Question:
Hi everyone, its the time of year to get heartworm medication and I am wondering which one everyone uses and why. I would like to pick the "safest" product preferably with flea protection but am not sure which has the least possible side effects or possible complications. Any help would be appreciated, when I tried searching "heartworm medication" most of the posts were rather old - just want to make sure that the one I pick is based on current info!

Answer:
I use Interceptor heartworm pills, because I have a collie, and they can be extremely sensitive to ivermectrin, the main ingredient in Heartgard. I've had no problems with Interceptor. My old dog (mutt) used Heartgard her whole life, no problems. I know there are products that do both heartworm and flea prevention, but I have had no experience with them, it does seem to me that that would be a lot of chemicals to administer at once, so the chance of reaction may be higher.

Answer:
My dogs use Revolution...simply because it prevents a lot of worms (but not all), and it also covers fleas and ticks. If you have small kids, Sentinel is probably better since it kills the cycles of fleas, and is the best dewormer. The only thing is that it doesn't kill ticks. There's a new product called Advantage Multi, it supposedly is better than Sentinel and Revolution put together, but I've never tried it.

I try to get everything covered, but if you want something just for heardworm, HeartGuard will do. With so many activities my dogs are involved in the summer I absolutely have to cover everything...

Answer:
I also use Interceptor for my dogs and have never had a problem. I don't use flea or tick medication but we don't need it here.

Do you have flea or tick problems in Ontario?

We have ticks here but the deer tick is very rare (the one that transmits lyme).

We don't seem to have a problem here with fleas although once, my dogs had chipmunk fleas on them (due to a close encounter with a chipmunk ) but this was not a problem since fleas are very species specific. Chipmunk fleas only survive on chipmunks so if your dog is to get fleas he must be exposed to fleas from an infested dog.

I guess it would depend on your area so your vet would know what the risks are and if medication is needed.

Answer:
Thanks for replies! We have a big mosquitoe problem here, and I take Bailey for a two mile walk at least 3 times a week-where we walk there is a lot of forested area to each side of the road with water running in the ditches. I'm not sure if ticks are a problem here. As far as worms, where do dogs pick that up? I would like to use the least chemicals possible, but still want to cover anything she may "pick up". She is now 10 months old, if that makes a difference.

Answer:
The interceptor (milbemycin oxime) prevents heartworm but also happens to treat and control hookworm, roundworm and whipworm.

I take it for the heartworm control but actually don't worry about the worms. We don't have the dog whipworm or hookworm here but we do have roundworm. However the chances of my City dogs getting roundworms is low - maybe if they lived on a farm and were free-roaming the risks would be greater.

Again, your vet would be able to tell you the risks for your area.

Dogs get roundworms from injesting the eggs or larvae from contaminated soil from feces or from infected animals - just goggle the lifecycles of those particular parasites for info. I think each is a little different.

Answer:
Our American Eskimo takes the chewable Sentinel. He just turned 3. The first year he was given the topical Revolution, but by year 2, manufacturers were suggesting that double coated breeds be given chewable heart worm meds to ensure proper absorption (poor application no doubt by Mommies like me). Very hard to find a bit of skin and then have the stuff ready and make sure it takes. I was so happy to be told this. This year our vet is suggesting that people in the area give the heartworm 12 months a year due to the warmer winters etc. that have resulted in many cases of round worms etc. occurring during the winter. So we have 12 tablets.

Answer: