Heartworm+ question

Connie just got Sophia as a heartworm positive foster dog...it sounds like Sophia has to gain weight before going on treatment so I guess it is alright?! Maybe send a message to Connie to see what she may know

Dear Dog! I just spent 10 minutes posting an answer and IndyPaws ate it!

Go to the American Heartworm Association website (google it, it is easy to find). There is tons of great information.

Bottom line: dogs can live for a long time with heartworms, but the longer the time they are infected, the more damage is done to their heart and lungs. The worms can live 5-7 years in a dog and can grow up to 10 inches. The worms reproduce and cause more worms. If you have a positive dog it cannot pass on heartworms to your other dogs. But, if a mosquito bites the infected dog and picks up an active heartorm larvea, then bites your dogs, it could infect them so you must make sure your own dogs are current on their heartguard.

There is now research indicating treating with Ivermec can work, especially if infestation is not advanced. This is MUCH cheaper and may be easier on the dog as the standard treatment kills all the worms, so if there are lots of worms, there is a possibility of death due to the worms forming blockages.

Another treatment option has the vet doing a small does of the treatment drug and then one or two months later doing the stronger doses. Generally, standard treatment is two strong doses of the drug 24 hours apart.

Whatever treatment option is used the dog must be kept inactive for up to two months. This seems very important from what I've read. But, if treatment is successful the dog has an excellent chance of living a normal life, especially if the heart and lungs are undamaged.

I'm talking to the vet who saw Sophia on Monday to see what stage she is in. That vet's office even suggested she may not need standard treatment but may possibly be ok with the Ivermec. This would be so awesome if we could do that.

So, the bottom line is: if the dog is treated and if the infestation is not in stage 4, then its chances are really good at recovery and a normal life.

PM me if you want more info.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to call Barb at the shelter Monday morning to see if she can tell me more about Belle. I'll PM you when I find out.

Here we go again! I just checked petfinder and Belle's picture is no longer on. I'll still call to find out what happened to her.