Heartworm
Does anyone know anything about the heartworm treatment process? |
|
|
| Heather, I don't have much info, but when I was trying to Foster a little girl that had heartworm, and was getting ready for treatment....I was told they need to be in a quiet relaxed enviroment while on the medication or it could cause heart problems. there was no way I could have kept Max and miller quiet and not playing ALL the time. Also my house is very small so there was no where to put her in seclusion......I really wanted to help but under the circumstances could not.
Like I said I don't have much info but I hope this helps. |
| Heartworm is treatable. As Shelly mentioned, you need to keep them reasonable quiet with minimal pysical activity. The medicine is dosed to kill the worms, but not kill the dog. If the infestation level is high, it can cause a big mess as the worms die - hence the limited activity level.
I had a basset go through treatment - she hadn't been on preventative before she came to our house as a 1 yr old. It was rough, but she made it just fine and lived a great life and died at age 12. If the dog is in otherwise good health, she should do fine. |
| I don't know if she is in good health and I don't know bad the infestation is, so that is making this decision harder. Can heartworm + dogs be around other dogs or is it contagious?
How long is the typical treatment period? |
| Other dogs should not be infected, and I think the treatment is a few months, depending on how bad it is, etc. Sorry can't be of more help, and it is a really tough decision. You may take him to the Vet to see what they say |
| It is not contagious, so you won't have to worry about other dogs in the house getting it.
I'm not sure either on the length of the treatment. I do know that they switched the medicine from what was used years ago. It used to be one of the poisons - like strychnine or something. Now the treatment is easier on the dog. If she is in reasonable health and a dog that deserves a chance, I would try it. It sounds like she will die for sure if you don't. The hard part may be finding the right foster situation to keep her calm and quiet. |
| We went through the heartworm treatment with Buddy, the OES mix we rescued a few years ago. It's not a cheap treatment to have done at a vet. How well a dog comes through can depend on the life stage and infestation of the worms. The smaller (closer to larve stage) the better. The big ones look like spaghetti. The treatment is pretty harsh but not what it was years ago. they inject them with a poison and that kills the worms. From there, the worms are passed through the bloodstream. It is VERY important that the dog be kept absolutely calm for about 6 weeks. Any excitement that can cause the blood to pump faster can result in the worms bottlenecking in the lungs and, essentially, the dog will choke to death. Like I said though, the smaller the worms, the less chance you have of them clogging anywhere. they can usually tell you how "positive" they are when they take the test.
If you have any questions about it, it's still pretty fresh in my mind from when we did it with Buddy so you can PM me if you want. |
| We took in a young Golden in the mid 80s who tested positive for heartworm. They gave him him arsenic (I think) and he stayed in the clinic for a full week. The vet was shocked because he ate like a pig and gained weight on the treatment.
We kept Reuben in a huge crate for 8 weeks (vet's recommendation back then)  and in a room in the middle of our house (with openings to the kitchen/breakfast room and living room). It was tough because we had young kids (including a newborn) and dogs.
He lived to be twelve - considering he was hit by a car at 6 mo, had 3 owners by 18 months and survived heartworms, I think he did very well. I miss him. |
| Here are a couple of links with info on heartworm treatment including the number of treatments and precautions...
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/article.asp?id=11 http://petcare.suite101.com/article.cfm ... sitivedogs I can't stress enough that you must be diligent about restricting all activity for several weeks after treatment. It can be a matter of life and death because the body is under a lot of stress in trying to rid itself of these worms and there is a possibility of embolisms. Prognosis should be good unless the disease is advanced. I hope she can be saved. |
| We are going to take her and have her boarded at the vet. It is going to be super expensive, but it will ensure she is getting good treatment!
Thanks for all your stories, I'm hoping this girl can live a long healthy life too  |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|