab Pointer at all. I see more Greyhound or even one of the 'rarer' breeds like Pharoah Hound or even Saluki. In which case - be very careful! I know at least Greyhounds and I think others of that type have troubles with some meds. I know this from Dane people because Dane have greys in their history, and some Danes that aren't very typey can be more greyhoundy medically. Can you send me a few pics of her to aaronnali@msn.com ? That's a different addy than I have signed up here, but it accepts bigger files. Or do you mind if I show others your photo album from your link? I know a few people that show and/or breed dogs of these types, I'd like to see what they think. :) Whatever she is, she is very beautiful!! Quote
DogPaddle Posted March 25, 2003 Posted March 25, 2003 I looked at your photo site and yes I could see there being some BC in the mix there but :niewiem: its so hard to tell sometimes isn't it. Quote
imported_Cassie Posted March 25, 2003 Posted March 25, 2003 If your Dog had erect ears and they were big... your fur freind looks a little like an Ibizan Hound Quote
Luka-pop Posted March 26, 2003 Posted March 26, 2003 This is a previous discussion about his breed here on dogo... http://forum.dogomania.com/viewtopic.php?t=4005&highlight= He's 58lbs and 23in at the shoulder. He has tickings on his throat, chest, and feet. He points his tail when he sees small animals and other dogs. He's got a slender streamline. He's red and white. Quote
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