Heartworm is a parasitic roundworm that infects dogs via mosquito bites. If you have a dog, you should get him or her on a year round heartworm prevention program. It may be a little costly, but it is well worth it. Heartgard, Revolution, and Advantage are three very good choices. There are some pet owners that only give the meds during the warmer months, but is this really safe? What are the warmer months anymore? Depending on where you live, some winters have mild stretches. I do not take the chance with my dogs. Once heartworm is diagnosed, treatment can be expensive and lengthy, not to mention potentially ineffective. Do yourself and your little fur ball a favor and start year round prevention.

The owner I bought him from has up to date shots, testing and even gave me what heartgard she has left (til Sept), but looking at the bill she gave me…I will never be able to afford the vet visit plus the heartgard plus he is on. Are there generics? Places who check pets for free or cheaper than a regular vets?
She gave me the dog for $10. She was moving and was going to have to send him to the pound, so I took him being nice. And NO I CANNOT AFFORD HEALTH CARE for the dog. I can’t afford it for me. I’d rather him be in a comfy home able to eat and have shelter…then on a death list.

The people who said you need to have money to own an animal are jerks. Especially in this economy and with me only being 23 years old. It’s disgusting how much dr’s and vets charge to have a simple human right/animal right like health care. I shouldn’t have to choose between paying bills, buying food or taking care of my/my animals health.

SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AMERICA..we’re so behind.

This is was answered by :
alias boxer :
I wouldn’t trust generics. However I do have good news for you — Heartworm preventative is just as effective given every other month. So that’s like splitting the cost.

More info on heartworm:

http://www.ebvet.com/article4.php

http://www.bark-n-blog.com/2007/07/23/heartworms-scams-and-reality/

I would check out some online pet Rx stores and compare prices on HeartGuard also. You’ll still need a prescription from the vet, but it will be cheaper to buy online than if you bought directly from the clinic.

I am going to the beach in early June with my husband. We have a seven year-old male Yorkie. My husband booked the hotel as a surprise and it is non-refundable and does not allow pets. He does not really like the idea of animals going on vacations anyway.

I am a bit more attached to my dog. We do have a family member who may be able to keep our dog, Duke. Her dog, a Boston Terrier, just got hurt in a chain link fence and I am afraid having my dog there may not be a good idea. My mother has cats (and my dog hates cats) and my husband’s mother has two Japanese Chins that are hyper and my dog is low-key and tends to only do okay with dogs that are also relaxed.

My dog is somewhat socialized; meaning that he doesn’t have a problem with dogs who just mind their own business. My Mom’s dogs and others can come and visit; but he hates dogs that are "in his business" and jump around a lot.

I am very protective. I am thinking about putting him in a kennel in Virignia Beach, so we could still be close to him. We live in West Virginia, near Huntington and Charleston.

I don’t know if decide to board him, should it do it in my homestate or near my vacation location?

He is neutered and all of his shots are up-to-date; his last vet. check-up was in January of this year. He is not on any medications, besides Frontline Plus and Heartgard.

The following reply is by : berner mom :
Have a pet sitter come to your home to take care of your pup!

They will feed, walk and play with him. They will also bring in the mail, turn lights off and on (so it looks like someone is home) water plants etc..

No stress for the dog. He will be in his home and not in a kennel around other dogs/people that he doesn’t know…

Cost will be the same as boarding your dog…

hi there
i have just realised that the proheart heartworm TABLETS that i give me dog are expired. ive looked online again for some but they are all very cheap like $16 and i know they are going to expire soon as well. i cannot find another source that sells then, including the pet store and my dog needs them this month. is it okay to switch to heartgard or something for his next dosage? will this affect him at all?
thanks a lot
he is heading to boarding kennels soon as well and it is a requirement to be wormed. plus i had no idea i was giving him expired ones
um it says it expired november 11

This is was answered by :
C Wood :
You didn’t say how out of date your pills are.

Medicine doesn’t just "drop dead" when it passes it’s expiration date. It slowly gets weaker. So if it recently expired, you’re still giving him nearly full dosage. If it’s really out of date, it would be good to get his next dosage sooner.

You should be able to switch for his next dosage with no problem.

You should also ASK what the expiration dates are on the meds that you said you found cheap. If they’re recently expired, you could still use them safely.
cw

So, apparently I don’t read enough, and just recently I found an article about counterfeit Frontline Plus (flea & tick medicine) being sold. I have been purchasing mine off of eBay and when I looked at the website, the ones I had purchased matched the description of the counterfeit meds. I originally thought the packaging looked different just because it was from Australia. (here’s the website if you want to check it out: http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/ECOCOMM.NSF/webpage/How+to+Identify+Counterfeit+Pet+Pesticides)

SO, onto my question – I purchased Heartgard Plus from a pet supply website:

http://www.petsuppliesnet.com/shop.htm

How do I know that these are not counterfeit? I cannot find a website that explains what differences to look for. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

The following reply is by : A Great Dane Lady :
That’s the problem, you can’t know it’s counter fit. I saw a show on Dateline a while back. These people are so good that even a doctor , pharmacist, and a scientist could not tell the difference between the counter fit and the real meds. That show was on human drugs.

