Nuheart Heartworm prevention. Does anyone use it? Advice wanted!

[cindyschicks]

Okay, go to www.petshed.com it is an Australian website. You can buy true Heartguard if you like, or you can buy a generic (basically an ivermectin pill) for around 8 dollars for a six month supply. You do not need a perscription. I don't think I can stress that enough, it is cheaper for flea meds, wormers, and heart worm treatments and you do not need a prescription. It can take up to 10 days to get your package, but it is completely worth it.

Yes the vets want to test every year in case you slip up, but simply putting a heartworm positive dog on ivermectin for 2 years straight, once a month treatment will kill the heartworm. So basically it is one of those things that people in charge wish to regulate.

I ran an animal rescue for several years and have been in animal rescue for more than 20 years. If we could get all the vets to realize that certain things (heartworm treatment, shots, etc) should actually be affordable we wouldn't have as many dogs dying needlessly from treatable illnesses. Okay off my soap box.

 

[Kansaseq]

Quote:
Yes, Bear Foot Farm is right, you can use this, but please, doseage should be carefully calculated, as too much can kill your dog (remember this is highly concentrated; formulated for 1000lb + animals). 2 drops from a 60cc syringe is going to be more than 2 drops from a 1cc syringe, and a 10lb dog will need a lot less than a 100lb dog. If anyone decides to go this route, please calculate out the exact dose for your sized dog.
Thank you!

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Thanks for all the great info.

I really do appreciate all your input.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Our vet just sells it out of his office, no prescription needed

You "don't need" a prescription because you're buying it directly from the Dr who would otherwise write it.​

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

remember this is highly concentrated; formulated for 1000lb + animals

The 1% liquid is not "formulated for 1000 lb animals"
It can be used on most any type of animal from birds to humans to elephants.

A safe dosage to treat heartworms ONLY would be 1/10th ML, total

If you want to also treat for other worms (except tapeworms) you would use 1/10th ML per 10 lbs body weight

It takes a LARGE overdose to do any real damage in the vast majority of dogs​

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
This is what Pet Shed said about RX prescriptions so therefore you do need RX orders from your vet for them to send you an order. Bummer!

Products offered in the Rx Pharmacy category are supplied by a licensed US Pharmacy. This means that State and Federal laws require us to have your prescription verified before the order can be dispensed.

 

[Kacey's Krazee's]

We have been using Petshed for a number of years to purchase both heartworm meds and Frontline for our 2 dogs, and 2 cats. We have never needed a 'script from the Vet, and this was due to the company being in Australia. I am using the generic nuheart. We have been using it for about 4 years now. The ingredients were the same.
Never had any negative effects from changing them to this brand.

Kacey

 

[Kansaseq]

Quote:
The 1% liquid is not "formulated for 1000 lb animals"
It can be used on most any type of animal from birds to humans to elephants.

A safe dosage to treat heartworms ONLY would be 1/10th ML, total

If you want to also treat for other worms (except tapeworms) you would use 1/10th ML per 10 lbs body weight

It takes a LARGE overdose to do any real damage in the vast majority of dogs

My bottle of Ivercide (Ivermectin) 1% states : "Ivercide injection for cattle and swine has been developed for use in cattle, swine, reindeer, and American Bison only" so yes, this particular product was developed and formulated for animals weighing up to and over 1000lbs.

We do use it commonly off-label, for many different types of animals, and the dose we are talking about for heartworm prevention does have a pretty wide safety margin, but if your particular dog is sensitive to it (and it's not just herding breeds that can be sensitive to it), and you overdose, you can kill your dog, which is why I caution people to be careful when using it.

A good friend of mine who has been a tech for many, many years, dosed her yorkie with Hartguard, which was designed for use in dogs and contains a 'safe' level of ivermectin, using the dog's normal dose. Her dog reacted to it, went blind and became neurologic. Had she overdosed her particular dog, it could have died. I'm only trying to suggest that people exercise caution when using this product (Ivercide).

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Ivercide injection for cattle and swine has been developed for use in cattle, swine, reindeer, and American Bison only" so yes, this particular product was developed and formulated for animals weighing up to and over 1000lbs

Many anthelmintics are used "off label", which simply means they aren't "approved" but are still safe for other species.
Your label didn't list sheep or goats, but thousands use it for those species also.


The "formulation" isn't relevent unless you're giving an entire package, as with tubes of "horse wormer"
It's the measured dose that matters, and the doses I recommended were those told to me by my Vet,


Search the internet and you can find the proper dose for a 3 ounce bird up to a 10,000lb elephant.
But it's all the same "formulation"

Here's one example of the many uses of the same product, ranging from Mice to Polar Bears and Elephants, and even Humans

http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/s/00Chem/ChComplex/Ivermectin.htm

I'm only trying to suggest that people exercise caution when using this product (Ivercide).

