Dealing with Your Dog Heartworm

Going to your pet’s veterinarian is time consuming and costly too, then again you wouldn’t own a pet if you don't have time and money to spare. Regular check up once or twice a week because of some ailment is a dreadful thing for you and your pet.

To save you from trouble and even your pet life, preventive medicine for your pet is needed. As you know animals have only short span of life and if not given proper vaccinations and medications their life span would be shorter than it should be.

Dogs, puppies and even cats are prone to various sorts of parasites. They are at risks when infested and some are in great danger even to us humans. To have a better view, parasites are tiny creatures that sucks and feed in animals blood, they are the main cause you see small wounds or skin redness in your pet. Internal and external parasites greatly contributed in dogs and cats sickness.

Parasites like heartworm that comes from mosquito bites are fatal if not caught early. An adult heartworm lives in the heart and vessels of the dog and apparently produces hundreds of young heartworms causing difficulty in breathing and unfortunately death.

Imagine that these parasites are on your precious pet and they even live and feed at the expense of your beloved dog or cat.

To ensure that your dog is free from heartworm parasites, preventive medication should be given especially in the early months of the dog to avoid such problem on the dog’s health the same applies on the cats.

Most dog medicines for heartworm are beef-flavored-chewable tablet given to dogs through ingestion once in every month to ensure protection and some are injectable administer by the veterinarian.

Tablets are more convenient and you can even administer on your own provided that you read carefully the directions on how to use the medicine.

Chewable tablets are in different colors and categorized to the weight and months of the dog. For example if your dog weighs 25 lbs or up and age six months old, your veterinarian is more likely give you the blue one for six-month-old dogs.

When your dog gets older and heavier, the next medication would be different from the previous one. Hence, the quantity to be ingested by your dog is based on their weight and age. This applies on most medicine available in the market for heartworm. The same principle and usage applies for the cats.

If the pet is already infested with heartworm, series of tests are given by the veterinarian. Medical procedures such as x-ray, antigen and blood test are done for more accurate findings.

Heartworms are hard to treat and costly too if in the late stage. For your dog health do the saying prevention is better than cure though there are lots of things you can do to improve your dog health and one is called dog massage.