Ivermectin for DOGS for Heartworms?

[tls_ranch]

Good to know! But, I could almost bet that my two labs would swallow anything whole in an instant if it even looked like a treat.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I squirt the Ivermectin into a piece of bread, roll it up, then give it to the dog. He scarfs it down every time.

I heard a news story the other day that it's being used for head lice on people in the United States in some cases now.

.....Alan.

 

[pardenx3]

Quote:
NOT FOR AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERDS EITHER.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Just quoting this to make sure it gets noticed.


Pat

 

[Akane]

I thought that was only when given the treatment for a heartworm infestation which kills the adults too. Ivermectin will only kill the parasites at a certain age so shouldn't cause as much of a reaction. It is common though with badly infested horses to give a half or 1/4th dose of a dewormer and then repeat a week or 2 later with a full dose to avoid killing all the worms at once but again ivermectin only kills heartworm at a certain stage so you wouldn't be wiping out all the worms at once.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Quote:
Just quoting this to make sure it gets noticed.


Pat

This is wrong.... But vets do try to sell this load of hogwash

It only kills babys so there is a very low risk of damage to a infected dog.


http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=610

The first step in treatment is clearing the migrating immature worms. If we were to jump directly to killing the adult worms first, the adult worms we remove could be readily replaced shortly afterwards by those that were in the process of migration at the time of treatment. By addressing the migrating immature worms first, we minimize the number of adult worms we must kill in the second step. Fewer adult worms dying at once means less risk.

Happily, the microfilariae, L3, and L4 larvae can all be killed by monthly ivermectin-based heartworm preventive products (i.e. Heartgard

, Tri-Heart

etc.). The milbemycin based products (Sentinel

and Interceptor

) will also do the same job but will kill the microfilariae much faster, which can create circulatory shock if there are large numbers of microfilariae dying all at one time. The newer products using selamectin and moxidectin do not clear microfilaria well enough to be used in the treatment of an active infection, so right now the ivermectin based products seem to be the best for this use. The American Heartworm Society recommends 1 to 3 months of a preventive prior to treating the adult worms. How long you choose to wait depends on how urgent the dog’s need is to have the adult worms removed. After all, it is the adult worms that cause heartworm disease, not the immature worms addressed by the preventives.

http://pet-diseases.suite101.com/article.cfm/heartworm_treatment_in_dogs

Other Alternatives to Heartworm Treatment in Dogs Infected with Heartworms

Some dogs exist which are not good candidates for heartworm treatment even though they may be infected. Often these are the dogs which are experiencing severe clinical signs of heartworm disease and Immiticide

injections have been deemed to be too dangerous to the dog's health. For these dogs, a viable option is beginning a monthly routine with an ivermectin-based heartworm preventive medicine.

Ivermectin is chosen over other heartworm preventive medications because it has a lower risk for complications in heartworm infected dogs. However, heartworm positive dogs should be observed closely for at least 8-12 hours after administering the ivermectin heartworm preventive in case an adverse reaction occurrs.

Ivermectin-based monthly heartworm preventive medications kill the microfilaria form of the heartworm which circulates in the blood stream of infected dogs, making the dog non-infectious for other dogs in the immediate area.

Eventually, the adult worms living inside the dog's heart will die and disappear. However, this process can take months to years and the risk of further damage to the dog's heart exists while adult heartworms are still present.​

 

[geepy]

I had a hound mix that was diagnosed with heartworms. I started the ivermectim like rebelcowboy said and his next yearly checkup he had no heartworms. All of my dogs get ivermectin and have tested negative for heartworms. None of mine are collie or shepard breed(mostly pitt and hound). Oh, my hound died of old age (RIP Clyde). It does work, but I would not give it to a collie or shepard breed.

 

[duckluck]

Quote:
This is simply not true...original poster, pick up a copy of Dr. Busby's "How To Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging The Kids". It will explain everything you need to know and dosages, and it also talks about using ivermectin yourself to treat dogs known to be infested with heartworms. I used horse ivermectin dewormer on a few of my dogs for years, and also worked for a show kennel that wormed all of their show dogs in this manner, but there's another Ivermectin (for swine? not sure right off the top of my head here) that you can buy cheaply that will do well for your dogs, as long as you don't have collies or another white-footed herding breed, like Aussies. Good luck and I hope you will enjoy the read, because it will save you beaucoup bucks and help you to prevent from getting ripped off for other unnecessary vet costs. The book is written by a vet who is disgusted with how his profession is treating people. I can tell you years ago, I adopted a dog that came to me with heartworms and per the rescue agreement, she had to go through the standard treatment, and this is NOT something you want to have to go through. I didn't have to pay for it, thankfully, but it was terrible to watch her suffer while she went through it. I think his common-sense approach, backed up by research, makes much more sense than the $$$$ approach most vets would rather you take.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Thought I would add that the standard vet treatment for heart-worm is to inject the dog with a arsenic compound. Its poisoning the dog an hoping it kills the worms but not the dog. It can easily kill the dog. It can also fail to kill the worms just as easily. So my question is, is it the best way for the dog or the best way for the vets wallet?

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Here's some enlightening information on Heartworms and how mosquitos transmit them:

http://www.tibetanmastiff.net/Heartworm.html