My puppy won't take the Heartgard Plus that is a chewable beef like square. I tried everything: smooshed it up in food, etc. Now it is ruined, she won't take it. Now since it's the weekend our vet is closed and I want to try a different kind to get some kind of med. down her. She did get the oral worm med today at the vet. Should I try to buy some different kind at the store(smaller pill or topical) or do I have to wait until Monday and go back to the vet? I'm worried because she passed worms today about 12 hrs. after her vet visit. I'm pretty sure they were dead though(not moving).

The following reply is by : alisa :
i think the heart guard has nothing to do with the dewormer your vet gave. your dog is passing worms because the dewormer is working. it means it is killing the worms, and when they die they have to go somewhere! the hear guard is to prevent heart worms (different than what she is passing). It will be just fine to wait until monday and call the vet for advise

It's time for me to buy my pet products for my Yorkie, Duke, again. I have noticed a huge price difference between the USA version and the Australian versions of Frontline Plus and Heartgard. I have also noticed that they contain the same ingredients, but… what's this about the EPA not approving Australian packaging, but approving the product? I'd like to go ahead and buy from Australia, but I'm hesitant. Anyone have any experience? I know I should buy US to support my own country and such, but I don't want to pay more for the exact same product just because I live in the US. Also, on the Heartgard… Duke was tested and found negative in December, but I haven't had him on any preventative product since then… should I get him tested again or will it be okay to go ahead and start? Thanks so much!

The answer is provided by :
Ani :
I would pluck down the extra money and buy the U.S. version of the Frontline. You could wind up getting into trouble for ordering from Australia. Who knows?
As for the Heartworm test, yes, get your Duke retested that way you know for sure he is negative before giving him the Heartgard.
He could have been infected since his last test.

We are TALKING about getting a dog. So i need your help with figuring out costs for a medium/large breed dog. I live in an apartment that requires a $400 pet deposit and $15 a month for your pets rent. Adoption fee should be around $100-150. I work at a vet clinic, so i get a 50% discount on Everything plus free exams. I figure $50 for vaccines and around $100 for neuter if niether are already done. $60 for year round heartgard. These are based on prices at my clinic with my discount. A dog license is $7. Things that i don’t know prices for are food bowls, collar and leash, toys, and crate. Also, cost for obedience training. And food cost per month. Is there any other costs i am missing? Is there any other good advice you can give me about owning a dog? I have done a lot of research, and i work with dogs everyday. But i want to make sure i do what is best for my dog. We are not posotive yet if we are getting one, I just want to be prepared. We plan to adopt an adult dog.
i do plan to adopt from my local humane society where i used to volunteer. I don’t have an overly busy schedule, my boyfriend and i both work, but we have weekends off, and we work different hours, so the dog would not be home for long periods of time. I just prefer adult dogs to puppies. Though we live in an apartment, i do want a medium/large sized dog, we will be taking him for walks at LEAST once daily, but probably also in the evening. And there will be plenty of play time inside. thank you for any help.

The following reply is by : Jo :
I like the convenience of one-stop shopping. If you like that, I’d recommend PetSmart because they are a large store with better prices overall and a large inventory of supplies to choose from, varying in price. Also, depending on your dogs needs, the type of collar, leash or "Easy Walk" you might get can vary.
PetSmart has an excellent food that is a bit cheaper than other premium foods (and better than many of the premium foods)- I’d recommend their Authority Harvest Baked. That would cost you about 30 dollars a month. I feed my dogs Nature’s Recipe because one has a sensitive stomach. I add Pet Botanics Lamb Log and Beef Log sliced and cubed- and mix it in their food.
Treats are something that I spend about 20 dollars a month for three dogs.
Toys: Big stores have big sales. Some essentials are objects for chewing like a Kong, large Nylabones, hard biscuits. Your initial expense will of course be quite a bit more if you get everything at once.
Dogs are often destructive with dog beds or they tear easily or wear out soon. What I do for my dogs is fold a king sized comforter two times and it makes a comfortable bed they can arrange as they like and it is easily washable. I get them from a store like Family Dollar or WalMart on sale and for less than 25 dollars you can have a great bed.
PetSmart offers beginner obedience classes for a reasonable price. Basically your dog will get to socialize and learn the basics like sit, down, stay, come, etc. If you get an adult dog he or she will likely know a lot of that already but the socialization would be good. Daily walks outside of their yard or house is important.
Many places have great dog parks now that are free. My city has at least four that I know of, funded by the city.
For food and water bowls I like the stainless steel ones and you can get a stand which holds two bowls and is adjustable to height. I can’t remember how much that was, but it was well worth the purchase. Another thing I have is an air tight container to store their food in to eliminate the bug factor and smell.

i need to get pet meds like heartgard and frontline plus for an 80 lb dog, a 60 lb dog, and a 7 lb cat, and i’ve heard that you can get it online, but i have no clue what’s a good place to get them, so, i’d appreciate it if you tell me where is good for this sort of thing.

The following reply is by : Liz :
Try:

http://www.bullwrinkle.com

http://www.petrx.com/Pet-Meds/index.html

http://www.thepetdrugs.com