Treatment every three months should be effective no matter where you live
Even treating your dog monthly for six months is unnecessary, Kerasote wrote. If your dog gets stung by an infected mosquito on June 1, the larvae will not grow into adult heartworms for a couple of months.
You could treat your dog with Heartgard in September and again in December and call it done.
“Even on the Gulf Coast, where the ambient temperature may not ever dip below 57 degrees, dosing your dog with heartworm treatment once every three months should protect it,” he wrote. “For many parts of the United States and Canada, no treatment at all is required.”
He does recommend a yearly heartworm test, just to be sure, especially if you travel to warmer climates with your dog.
While every situation is unique, I hope you consider your dog’s actual risk of developing heartworm disease and make the most appropriate decision for your dog.
Does my dog need heartworm prevention year round?
*Note: I choose to give my dog the minimum amount of heartworm prevention medication I believe is necessary to keep him reasonably safe from heartworm disease. My personal decision should not necessarily be your decision.
To determine whether or not to give your dog a monthly heartworm prevention tablet, I recommend you weigh the risks of the toxic prevention tablet vs. the risk of your dog developing heartworm disease.
For 2013, I have decided to give my dog fewer doses of heartworm prevention medication than I have in the past.
In previous years, I gave Ace monthly heartworm prevention in the six warmest months of the year, typically May through October. I’ve never believed year-round treatments are necessary for Midwestern dogs, because heartworm disease is transferred by mosquitoes and those Suckers are dead around here by November.
I live in one of the coldest places on earth. In Fargo, N.D., it’s completely normal for the temperature to remain below zero for days. We are unfazed when the temperature dips below -30.
While I tend to be a worrier when it comes to my dog, I’ve never worried about the possibility of Ace getting infected by heartworms in the winter …
While the vets in our area generally recommend monthly heartworm prevention year round, they don’t seem to mind if dog owners choose to treat for just six months as long as they do an annual heartworm test. (This is not a scientific survey, it’s just my observation.)
Before we get to some of the reasons why I believe this is still too aggressive, I’ll go over some brief details about heartworm disease.
Heartworm disease is transmitted by infected mosquitoes carrying immature heartworm larvae, according to “Dogs Naturally Magazine.”
When one of these mosquitoes bites a dog, she could inject the larvae into the dog’s body where they could eventually travel to the dog’s heart.
There, the larvae could develop into adult heartworms capable of creating new larvae which could circulate in the dog’s blood. If a mosquito bites the infected dog, she could transfer the larvae to other dogs.
Symptoms of heartworm disease include a loss of appetite and weight loss, coughing, gagging, shortness of breath and a lack of energy, according to “Dog’s Naturally.”
All Dogs Need Heartworm Disease Prevention
Cases of heartworm disease have been reported in all 50 states and in both indoor and outdoor pets.5,6 All dogs—no matter the age—are at risk for heartworm disease. When given monthly, HEARTGARD Plus chews offer year-round heartworm prevention for dogs.
Cuteness is no defense against heartworm disease. The American Heartworm Society recommends that heartworm prevention for puppies starts no later than 8 weeks of age.5 And because you need a prescription from your vet for a heartworm disease preventive, talk to them about HEARTGARD® Plus (ivermectin/pyrantel)—the real-beef chew that’s safe for puppies as young as 6 weeks of age with no minimum weight requirement.
The American Heartworm Society recommends giving your dog year-round prevention.5 That’s because the threat of heartworm disease doesn’t stop with dropping temperatures.5 Many pet owners might assume that they only need to give their dog heartworm disease preventives when it’s warm. While heartworm transmission can decrease in winter months, the risk never reaches zero.7 What’s more, on-again, off-again heartworm disease protection is unreliable and can leave your dog with gaps in protection that make him vulnerable to heartworm disease.