I have an 11 year old boxer who was diagnosed with heartworms. The vet suggested we continue giving her heartguard and not do the heartworm treatment. She has a good quality of life for being an old girl, she still eats dry dog food, she doesn't suffer from incontinence, and she sleeps on a small sofa sized dog bed. Like most boxers she does have some joint discomfort and undergoes steroid shot treatments every couple of months. Should we go to another vet to seek the heartworm treatment? Has anyone on here had to go through this before?
I always thought they couldn't be on it they were heartworm positive either but our vet said we can. She has been on preventative since she was puppy but sometime last year we ran out and in the process of moving didn't realize it. As soon as we did we started her back on it and just recently took her to the vet for her yearly shots and found out she was heartworm positive. It's heartbreaking to know that just those few months without it caused to her.

The question was answered by :
clovicat :
The treatment for heartworm disease can be undergone by most dogs, with varying results. Treating the heartworm involves killing the heartworms, which sometimes causes the worms to float into the lungs. In an older pet, the dilemma regarding treatment is that the treatment could cause side effects, ones that could be worse in an older pet, such as kidney, liver and lung disease. And sometimes dogs outlive the heartworms, which only live about 3-5 years. A positive test only indicates that there are adult heartworms, not how many there are. There could be 2 or 20. 1or 2 worms usually will not cause tremendous heart disease.

If it were my dog, and she was reasonably healthy otherwise, I would strongly consider just using the heartgard. It will keep new worms from developing, and doesn't have any real side effects. It will not stop any heart damage if there is a large heartworm burden. If you choose to do the heartworm treatment, you need to have chest xrays, and full blood work and a urine sample checked prior to the treatment.

Even though the package says that the monthly heartworm treatment shouldn't be used in positive dogs, it can be used under a veterinarian's supervision. It is not considered a treatment for the adult heartworms, but merely kills the earlier life stages of the worm. And in dogs that are either unable due to health reasons, or financial reasons to undergo the full treatment, it is a viable option.

Good luck, whatever you decide. If you want a second opinion, you should get one.

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