My youngest daughter dropped her dog (Bella 1 year old GSP) off this morning
to be spayed. They have had her approximately 2 months. The people they
got her from had her for approximately 6 months and before that she was at
the breeders.

Apparently the breeder and /or previous owner never had her on preventative
as she tested positive and the spay was cancelled. This is a shock to all
of us. We had a dog sucessfully treated for heartworm 30+ years ago but
haven't had any experience with it since.

Would really appreciate any info comments, tips, etc. that will make this
journey easier for them. TIA

Kathy

In article ,
"kat" wrote:

My youngest daughter dropped her dog (Bella 1 year old GSP) off this morning
to be spayed. They have had her approximately 2 months. The people they
got her from had her for approximately 6 months and before that she was at
the breeders.

Apparently the breeder and /or previous owner never had her on preventative
as she tested positive and the spay was cancelled. This is a shock to all
of us. We had a dog sucessfully treated for heartworm 30+ years ago but
haven't had any experience with it since.

Would really appreciate any info comments, tips, etc. that will make this
journey easier for them. TIA

Kathy

I'm a little confused - has your daughter not had her on HW preventative
during the 2 months that she's had her? had they not taken her to the
vet and had her tested?

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

"Janet Boss" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"kat" wrote:

My youngest daughter dropped her dog (Bella 1 year old GSP) off this
morning
to be spayed. They have had her approximately 2 months. The people
they
got her from had her for approximately 6 months and before that she was
at
the breeders.

Apparently the breeder and /or previous owner never had her on
preventative
as she tested positive and the spay was cancelled. This is a shock to
all
of us. We had a dog sucessfully treated for heartworm 30+ years ago but
haven't had any experience with it since.

Would really appreciate any info comments, tips, etc. that will make
this
journey easier for them. TIA

Kathy

I'm a little confused - has your daughter not had her on HW preventative
during the 2 months that she's had her? had they not taken her to the
vet and had her tested?

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Living in Michigan most dogs are usually tested in the Spring for the
previous season and then put on preventative from April through October. I
know some people keep their dogs on the preventative year round even in the
winter here but I haven't encountered a vet yet that thought that was
necessary given our weather.

She had the routine Spring testing done prior to the spay and even the vet
was surprised as he was expecting it to be negative and he had already
started the preliminary preparations for the surgery.

Kathy

In article ,
"kat" wrote:



Living in Michigan most dogs are usually tested in the Spring for the
previous season and then put on preventative from April through October. I
know some people keep their dogs on the preventative year round even in the
winter here but I haven't encountered a vet yet that thought that was
necessary given our weather.

She had the routine Spring testing done prior to the spay and even the vet
was surprised as he was expecting it to be negative and he had already
started the preliminary preparations for the surgery.

Got it.

My last experience with a dog who needed HW treatment (not my dog) was
several years ago, so I'm afraid I have no UTD info, but at least it
isn't the death sentence it once was! I think it still entails some
hard meds and restriction on activity though.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:54:43 -0400, "kat"
wrote:

I'm a little confused - has your daughter not had her on HW preventative
during the 2 months that she's had her? had they not taken her to the
vet and had her tested?

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Living in Michigan most dogs are usually tested in the Spring for the
previous season and then put on preventative from April through October. I
know some people keep their dogs on the preventative year round even in the
winter here but I haven't encountered a vet yet that thought that was
necessary given our weather.

Sometimes it's not the best idea to let vets make all the decisions
about health care for one's animals. We've treated several dogs for
heartworm - not our dogs, but dogs we took from the pound or took in
through the rescue. Since the first, which was 11 years ago in June
(hi, Mukluk, you old thing you!), I have kept our dogs on heartworm
preventative year-round, and I always will.

She had the routine Spring testing done prior to the spay and even the vet
was surprised as he was expecting it to be negative and he had already
started the preliminary preparations for the surgery.

Might it be worth a re-test, to rule out a false positive? She's so
young, she can't have had it for very long.

Mustang Sally

"sighthounds & siberians" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:54:43 -0400, "kat"
wrote:

I'm a little confused - has your daughter not had her on HW
preventative
during the 2 months that she's had her? had they not taken her to the
vet and had her tested?

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Living in Michigan most dogs are usually tested in the Spring for the
previous season and then put on preventative from April through October.
I
know some people keep their dogs on the preventative year round even in
the
winter here but I haven't encountered a vet yet that thought that was
necessary given our weather.

Sometimes it's not the best idea to let vets make all the decisions
about health care for one's animals. We've treated several dogs for
heartworm - not our dogs, but dogs we took from the pound or took in
through the rescue. Since the first, which was 11 years ago in June
(hi, Mukluk, you old thing you!), I have kept our dogs on heartworm
preventative year-round, and I always will.


I thought about it for our dogs but I don't know what the tradeoff is. My
first inclination is always to go with the least amount necessary to get the
job done. They definitely aren't going to contract it in 0 degree weather.

She had the routine Spring testing done prior to the spay and even the
vet
was surprised as he was expecting it to be negative and he had already
started the preliminary preparations for the surgery.

