ProHeart6 ineffective

12/06/2004 | Mizsuz

[MizSuz]

Our ACD, who is 2 years old, has been diagnosed with heartworm inspite of being current on her ProHeart6 injections. I have heard about dogs having adverse experiences on Proheart but not about it being ineffective. Does anyone know about this? We are very upset and concerned that our pet is having to go through the aweful treament. Suz

[ClintonBeGone]

Do you know how she caught it? Is she an indoor dog?

[Conspiracy Guy]

What is an ACD?

[cwiz24]

Australian Cattle Dog

[Shannon]

From what I understand from my vet if a dog is on heartworm preventative and gets heartworm, the manufacturer will cover the cost of treatment. Check with you vet about this.

I've never used that 6 month type because when it came out I read something that didn't sit well with me. I don't even remember what I read. You could probably find a lot on it via google.

Yes, the treatment is lousy. Send me a private email if you wish.

[Conspiracy Guy]

OK. I had never heard the term.

[theDentist]

I have: Automated Call Distributor. :)

[theDentist]

Like people, all dogs are unique and may react differently to drugs/medicines. And remember, some medicines do not mix well with some foods. Inform the vet immediately. They may have an alternate brand to use. On the other hand, you may wish to get a second opinion from another vet.

Good luck.

[ravingnutter]

Our vet recently notified us that they would no longer be giving the injections due to some type of recall...we had to go back to the edible type. Downside is that we have to force our dogs to eat them, they just don't like them at all. Here is an article on the recall:

FDA recalls popular heartworm drug for dogs

[Conspiracy Guy]

Yes. I'm in telecommunications and Auto Call Dist is what I saw too.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Wrap it in cheese. Do I have to solve all your problems? ; )

[Americanchild]

Did your dog test for microfillia or did he get the occult test? The occult test looks for actual heartworms in the heart and is the only definite diagnosis. Circulating microfiliia are just young heartworms in the blood and will be removed with preventatives.

Be very careful with the different prevetatives! Some breeds ( and mixes thereof) are sensitive to ivermectin and can die from it! Collies are one such breed; ACD might be on that list too.

[ravingnutter]

Wrap it in cheese.

They just waller it around in their mouth, spit the medicine out and eat the cheese...the same way they spit veggies out of their food scraps. Been there, done that. My one dog has arthritis, so I have to force a Tylenol down his throat on a regular basis as well, for pain, per the vet's instructions...it takes at least 3 tries as he will gag until it comes back up. Any other suggestions?

[Conspiracy Guy]

Sorry to hear that, but no. My Lab has a conveyor belt tongue. I could feed her a Harley Davidson wrapped in cheese.

[506trooper]

"Wrap it in cheese. They just waller it around in their mouth, spit the medicine out and eat the cheese...the same way they spit veggies out of their food scraps. Been there, done that. My one dog has arthritis, so I have to force a Tylenol down his throat on a regular basis as well, for pain, per the vet's instructions...it takes at least 3 tries as he will gag until it comes back up. Any other suggestions?"

We coat the pills for our dogs in butter....slides right down.....trick an old vet taught a few years ago...always works for us.

[Roses0508]

Peanut butter - if they like it. It's so sticky, sort of prevents the wallering around in the mouth discrimination thing.

My mixed breed dog will eat anything I hand him, which makes medication administration a breeze. If I need to trick him into something I use cat food. Cat food is a rare and special treat - only because I won't let him eat it I guess.

[ravingnutter]

I didn't think about using cat food, that's an idea...thanks. My dog, while he hates canned dog food or anything with gravy in it, keeps stealing the cat's canned food, no matter how high I put it up, he always manages to get the bowl down somehow. I'd probably have to put the medicine in the food processor to chop it up really fine though, or he'd still spit it out.