Will missing one month of heartworm preventative harm my puppy?
Saturday, January 30th, 2010 at
11:12 pm
I have always given my puppy her heartworm preventative medication. If I miss it this month, will it harm her? Thank you in advance
I wasn’t planning on missing, but I didn’t have a car to get to the vet. Thanks anyways
Filed under: Pet Insurance
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It depends on where you live. Very few areas in the continental U.S. require year round heartworm treatment because the temperature is too low for the transmission of heartworm larvae. The larvae require approximately 30 consecutive days of 60-degree weather where the temperature does not dip below 57F (14C) in order to reach this condition. Check out this link for a geographic map and more information.
Ok – are you PLANNING to not give your dog her meds? That’s odd and not wise at all.
If your puppy should happen to get a case of heartworms during the month that you skip, when you give your puppy the next pill, your puppy will die. (The pills kill the heartworm which lodges in the heart which kills the dog.) I’m not a vet but my vet has explained this to me many times.
I don’t understand why you’d even consider this. Yeah heartworm meds are expensive but it’s far cheaper than surgery.