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Old November 15th, 2009, 10:38 AM
Bill K. Bill K. is offline
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Heartworm treatment

Hello,
We are looking into adopting dog & came across a young sweetheart who has had an incredibly hard life to this point. Among her problems was heartworm infection which was successfully treated.
Assuming the dog continues the typical regiment of prevention, does a previous infection/treatment of heartworm leave the animal more susceptible to further infections in the future? Does it affect the life expectancy of the animal?
Thanks for any input.
Bill K.
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Old November 15th, 2009, 10:59 AM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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If the dog is on preventive, you shouldn't have another infestation. The preventive meds are pretty effective in killing off the parasite and I don't think she would be more prone to future infection. As with all dogs, you will have to give her the preventive for as long as you live in an area where heartworm is common.

I'm not a vet, but I suspect the answer to your second question would probably depend upon how much, if any, heart damage occurred during the time she had active heart worms. Do you have access to her vet records? If you can talk to the vet that treated her, you can probably get a better assessment of how bad the infestation was. Do you know what protocol was used to treat her?

I hope you decide to adopt this little girl. It sounds like she could use an .

And welcome to the board, Bill!
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Old November 15th, 2009, 12:35 PM
Bill K. Bill K. is offline
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Thanks. She's with an animal rescue right now so I'll contact them tomorrow.
And thanks for the welcome.
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Old November 15th, 2009, 12:42 PM
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pbpatti pbpatti is offline
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Bill K. welcome to pets.ca, what a wonderful thing you will be doing by adopting an older dog. Good luck and keep us posted on how things are going. Also when she comes home to you we will require Pictures, lots and lots of pictures.
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Old November 15th, 2009, 01:08 PM
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kathryn kathryn is offline
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I would suggest that the blood be sent out to a lab. They can more accurately tell you if the infestation is gone. The in-house tests where they draw blood and put it in the little tests are pretty sensitive but more so for adult heart worm infestations. If you send out the blood they can test for microfilaria circulating in the blood. Those are baby heartworms. If they test positive for those, it's not always the worse thing but can also be a sign that the treatment wasn't totally effective.

If your dog is 100% clear of HW, then she is not really at anymore risk of developing a new infection then any other dog. Infections vary by region.

Just start her on a preventative right away. Heartgard & Tri-Heart are both very effective. For topical programs you can use Advantage Multi or Revolution. Those do other things too like protect against fleas, so depending on what you prefer those are other options for you.
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Old November 15th, 2009, 06:07 PM
Bill K. Bill K. is offline
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Thanks for the advice all. I shall ask these questions this week when I call.

Here is the link to Sunny. I need to remember what she's been through the next time I get poopy faced. What an example for us all!!
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Old November 15th, 2009, 09:04 PM
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hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
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She's a cutie, Bill, that's for sure! Such a history, though :sad:
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Old April 26th, 2012, 01:20 PM
067734m 067734m is offline
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I have the exact same question about heart worms! I'll really have to speak with the vet. The dog is not too old - estimated at 3 yrs and he had the treatment I'm guessing a year ago. Hoping the damage was minimal as we would like any dog we adopt to live a long and health life with us!
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