Ivermectin for DOGS for Heartworms?

[Chickidee216]

Answering wether or not it'll make it worse is a very subjective statement. Is your dog having symptoms of a heartworm infection? (ie: Trouble breathing, coughing, etc.?) Is the pnuemonia secondary to the heartworm infection?

All giving ivermectin or heartguard is going to do is stop him from getting more heartworms. It will not kill the adult worms it will only keep new larvae from entering the heart via the blood stream via the mosquito. Through the natural life cycle of the adult heartworms, they eventually die off over time. Dying off adults and no new larvae equals a heartworm free dog. Again that can take a couple years. Nothing but immiticide treatment will kill off all the heartworms (adult and larvae). I hope that makes sense.

If your dog is sick from the heartworm infection (showing symptoms, pneumonia and infection) then the slow kill treatment (heartguard) is not usually advised for those pets. Because they are likely to succumb to the disease before the adult worms die of old age. Immiticde would be the only way to go once his immune system is healthy enough to accept treatment.

Again, I would highly recommend following the advice of your vet. I promise they have you and your dog's best interest at heart. And they have all the specifics of your case.

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[Kiki]

You can give him heartguard (should be able to purchase from your vet) which will keep the heartworm infection from getting any worse. Over time heartguard will eliminate the infection but that takes about 2-3 years.

Please please please do not give your pets ivermectin without the guidance of a vet. I can't tell you how many pets we have come through the clinic with ivomec toxicity which is just an awful thing to watch.

I don't know anything specific about your case but my guess is your vet is going to do immiticde treatment once he's through the pneumonia and viral infection which would take maybe 2 or 3 weeks. Your not going to make his condition worse in the next 2-3 weeks and your not going to make it any better. I would just do nothing until he is well and is a candidate for treatment.

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Sounds like great advice to me. I'd listen to it if I were in your situation.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

It's impossible to give medical advice over the Internet without seeing the pet in person or knowing anything in depth about its history. In this case, your vet is your best resource. They will have specific information about the individual pet which may change the way your dog's case of heartworm is treated.

However, this is a great website with good info about heartworm, how it is spread, how it can be prevented, and the different methods used to kill heartworms and microfilaria.

http://www.capcvet.org/capc-recommendations/canine-heartworm

Currently, the only product labeled to kill microfilaria is Advantage Multi. The only product labeled to kill adult heartworms is melarsomine. In your dog's case, it seems as though the vet wants to make sure he is healthy before giving the melarsomine. Heartworm treatment is a rough one and is tough for healthy dogs to go through. Therefore, sometimes a pet will need to be on a "slow kill" agent for a period of time before they can handle the melarsomine treatments.

CAPC heartworm treatment does not favor the slow kill method, as there is some evidence it can contribute to resistant strains of heartworm. Additionally, slow kill method means that the dog is now potentially carrying microfilaria for months to years, which serves as a reservoir of infection for other dogs.

If your dog is suffering from pneumonia at this time, I would strongly recommend speaking with your vet before trying anything new.

 

[QuoVadis]

So I read about half this thread and I am very interested in this information, because I use Ivermectin for many species, but I have a few questions. We have two dogs who I want to start heartworm preventative with, but they have not had any for about a year. I was giving them the normal kind form the vet (Heartgard, I think) to to them, but then I forgot to give it to them for a month and was paranoid that if I gave it to them again without testing them they could die, but now it's been awhile and we never got back to the vet to get the tests (we only really go if something bad happens or they need rabies shots). I thought heartworm meds were deadly because I had always heard you should not give heartworm medicine to a dog who hadn't tested negative for heartworms since it could cause them to die when the medicine killed all the heartworms and the dead bodies and plugged up their heart... but now based on this thread many people seem to be saying that is not true...

However, when I was little my Dad accidentally killed a dog that way, or at least that what he thought it was from. It was a dog the neighbor abandoned and we took in, so my Dad, being a good dog owner, gave him heartworm pills when he gave it to our other dogs. Almost immediately (not sure in hours/minutes exactly, but close enough it was clearly linked) the dog died. My Dad always felt horrible and thought it was because the dog had had heartworm and the dying worms stopped up his heart... Was it more likely the dog (a shepherd looking mutt) had some Collie or other breed in him that was sensitive to Ivermectin, and that killed him rather than the heartworms?

