Do you stockpile heartworm meds?

[SKB]

My 13 year old dog died yesterday. I feel more comfortable with homeopathy, raw food diets and other alternatives for pet care rather than meds. I've read that there is a new heartworm strain that is resistant to the currently available preventatives. How do you handle this? Do you stockpile pet medications?

[Bearfootfarm]

I haven't heard of any new strains, but I don't use heartworm pills at all

Instead I just use Ivomec 1% injectable, given orally at a rate of 0.1 ML per 10 lbs of body weight. I just add it to their food

That dosage will kill Heartworms, as well as most other worms other than Tapeworms

If you only want to treat for Heartworms, 0.1 ML total will suffice for 4-6 weeks

A 50 ML bottle is less than $50 and has a shelf life of over two years if kept in a cool dark place

This is NOT a good idea if your dog is a Collie or one of the similar herding breeds.

Another thing to keep in mind is the medication isn't needed at all when there are fewer than 60 consecutive days of temperatures above 60 degrees

I use Safeguard 10% liquid "goat wormer" to treat Tapeworms (and it works for other types too, but not Heartworms) at a rate of 1.0 ML per 5 lbs body weight

It's safe for all breeds

[SKB]

Do you need a prescription from the vet or can the liquids be purchased at the feed store?
I think vets employ a bit of guilt-ing when you say that you haven't had the dog on heartworm preventative. My boy had been an indoor dog for the past 6 years.

[CountryMom22]

Although your dog may spend most of it's time inside, heartworm is spread by mosquitos and if your dog goes outside at all, he is being exposed. Or you may inadvertently let a mosquito in the house that can bite your dog. I do feel that since heartworm is so devastating to try and cure, and so relatively easy to prevent that I would rather prevent the problem.

I don't stockpile heartworm meds but I do wish they were cheaper.

[Bearfootfarm]

Do you need a prescription from the vet or can the liquids be purchased at the feed store?

They can all be purchased at feed stores

Ivomec is the active ingredient in Heart Guard pills, and Safeguard is the generic name for Panacur that costs 4 times as much at the Vet

[momma_to_seven_chi]

Ivermectin is a heartorm preventative that has been on the market for many years. Get a couple tubes of horsewormer, and keep them for monthly use. Use a small "glob", less than the size of a pea once a month for med dogs. Larger dogs kike GP get a glob the size of a "fat" pea, or a very small marble. For a chihuahua give them the size of a grain of rice once a month. They will not get heartworms if you do this every month. The horsewormer tube of ivermectin costs ten dollars from any farm store.
Some people get the liquid ivermectin that is injected for horses. It runs about $50 a bottle. Use it orally a drop for every 10lbs of dog weight. The dog will not get heartworms if you use this faithfully every month. It will also control most parasites.

There has been a lot of "scare" tactics about how giving ivermectin to a dog that might "possibly" already be infected will kill them. If you are concerned about that, then be sure to start the dog on the preventative (ivermectin) as a puppy. If the dog is older then you might want to have it tested before starting the product, but there are different thoughts on that subject. Honestly, it won't kill the dog to take the ivermectin even if it is heartworm +. It will not kill the adult worms though. It kills all the "new" infant ones that come up while the older ones just get old and die off on their own natural lifespan. Long story short, ivermectin can be your dogs best friend in preventative medicine.

[momma_to_seven_chi]

I just wanted to add that bearfootfarm posted an excellent reply.