Canine Heartworms and

Inexpensive Prevention

I am not a veterinarian and the following is what I use to treat my dogs.

Use the following at your on risk.

 

This article will discuss the canine heartworms and how you can keep them from infecting your Dachshund at the absolute lowest cost. Note: you can click on any picture on this page for a larger more detailed view.

If you live in the United States, you have heartworms (Dirofilaria immitis) in your area. This parasite is present in all fifty states, but most common in the more temperate parts of the country.  The heartworm larva (Dirofilaria immitis microfilariae) is spread from dog to dog by mosquitoes.  When an infected mosquito feeds off a dog, it passes the infection into the bloodstream. The larva or microfilariae stay in the bloodstream for a period of time and then attach themselves to the inside of the heart and can also be found in the blood vessels of the lungs. When they mature in the heart they add their own microfilariae to the blood stream. The adult worms cause debilitating disease, reduce performance, and may cause death. Click on the hyper linked text and view a picture of "The Life Cycle of Heartworms".  The dog can usually be cured if the heartworm infestation is diagnosed early enough. The cost of this cure can cost as much as $800 or more. After treatment, the dog must be laid up for a minimum of 30 days -- that is the bad news.

The good news is that heartworms can be prevented for less than one cent per day for a 10 pound dog (Dachshund/miniature size). . Myself and other Dachshund breeders have used a prevention (that I will describe in this article) since the early 1980's, with no heartworm infestations. Once again, I want to remind everyone that I am not a Veterinarian, but rather a Dachshund breeder. I'll tell you what I use and do, you can use your own judgment whether you want to follow in my footsteps. This article is presented only as a documentation of how I prevent heartworms in my Dachshunds at a fraction of the cost that a Veterinarian will charge for the Merck Heartgard ™ (Ivermectin), chewable tablets. Also, the law restricts Heartgard to use by or on the order of a licensed Veterinarian; therefore, if you use the prescription tablets you will be paying $15 - $45 for a box of 6 tablets (six month supply) plus the cost of an occasional office visit.

I use the same chemical that is in those expensive (prescription only) pills at a fraction of the cost. The prevention that I use is given once every 30 days (monthly) the same as the pills. In parts of the country during the coldest times of the year when no mosquitoes could survive, the prevention can even be suspended until the weather starts warming up again. If you suspect a dog may already have heartworms, before putting a dog on the following prevention it should be checked by a Vet to be sure it has no heartworms. The cost of this exam is generally between $5 - $15. It is a lot cheaper to have the exam to make sure your dog is not already infected, than it is to have a Vet save an infected dog during the advanced stages of heartworm infestation.  This prevention (describe below) is only good to prevent an infection from ever occurring, once a dog is already infected then it must be given the very expensive treatment described in the first paragraph of this page.

The exam consists of a vet drawing a small amount of blood, putting a smear of it on a slide and looking at it through a microscope. The microfilariae look like tiny wiggler fishing worms. This prevention is not to be given to collies or part collies. What I use is Ivermectin. It is a 1% injectible cattle wormer with the trade name of Ivomec ™ . You can purchase it (without a prescription) for $40 - $50 at your Veterinarian Supply Store or through a catalog from a Vaccine Wholesale Supplier. The bottle comes in a 50 cc size. It is given orally which means by the mouth. If given non-diluted with propylene glycol use 1/10th of 1cc (.10 cc) for each 10 pounds of body weight. The syringes I use are 3 cc and are marked off in tenths of 1 cc.

""""Ivomec is highly concentrated and should be diluted to be able to administer correctly the small amount to a dog for heartworm prevention. To dilute it mix one cc of injectable 1% cattle Ivomec with 19 cc of propylene glycol. Both ingredients are available at most cattle supply companies. Do not mix Ivomec with water or any other mixers because it will not mix properly and you will not be able to administer the correct dosage. When mixed in this proportion, kennel owners have been giving one cc per 40 pound dog orally once a month for heartworm prevention. A 20 pound dog would get 1/2  of a cc (.5cc). A 10 pound dog gets 1/4 cc (.25cc). An 80 pound dog gets 2 cc. This costs only a few cents a month per dog when given in this proportion. Be sure to SHAKE WELL before using and make sure that the dog does not cough it out. Protect the Ivomec from sunlight and do not let it freeze or get very hot. NOTE: This paragraph has been inserted by myself as it is how I prepare and administer the drug for my dogs (Tina Shepherd, Magnolia Dachshunds)"""""

I do this treatment to each and every Dachshund once every 30 days. The Ivomec kills all those little microfilariae (larva) in the bloodstream so they never have a chance to mature into heartworms. Microfilariae will circulate in the blood for more than 30 days before attaching to the heart, so if you give this prevention on schedule there is "NO POSSIBLE WAY" for your dog to get heartworms. Even if a drug is labeled as safe for pregnant and/or lactating bitches. Personally, I don't recommend you give any kind of medications to a pregnant bitch unless the life of the bitch is in grave danger; however, I will give medications to lactating bitches. The difference is the pups are already born and not in their developing and forming stages in the womb.

The cost is very minimal for each dog. If the 50cc bottle of Ivomec costs you $40.00, this is 80 cents per cc. Given 12 months in a row, a 10 lb. dog will take 1.25 cc per year. That is a cost of $1.00 for a one year prevention. The shelf life for the Ivomec is about 3 years if kept refrigerated. Therefore, this method is feasible to use even if you only have one Dachshund, and it is by far the cheapest and most effective prevention against heartworms. If you have two or more dogs this can save you hundreds of dollars per year.

IMPORTANT>>>PLEASE READ

Collies and related breeds (including the Sheltie, Border Collie, Australian Shepherd, English Shepherd, Bearded Collie, Silken Windhound, and others) may be sensitive to ivermectin due to a mutation in the multi-drug resistance gene (Mdr1). Around 80% of collie dogs in the United States may show varying degrees of sensitivity to ivermectin, with 25-33% of collies, that have mutations in both copies of the MDR1 gene, being extremely sensitive. Toxicity is not observed at doses less than 100 microgram/kg even in sensitive breeds. Thus, ivermectin-based heartworm preventatives (which deliver doses in the range of 6 to 13 microgram/kg) may be suitable for dogs with this sensitivity [8] However many vets use caution and prefer giving other heartworm preventatives such as Sentinel, Interceptor (both containing Milbemycin oxime), or ProHeart to their patients that are one of the herding breeds. Regardless these dogs cannot be treated for mites with ivermectin.

NOTE: This article was found on Beagles Unlimited.

"Dachshund" has been substituted for "Beagles" and I have omitted links to a supply site. This is the protocol I follow and again, I am not a veterinarian so please use any info on this site at your own risk. Please consult your veterinarian for alll medical needs.