That applies to all drugs.
I'm just trying to present all the facts, too​

 

[rebecky1305]

I have six dogs that range from a 13 pound Yorkie to a 130 pound Great Dane. I have been using Ivomec 1% Injectable for Cattle for years. (This is mixed with propylene glycol according to the directions belowand given orally to dogs, not injected.) DO NOT USE IVOMEC PLUS!
You can get iPropylene glycol by the gallon at farm supply stores but you do not need that much. Or you can order a 1 quart container of Propylene glycol from most pharmacies for about $15.00 ( DO NOT SUBSTITUTE ETHYLENE GLYCOL, IT IS POISONOUS AND WILL KILL KILL KILL YOUR DOG!
Do not attempt to mix with water as Ivermectin is NOT water soluble. It won't distribute evenly in water, stick with the propylene glycol.
The bottle of Ivomec from a farm supply store will run about $35.00. These bottles will last my six dogs about 3 years of dosing monthly.


This is a page from Garden Web Forum website that gives a great breakdown of what is needed.

RE: Ivomec dosage for dogs... yet again what is this?
Posted by oldpharmacist (My Page) on

Sun, Mar 8, 09 at 12:48


I am a 65 year old pharmacist not a vet. Ivermectin, unlike human drugs, must really have a wide and safe dose range since many of the posts in this thread seem to suggest an overdose of what is really needed to prevent heartworms in dogs. Some of the confusion might be because of the similarity of the words milligram (mg) and microgram (mcg or ug): 1 milligram (mg) = 1000 micrograms (mcg). For me, following the steps below eliminate the confusion. Using the formula in step #5 allows anyone who knows the weight of their dog in pounds to calculate the proper dose in milliliters of the dilution prepared in step #1 for his or her dog.


The commercial product IvomecÂ

1% Injection contains 10 mg ivermectin / 1 ml or 10,000 mcg / 1 ml


1) Take 1 ml (10 mg) of IvomecÂ

1% and dilute it to 10 ml total volume which gives a concentration of 10 mg in 10ml solution. Propylene glycol is readily available so it may be used: 1 ml IvomecÂ

1% Inj. + 9 ml propylene glycol = 10 ml diluted solution with a concentration of 10 milligrams / 10ml which is the same as 10,000 micrograms / 10ml or 1,000 micrograms per 1 milliliter since 1 milligram = 1,000 micrograms. Label this: ivermectin 1,000 mcg / 1ml dilution and write the date on the label of when it was prepared.


2) The dose range of ivermectin for dogs is 0.003-0.006 milligrams/kg body weight (1kg=2.2 lb) or 3-6 micrograms/kg of body weight. All calculations below use the higher dose of 6 micrograms / kg of body weight or 2.72 micrograms / pound of body weight. (This is from the label of the Hartguard box)

3) Therefore a 100# dog (45.45kg) needs a 272 mcg dose: 45.45 kg x 6 mcg/kg = 272 mcg dose


4) The diluted solution prepared in step #1 contains 10,000 mcg / 10 ml or 1,000 mcg / 1 ml or 100 mcg / 0.1 ml therefore the dose in step #3 can easily be calculated: 272 mcg will be contained in 0.272 ml of the dilution prepared in step #1 which can accurately be measured using a 1 ml insulin or TB syringe which is graduated in tenths of a milliliter (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 ml), and which has 10 markings between each increment of 0.1, 0.2, etc. The 0.272 ml dose is measured by drawing up an amount past the 0.2 ml mark plus 7 of the smaller markings almost to the 0.3 ml mark.


5) Using the following formula, a proper dose can be calculated for any dog whose body weight is known:


_______ Weight of dog in pounds X dose of 2.72 micrograms per pound of body weight ÷ 1000 mcg per ml ivermectin dilution prepared in step #1 = dose in milliliters of dilution from step #1


Examples: A dog weighs 77 pounds so 77 x 2.72 ÷ 1000 = 0.21 ml of dilution given in food once a month


A dog weighs 125 pounds so 125 x 2.72 ÷ 1000 = 0.34 ml of the dilution given in food once a month


A dog weighs 12 pounds so 12 x 2.72 ÷ 1000 = 0.03 ml of the dilution given in food once a month


I would use the diluted solution simply because of the 10 fold less chance of error. Measuring 0.21 ml is easily possible while measuring 0.021 ml is prone to error. I would prepare the dilution fresh each season and discard any unused diluted solution at the end of the season. I have read that ivermectin is photolabile meaning it is destroyed by light so both it and the dilution should be stored in a cool, dark place at or below room temperature. It does not seem necessary to refrigerate the solution or the diluted solution.