And relating that then to my current dogs (who have had Heartgard in the past, and who are a Samoyed, and a terrier mutt I doubt has any Collie in her) would it be safe to start giving them Ivermectin to protect from heartworms, without getting them tested?

 

[ChikaBoom]

Trifexas is really good course I only have one 15 pd dog but fleas,ticks,heartworm all at once works for us

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

So I read about half this thread and I am very interested in this information, because I use Ivermectin for many species, but I have a few questions. We have two dogs who I want to start heartworm preventative with, but they have not had any for about a year. I was giving them the normal kind form the vet (Heartgard, I think) to to them, but then I forgot to give it to them for a month and was paranoid that if I gave it to them again without testing them they could die, but now it's been awhile and we never got back to the vet to get the tests (we only really go if something bad happens or they need rabies shots). I thought heartworm meds were deadly because I had always heard you should not give heartworm medicine to a dog who hadn't tested negative for heartworms since it could cause them to die when the medicine killed all the heartworms and the dead bodies and plugged up their heart... but now based on this thread many people seem to be saying that is not true...

However, when I was little my Dad accidentally killed a dog that way, or at least that what he thought it was from. It was a dog the neighbor abandoned and we took in, so my Dad, being a good dog owner, gave him heartworm pills when he gave it to our other dogs. Almost immediately (not sure in hours/minutes exactly, but close enough it was clearly linked) the dog died. My Dad always felt horrible and thought it was because the dog had had heartworm and the dying worms stopped up his heart... Was it more likely the dog (a shepherd looking mutt) had some Collie or other breed in him that was sensitive to Ivermectin, and that killed him rather than the heartworms?

And relating that then to my current dogs (who have had Heartgard in the past, and who are a Samoyed, and a terrier mutt I doubt has any Collie in her) would it be safe to start giving them Ivermectin to protect from heartworms, without getting them tested?

As a nearly graduated veterinary student, I do need to say that it is recommended to get a dog tested for heartworm prior to re-starting preventative. In some cases, a large die off of parasites can cause anaphylactic shock (allergic reaction). For the most part, heartworm meds are killing the filaria, not the adult worms. In most cases, adult worms require something like Immiticide to kill them. That is a really nasty treatment, and a major reason why we suggest prevention rather than treatment!

That said, Advantage Multi has been used in a newer slow kill protocol in which the preventative is given prior to treatment with Immiticide. Some of the thought process is that slow kill or pre-treatment helps reduce the chances of allergic reaction to the dead parasites but also it kills off the filaria which are then taken up by mosquitoes and spread to other dogs. Therefore, the risk of infection to other animals is decreased. That said, I still think testing your dog regularly is the best thing to do, and most vets are required to do this before giving a prescription for preventatives.

If you are at all concerned about your dog, I would genetic test before giving ivermectin. I've seen dogs affected by ivermectin toxicity and it is horrible. Some don't make it past the first 24 hours. Others are very slow to recover. Preventatives like Heartgard contain such a small amount of ivermectin that even susceptible breeds will not have a reaction. Basically, they would have to eat 16 tabs before you started seeing problems.

 

[Barbwire54]

I use 1% Ivermectin sterile solution for cattle as swine.

I despence it with a 1/2 cc insulin needle.

ODing most dogs would take some effort but yes it can be done. Now if you were trying to use a 3cc needle from the feed store it would be hard to do. I inject it in to dressing. Bred soaks it up an the meat hides the taste. Others mix it in a drink.

Hi, would you mind adding how much you are dispensing per body weight and if you also use doxyclicline as well. It is suggested in the protocol I read, but I am interested in practical experience of others. Thanks!

 

[casportpony]

Quote: Please do read this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/310054/ivermectin-for-dogs-for-heartworms/190#post_17419692

 

[Veterinary101]

This is not true, as even I (yes I) have fibbed and given a HW+ (Heartworm Positive) dog some ivermectin.... It did make her vomit, but it did NOT send her into anafalactic shock.... I think you may be over-exaggerating a little bit...

 

[casportpony]

, coma, and death.

Source: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1677&aid=2245