Late on heartworm prevention, okay?

[gritsar]

Jax and Kane are out of their Iverhart Plus and they are due for a dose tomorrow.

I'm not driving right now due to a problem with the nerves in my legs. Our vet is over an hour away. One thing led to another and we weren't able to make it down there to pick up some of the med. on my DH's days off.

The vet is going to mail us a couple of packages of it, but it will take a few days to get here. Meaning the boys dose is going to be late this month.

It's too cold for mosquitos right now and the boys are inside dogs.

Being late shouldn't be a problem, right?

 

[easttxchick]

They'll be fine-my vet said they are good for up to 10 days after the dose is due.
I know this because my doxie took his and immediately threw it up. Of course it was his last one and I wasn't driving 40 miles to get another one that same day.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
Yup. Ten days is being cautious, I'd say. The danger would be if they had such an overload of heartworms that the dead ones clogged an artery or vein when you gave the pill.

I recently had a dog test negative for heartworms who had lived his 2+ years of life entirely outside, and we certainly have mosquitoes around here. I sure wouldn't worry about a few days.

 

[gritsar]

Thanks y'all.

Charlie Girl had heartworms when I got her at 11 months old. When she was young I couldn't afford to have them treated - truthfully I could but my ex didn't believe in spending money on animals. When I finally got to a point where I could afford it, the vet said it was too late (she was too old). It was heartbreaking to me that she had to live with them.

 

[TLWR]

For use as a preventative, I think I recall that you can go 45 days without it being an issue.
If used as treatment, that I have no clue if that still applies.

 

[gritsar]

It's a preventative.

 

[sourland]

Not a problem!

 

[serendipityfarm]

When I worked at a small animal clinic, the dogs with heartworm had 2 options... Treat with the injectable meds to kill the adult heartworms, or go on the monthly preventative for the rest of their lives to prevent microfilaria from developing into additional adults. The adults that are already there are thought to die off on their own over time. So, that's my long-winded way of saying "You're fine giving i a couple days late".

 

[gritsar]

Thanks y'all. I knew it was probably okay, but we have just been real careful with the boys.

 

[BlacksheepCardigans]

You could actually go up to 60 days. The monthly dosing is there because they know people forget. I routinely go 45 days.

The monthly heartgard/interceptor dose is so low that you actually don't have the danger of die-off that used to be the worry. A dog with rampant heartworm can take the preventative - and, like an earlier poster said, taking the preventative for a year or so is actually considered an acceptable treatment for a mild case because it kills the larval worms without killing the adults. The adults are weakened and die earlier but do so at a pace that doesn't kill the dog.