Might it be worth a re-test, to rule out a false positive? She's so
young, she can't have had it for very long.

Mustang Sally

I hadn't thought of a false positive. I'll check with my daughter. I think
the vet also did x-rays and other tests before Bella was transferred to the
24-hour clinic last night. When I spoke with her last night she said the
vet said they caught it early and the success rate at that stage was 99.5%.
Hope he wasn't being overly optimistic!


Kathy

In article ,
"kat" wrote:

They definitely aren't going to contract it in 0 degree weather.

I think bugs are stronger than ever and nothing kills them off!
Granted, I'm in MD not MI, but I've seen ticks and mosquitos in the very
frigid dead of winter. I won't risk HW.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:51:32 -0400, "kat"
wrote:


Sometimes it's not the best idea to let vets make all the decisions
about health care for one's animals. We've treated several dogs for
heartworm - not our dogs, but dogs we took from the pound or took in
through the rescue. Since the first, which was 11 years ago in June
(hi, Mukluk, you old thing you!), I have kept our dogs on heartworm
preventative year-round, and I always will.


I thought about it for our dogs but I don't know what the tradeoff is. My
first inclination is always to go with the least amount necessary to get the
job done. They definitely aren't going to contract it in 0 degree weather.

I'd be concerned if I believed that the small amount of ivermectin in
the preventatives was harmful to them, but I don't, so for me there is
no tradeoff. And I don't think there's a huge difference between
giving preventative from April to December and giving it year-round.

She had the routine Spring testing done prior to the spay and even the
vet
was surprised as he was expecting it to be negative and he had already
started the preliminary preparations for the surgery.

Might it be worth a re-test, to rule out a false positive? She's so
young, she can't have had it for very long.

Mustang Sally

I hadn't thought of a false positive. I'll check with my daughter. I think
the vet also did x-rays and other tests before Bella was transferred to the
24-hour clinic last night. When I spoke with her last night she said the
vet said they caught it early and the success rate at that stage was 99.5%.
Hope he wasn't being overly optimistic!

The success rate when they don't catch it early is pretty high, so I
don't think he was being overly optimistic. Your daughter will need
to keep Bella calm and quiet, short leash walks only, during
treatment. We've treated 3 huskies, all of which were very difficult
to keep quiet, using both the 'old' treatment and the 'new', and all
the dogs did fine.

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:55:04 -0400, Janet Boss
wrote:

In article ,
"kat" wrote:

They definitely aren't going to contract it in 0 degree weather.

I think bugs are stronger than ever and nothing kills them off!
Granted, I'm in MD not MI, but I've seen ticks and mosquitos in the very
frigid dead of winter. I won't risk HW.

I won't either, especially after treating dogs for it. For me there
is no tradeoff.

"sighthounds & siberians" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:51:32 -0400, "kat"
wrote:


Sometimes it's not the best idea to let vets make all the decisions
about health care for one's animals. We've treated several dogs for
heartworm - not our dogs, but dogs we took from the pound or took in
through the rescue. Since the first, which was 11 years ago in June
(hi, Mukluk, you old thing you!), I have kept our dogs on heartworm
preventative year-round, and I always will.


I thought about it for our dogs but I don't know what the tradeoff is.
My
first inclination is always to go with the least amount necessary to get
the
job done. They definitely aren't going to contract it in 0 degree
weather.

I'd be concerned if I believed that the small amount of ivermectin in
the preventatives was harmful to them, but I don't, so for me there is
no tradeoff.

This is all so new to me. I never used to question our vets but after
several bad experiences with different vets over the last year I now
question everything from vaccines to lab tests. It's good to know that the
preventative is not harmful.


And I don't think there's a huge difference between
giving preventative from April to December and giving it year-round.

Well they genrally only give it until the end of October but I see your
point.


She had the routine Spring testing done prior to the spay and even the
vet
was surprised as he was expecting it to be negative and he had already
started the preliminary preparations for the surgery.

Might it be worth a re-test, to rule out a false positive? She's so
young, she can't have had it for very long.

Mustang Sally

I hadn't thought of a false positive. I'll check with my daughter. I
think
the vet also did x-rays and other tests before Bella was transferred to
the
24-hour clinic last night. When I spoke with her last night she said
the
vet said they caught it early and the success rate at that stage was
99.5%.
Hope he wasn't being overly optimistic!

The success rate when they don't catch it early is pretty high, so I
don't think he was being overly optimistic. Your daughter will need
to keep Bella calm and quiet, short leash walks only, during
treatment. We've treated 3 huskies, all of which were very difficult
to keep quiet, using both the 'old' treatment and the 'new', and all
the dogs did fine.



From what I can gather from my daughter (she was a little hazy on the
details) the protocol is 2 shots every 24 hours for three days and Bella
will stay there for the duration of the treatment. They will also be giving
her pain meds. Recheck in 3 months. Don't know what the restrictions will
be when she is released. Does this sound about right?

Kathy