Pet Lovers

[candys mine]

When I had my last dog my vet tested yearly at the time of his annual exam and preventative was once a month.  Before that Everyone scheduled to get the heartworm test in the months of april or may before mosquito season and gave the preventative tablets every day. 

[CrazyDaisy]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

@Mom2Dogs  That was the law in Texas years ago when I lived there and it's the law here in NM.  I always felt it was a push by vets to get office visits.  If a dog has been on preventative, how could it have heartworm? 

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Most heartworm preventives are not 100% effective.  In addition there are different strains of heartworms and just like fleas have become resistant so have some heartworms.  Regular testing is important.

[CrazyDaisy]

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@hyacinth003 wrote:

Yes, it is dangerous to give the medication if your dog had heartworm.

But if he's on it all year round, he won't have it.  So your vet SHOULD be able to decide NOT to do the test every year, but only before he prescribes it for the first time.

I don't give it all year round because where I live, we don't get mosquitoes all year round.  I would give it if I lived where it could be warmer all year round.  So IF my vet required the test, I would be okay with it.

But, as with human doctors, vets should be able to use their judgement when providing it. 

Hyacinth

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It really is not dangerous to give the dog medication if they have heartworms, in fact sometimes it can be used to eliminate them in the early stages.  However if the one you are using is not effective or possibly a "bad batch" you would want to catch that fact early on rather than continue to believe everything is ok.

[jaxs mom]

They aren't doing a full blood test, it's just a heartworm test. Unless you choose to pay to have a full blood test. But even then there are specific blood tests, they aren't universal and test for every single thing. The vet orders what they want to test for. 

[NickNack]

This is not a money grab.  There are cases where dogs have gotten heartworms even when taking heartworm preventatives.  It is extremely important to treat heartworms if a dog has them, or the dog will die.  Not everyone tells the truth about never missing a dose.  The dog can spit it out and the owner wouldn't know it.  Anything can happen.  It's important to test.  You only have to have the test with your annual exam.  It doesn't require a separate visit to the Vet.

[Abrowneyegirl]

This has always been my vets policy, I never heard any different.

The meds are not a 100% guarantee that your pet will not get heartworms so why not test once a year?

[SeaMaiden]

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@Mom2Dogs wrote:

According to a sign at the vet.....there is a new law that dispensing heartworm with out a blood test first is against the law.....

In years past as long as we kept our dog on heart worm meds year round we did not need to have a blood test in order to get a new supply of heart worm, now we have to pay for an office vist, mini exam and blood work.  Is this something that your vet does?

I tried to look on line for the new guidelines but I could not find anything.  Does anyone know about this, thanks.

@Mom2Dogs

I found this answer online when I googled the question:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-28/marketplace/sns-201304161330--tms--petwrldctnya-a20130...

 Dr. Sheldon Rubin, past president

 of the American Heartworm Society, explains that while the preventatives are excellent and extremely effective (nearly 100 percent), they're not perfect. More likely than product failure is human error. People may forget to give the product (even if you don't). Or the chewable may not be swallowed, but instead dropped behind the sofa. Also, people don't always apply the topical product correctly.

Still, why have veterinarians become so adamant about the heartworm test?

Rubin says it turns out it's possible that if a heartworm preventative is given to a dog with heartworm disease, there could be a serious reaction due to the rapid killing of circulating baby heartworms in the bloodstream. Also, a dog with heartworm must be treated, and early identification makes it easier to treat (with fewer side effects), less expensive to treat, and there's less suffering for the dog.

Rubin, based in Chicago, also notes that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has requested that the American Heartworm Society recommend veterinarians conduct annual heartworm testing.

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[Mom2Dogs]

@SeaMaiden, thank you....it would have been helpful if the assistant at the vet office would have explined their position better, all she could say is that it was a new policy......and I really was irked at having to pay the additional costs...I do understand the point of the test...we ALWAYS make sure our dog eats the heartworm pill.

[goldensrbest]

I have had dogs since the late 80's, each time i have had any of them tested it came back negative ,i have them on  6months,off 6 months.I question them on what vacines they want to give ,and as a dog ages it does not make since to keep giving all those vacines.

[Citrine1]

This has been the way it is at my vet's office for as long as I can remember.  My dog is on heartworm meds year round, of course, but must have the heartworm blood test once a year.