Heartworm Treatment - Chihuahua - Questions

[tx_poptart]

We have about a 3 year old Chihuahua who has heartworms and will be undergoing treatments very soon. The vet has suggested that we strictly restrict the dogs activities for 6-8 weeks while he undergoes treatment. We will have to keep him kennled around the clock and take him out on a leash to keep him from being to active. Currently he has free roam of the house and he goes out in the backyard to use the bathroom. I know that as the treatment starts to work, the heartworms will die, break up and disolve within the blood flow, which if he gets his heart rate up too much may cause a clot and kill him.

Here's the TBH Braintrust question.....Is strictly restricting the dogs activities the norm, or is this being overly protective? Are there any other suggested methods ya'll know about for treatment?

[Coon]

It's the norm to keep them as quiet as possible. Different dogs require different types of restriction. Dogs that are active will need more confinement. Dogs that are lazy or low keyed need less.
Dave

[SPUD]

Don't let your buddies come over. That will send that little dog into a barking frenzy.

[bboswell]

Sounds normal. I got the same instructions years ago when my lab got them.

[tx_poptart]

Don't let your buddies come over. That will send that little dog into a barking frenzy.

No joke....he's a pretty docile little creature until someone new comes over.....then BAM!!! guard dog kicks in.....

[Maddox]

Good for you for getting him treatment. Most people would just tell the vet to put him down or would not do anything about it until the worms killed him.

[b.latiolais]

Years back my lab had worms and she had to sit out an entire hunting season. She went from hunting 3 and 4 days a week to no hunting at all. It was tough but well worth it. One thing I will add is ask the vet about stronger heart worm meds after he gets treated. I always kept my dog on her meds but she got worms anyways. After she got them the second time the vets office finally told me that they could have put her on some stronger stuff. It was a little late for that. Sad to say I didn't get her treated the second time due to her age.

[tx_poptart]

Thanks for the info guys...it's gonna be hard to put the little guy on lockdown for 2 months....but well worth it to get him cured......

I figure he can still hang out with us while we are home, we just have to make sure to keep him pretty calm.....

[skyhawk]

Don't know the whole story, but i can tell you mine. Vet said one of my dogs has heartworms (according to the test), but is showing no signs.
After doing some research, it seemed to me that (unless she starts showing some real signs of infestation), I put her on monthly treatment, which will kill all stages of heartworms except adult, and since the adult worms only live about a year, she will be heartworm-free in 12 months, and I will still have the $800+ that they said the treatment would cost in MY POCKET. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

[tx_poptart]

Don't know the whole story, but i can tell you mine. Vet said one of my dogs has heartworms (according to the test), but is showing no signs.
After doing some research, it seemed to me that (unless she starts showing some real signs of infestation), I put her on monthly treatment, which will kill all stages of heartworms except adult, and since the adult worms only live about a year, she will be heartworm-free in 12 months, and I will still have the $800+ that they said the treatment would cost in MY POCKET. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

I heard this, it's a slow cure but once you start the preventative medicine (HeartGuard), no new heartworms form and over time (a year) the adult worms die off.....this is what we are doing with the outside dog....I am wondering if we should do the same with the little guy inside.....

It bothers me that we will have to keep him on lock down, and to tell you the truth, he will still get wound up and excited when we come home either way....

I would like to research and find some more info out about the slow approach using preventative medicine.......

[Zookeeper]

By giving monthly heart worm medication to a dog that is infested it will increase his chances of being dead. Not only from the dying larva but the adults that will continue to live for a year will continue to do damage to your dogs heart and lungs. 800 dollars is over the top for a cure. should be around 150 at the most. The best thing for the dog is to take care of the problem asap.

[xman59]

any body know what they used before heart worm drugs and expensive vet bills feeding the dogs stricknine( unsure of spelling) or arsenic..yes they poision your dog..when my first lab got heart worms about 20 years ago,, i took him to the vet.. couldnt afford the treatment and put him to sleep... hardest thing I ever did....had already been a cop for about 8 years and was mostly unaffected by anything, puttin my dog down was real hard....

I asked my dad who was raised on a farm what they did.. he said nothing he could remember.. couple days later he said he finally recalled his dad puttin something red in the dogs water now and then... they never lost a dog to heartworms and they lived to all be over 12 years old as working dogs on a hog and dairy farm.... i then talked to an old man at a local feed store in Beaumont,, he musta been about 80 at the time only job he ever had ... told me to use iodine in the water, heavy in summer light in winter... not every day maybe twice a week when mosquitos were bad... he said it not only killed the adult worms it killed the eggs too, wouldnt hurt the dog.... years later I had forgtten this and had another dog get them,, remembered the iodine and gave a healthy dose to the dog every day in his water he lived about 8-10 more years and never had another pill or any treatment other than iodine.. only thing my dogs get now.....

[skyhawk]

By giving monthly heart worm medication to a dog that is infested it will increase his chances of being dead.

Is there any scientific evidence to back this up? I couldn't find any when I was researching the subject. Seems most who would try to scare you into treatment had some vested interest ($) in doing so.
I actually found some research that showed many dogs live long, healthy lives with heartworms and are not adversely affected by them.

Fact is, I am willing to spend a little bit (preventative), and see if it works. If faced with a large vet bill, my dog will be pushin' up daisies.

For all the hating sure to come, I'm willing to take donations for treatment from those who disapprove of my approach.

BTW, I love my dogs, and treat them very well. Everyone makes choices with their money according to what is important to them. I respect those who choose differently that I would, and all I ask is that same courtesy.

[holepuncher]

I lost a dog to Heartworms years ago, I won't let that happen again to be sure. mine get frontline monthly, it sux to write the check at the vet, but my buds deserve at least that.

[Zookeeper]

Is there any scientific evidence to back this up? I couldn't find any when I was researching the subject. Seems most who would try to scare you into treatment had some vested interest ($) in doing so.
I actually found some research that showed many dogs live long, healthy lives with heartworms and are not adversely affected by them.

Fact is, I am willing to spend a little bit (preventative), and see if it works. If faced with a large vet bill, my dog will be pushin' up daisies.

For all the hating sure to come, I'm willing to take donations for treatment from those who disapprove of my approach.

BTW, I love my dogs, and treat them very well. Everyone makes choices with their money according to what is important to them. I respect those who choose differently that I would, and all I ask is that same courtesy.

No disrespect ewas intended in my post just trying to provide some insite. The following is a Quote from the American Heartworm Association. So that you do not think I was tryiing to blow smoke up your skirt.

Why do dogs need to be blood tested before starting heartworm medication?
answer Before starting a preventive program, all dogs should be tested for heartworms. Giving preventives to dogs that have adult heartworm infection can be harmful or even fatal to the pet.

Adult heartworms produce millions of microscopic "baby" heartworms (called microfilaria) into the bloodstream. When you give a monthly heartworm preventive to a dog with circulating microfilaria, this can cause the sudden death of microfilaria, triggering a shock-type reaction. Even if your dog does not have this type of reaction, heartworm preventives do not kill the adult heartworms (although they may shorten the worms' life expectancy). This means an infected dog will remain infected with adult heartworms.

Unfortunately, as long as a pet remains infected, heartworm disease will progress and damage the heart and lungs, which can lead to life threatening problems. Giving heartworm preventives to heartworm-positive dogs can mislead an owner into thinking everything is all right, while within a pet, heartworm disease is worsening.