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Question, heartworm in Dogs how serious is this. I have a two year old Lab who has tested negative but is a preventive medicine necessary or does it depend on the breed, region where we live?

Cheap medicine prevent heartache and suffering.

Not worth the extraordinary cost.

Do you keep her outside, chained to a tree next to mudhole?


Grizz, I already know you don’t.

What is your best friend worth.
Up front or later on.

Depends on your location. Some places it's more common. I dont bother with it.

Please do... an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...

Thanks for the replies this is the reason I ask. With all our previous dogs the issue of heartworm never came up with the Vet but these days it seems to be a problem. Money is not the issue the issue is treating him for something that may not be necessary considering side effects and such but I reckon it is a viable preventative treatment so I have my answer. Thanks again.

Heartworms are very serious, give your Lab the preventative!

I had my chocolate lab 14 years and 3 months. She never received vaccinations beyond her first year. Never heartworm medicine or preventative snake bite or anything else.
When she got cancer, she got surgery. When she was inured she'd go to the vet too. Lived a long and healthy life. Maybe we were just lucky

We had a chocolate male lab. 15 year old.

Never came inside, farm dog. Had run of couple hundred acres, never fenced or kenneled.

Only vaccine was a couple of parvo when a pup and a combo distemper.

Never any boosters or heart worm prevention. No science diet or eukanuba

Ol Roy dog food and stale donuts, left over lasagna, whatever dead he dragged up.

I’m not the best ambassador for dog ownership so your mileage may vary.

15 years seems like a good run for a Lab. Hope we're as lucky regards.

Depends on where you are. In the northern Rockies and plains, it's not that much of an issue. Farther south and east it becomes a very big issue.

We give our dogs a topical that goes on the back of the neck for fleas, ticks and heartworm every 3 months its not that expensive. Heartworm didn't even used to be a discussion but the last while its showing up in our area.

In our area, I would not think of not using the preventive. Lost 2 of our dogs to it many years ago, not worth the risk. Easy deal, one chewable a month I just put in their food. Done.

I just spent a lot of money getting rid of heartworms in my new dog.

When a dog has heartworms bad it involves more than just getting rid of them they will actually deform the heart and then they have trouble the rst of their lived if they live through it.

Musta been a happy dog with good genes.
That beats any o mine. But you got more land to keep em in shape

It is a pretty big problem in this part of the country. The meds have gotten much better over the years. My last lab would eat one of the pills like it was candy where years ago I had to fight a lab I had to get the pill down her throat.

If you get heartworm treatment from vets it is expensive but a $3 dollar tube of ivymectin will treat a dog for months. Just do not give too much st once

and if they already are infected, it will most likely kill the dog. Dead heart worms leave the heart and go into the coronary artery as an embolism.