There is no vaccination for Heartworms. There are preventatives that are given monthly. The heartworms are passed along by mosquitoes that suck the blood from an affected dog (or cat) and then land on another and inject that dirty needle to ingest more blood. The preventative is just that- it kills the micro filaria that the dog carries in it’s bloodstream. These do not kill the dog, but they find their way to the heart and they GROW. That is what kills the animal. The animals can handle dead micro filaria, but adult heartworms have to be killed off gradually or they clog the arteries and kill the dog. That is an over simplified explanation, but I think fairly accurate.
The reason you don’t have it in WA and most west coast states is the type of mosquito that carries it is in the south and east………..I think. If one dog could give it to the other, your state would have it I am sure because many dogs carry it without their owners knowing it.
The preventatives vary from drug to drug. Some, like Ivermec are not recommended for collies and I take that to mean any type of collie, so my Border Collies do not get Ivermectin. The are on Interceptor which is Milbamycin……….but I know lots of people that use Ivermectin to treat their dogs and it is not expensive at all. (I use Ivermectin to treat our alpacas and goats for parasites. It can be used topically for mites, also.
Heartworm treatments have improved over the years but they are still very expensive and can be fatal for many dogs. Also, some dogs suffer permanent heart damage in the process. Basically, it is a gradual introduction of a poison- enough to kill the hw but not enough to kill the dog…..although a surge of dead heartworms can and do kill dogs, occasionally.
My parents adopted a little long haired
I don’t know what the rescue wants you to do- adopt and treat or adopt and let them treat, but I would be hesitant to adopt before the treatment is complete. It is hard to keep them inactive and it would be a shame to go through it with him and possibly lose him. That is not to say any dog can die after adoption, but the odds are certainly higher with a hw positive dog.
I DO wish there was a vaccination once a year, but there isn’t. The one nice thing about the hw preventative is that it also kills other types of worms, so the roundworms are kept under control.
Laura Roberts
R Half Pint Farm
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Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 7:15 PM
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Subject: Re: [CHICKENS-101] Question about a 'herding' dog being a good 'chicken dog'
Gina :-)
CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
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