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when to give heart worm pill to a dog in chicago?

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I need to give my dog heart worm pills. I live in the chicago area and was wondering when to give the pills. I was thinking may 15 to oct 1st or is that to long? I want to only give the dog what is nessesary.

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This entry was posted on January 31, 2010 at 8:26 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in FAQ by Allan 8 Comments

8 Responses to "when to give heart worm pill to a dog in chicago?"

  • Patient Paws says:
    January 31, 2010 at 9:11 pm

    ……its ALWAYS necessary to give heartworm pills.

    Winter weather doesn’t protect from the possibility of heartworm infections, and the pills should be given the same time every month, not sporadically.

    Give your dog heartworm pills ONCE A MONTH, EVERY MONTH.

  • Becky says:
    January 31, 2010 at 9:52 pm

    Your vet should have given you a specific number of tablets; give them until gone. If you are concerned, call your vet.

    Patient Paws is not accurate for everyone in all areas of the world; where I live the vet recommends certain months and I follow his advice. You should follow the advice of your vet.

  • Katie W says:
    January 31, 2010 at 10:30 pm

    Its best do use the pill year round to protect them.

    If you still are unsure ask your vet what they think.

  • Christine W says:
    January 31, 2010 at 11:25 pm

    Each month…every month!

    You need to give your dog heartworm preventative year round.

  • schnauzer says:
    January 31, 2010 at 11:44 pm

    Heart worm pills whether heart guard or daily must be given all year round so before you embark on starting heart worm make sure you have a blood test to see if your dog does not have it as the pills will kill the dog.
    There is now an injection which is given every year like the annual shots which works out a little cheaper.

  • eshires01 says:
    February 1, 2010 at 12:40 am

    I live in Chicago, too. You can go get the blood test now. April appointments will be more difficult and May appointments will be nearly impossible. The idea is to get started BEFORE there are any mosquitos and you must have the blood test first to make sure the dog isn’t already infested. You need to continue with the monthly pills until 2 MONTHS AFTER THE FIRST FROST!

    By them all those pesky critters should have froze to death.

  • ♫♪ Nekkid Bootie ♪♫ says:
    February 1, 2010 at 1:31 am

    Depends on the weather in your area.. Its warm enough here in OH for things to start breeding.. so I’d reccommend starting a dog on it now.

    I’ve seen warm weather even in late november.. so I’d reccommend keeping a dog on it until you’re well past warm weather.

    I keep my dog on it year-round, as the medication I use also has an extra wormer for intestinal worms.

    ADDED
    actually 2 months after frost is a good idea.. if you consider how the stuff works.

    The cycle of the worm is approx 30 days, which is why you give the wormer every 30 days… The pill doesnt stay in their system and protect the dog for a full month tho.. when the dog gets the wormer, that kills any microfilea currently in his system, and prevents them from becoming adult worms… if your dog gets a mosquito bite after that wormer, he may not be protected for any infestation until the next course of wormer.

    I’d start well before the weather warms up, and also continue it for a bit after the first frost.

  • j h says:
    February 1, 2010 at 1:31 am

    first the facts, then the formula

    FACTS:
    All year long is NOT always correct (unless it is warm all year)
    meds kill larvae when given & do not last all month
    larvae that create heartworm take more than 30 days to do so
    testing is NOT needed prior to meds
    Ivermectin – an prominent med is 95% effective in dogs who skip 4 months & are positive for the larvae that cause heartworm
    it is the f3 & f4 stage larvae that eventually cause heartworm
    for f3 or f4 larvae to survive there must be 30 days or longer of sufficeint warm weather
    the presence or lack of mosquitoes is NOT accurate method for risk

    FORMULA:
    take last 30 days
    high temp of each day MINUS 57 (i.e. count temp above 57 only)
    add all up
    if over 240 start meds, when under 240 stop meds

    for example last 2 days high temps were 60 & 65, so for those 2 days the add up to 11 (60-57=3 & 65-57=8). Just do it for 30 days. A bit easier & in normal situations still safe (maybe figures a little sooner) is to if last 30 days highs averaged 65 or higher.

    Vets make big money off this so they are last ones to ask. Better off asking a vet student at a university who knows facts, but not making $ off it yet. The testing is waste & if you are logical you can see why. Test for it because if positive we cant give meds to prevent it??? sorry, but if positive, the conflict of meds will be least worry & either dog is gonna die anyway or very slight chance test if off & meds will help. Its like saying we must test a person for gunshot wound before putting a bullet proof vest on them because the vest might kill them. uh, yeah, right! In Chicago area you should only have to pay $3 per month per dog for approx. 4-6 months for total cost of $18 maximum per dog. Buy meds online, research wiki & university sites, and spend the extra money on better food for your baby instead of the vets kids college tuition. I’m not cheap (spent $1000 on one dog leg), I’m just being practical.

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