Has anyone's dog been through heartworm treatment?

Pea-n-Me

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 18, 2004
I noticed some of the dogs on Petfinder were hearworm positive and wondered about it.

How the dog was afterward, and long term?

Were there any health problems that the dog had as a result?

Did the dog have a regular energy level after recovery?

Was there any special follow up you had to do?

Thanks for any insight you have!
 
I haven’t in years but did have a stray that we found go through it. I found it to be a stressful situation b/c you have to keep them quiet for a certain period after each treatment if the infestation is bad enough. The dog we had ended up dying of heart failure when she was older so I don’t know if it has anything to do with it. She was probably about 10 then. It was a stressful enough situation that I have passed up dogs for that reason. But, any time I was looking was b/c a pet had just died & I didn’t want to deal with the stress of a dog with health issues.
 
. It was a stressful enough situation that I have passed up dogs for that reason. But, any time I was looking was b/c a pet had just died & I didn’t want to deal with the stress of a dog with health issues.


ya know, sometimes a pet that needs a lot of care, has away of you loving that one even more. But if it leads to early death, thats hard
 
We did a really long time ago....I don't remember it being a huge deal. I do remember he had to wear a cone and we had to keep him calm for a period of time (like a cpl. weeks I think.)
 


When I adopted my second dog he was heartworm positive (stage 2 I think?). The shelter had already started his treatment, so I got him right before his last round where they kill off the adult heartworms. I had to keep him on kennel rest for about a month, but I’d only had him 2 weeks at that point. He was so anxious from being in a new place, not able to burn off any energy, and being crated the whole time that he broke a tooth trying to chew his way out of the kennel! So the vet recommended prozac, and I just kept him confined to the basement away from my other dog. All potty breaks had to be on leash and he could only take really short walks—like only a block at a time.

It’s been 2 years now, and he’s been happy and healthy ever since he finished treatment (over his kennel anxiety), and the only thing I’ve noticed is he doesn’t tolerate the heat on walks in the summer very well. Otherwise he’s a fantastic dog!
 
We rescued a GSD who had a "mild" heartworm infection. Our vet opted to treat him slowly using a traditional heartworm preventative to slowly kill the larva (?) in the bloodstream and allow the adult to die of age at the end of their lifespan. He was an older dog and this worked well for him; he ended up being HW negative in about a year and he passed a few years later of non heart related issues. Due to his age and condition when we get him, he wasn't a candidate for the more intensive treatment.
 
Our next door neighbor's dog had heartworm last year. She had a course of meds and then a lowkey (not Jason low-key :) ) period of about 6 months, lots of rest and low activity. She seems just fine now, as frisky, friendly and outgoing as ever.
 


Heart worm is very much preventable but typically treatable. It is a pretty intensive and expensive treatment but, in early enough stages, the dog generally doesn’t have long term issues due to it. There’s several different ways to treat. I’m most familiar with using a course of doxycycline, then a single immiticide injection, then a month later 2 more immiticide injections on back to back days. One rescue I worked with did a microfilaria treatment 30 days after the 2nd and 3rd injections, another rescue I work with did not. And then 6 months later the dog would need to be retested to be sure they are now negative. There’s also the slow kill method which is a series of rounds of doxycycline combined with oral heart worm prevention. In my experience, this is typically used with senior dogs or ones who are too ill to go through the typical heart worm treatment. The dog needs to be kept as calm as possible with very restricted activity throughout treatment.

Early stages with no symptoms usually mean a full recovery and no lasting effects. However, heart worms are parasites that attack the heart muscle so if left untreated too long it can cause serious damage and even death.

Once treatment is finished and the dog tests negative, you’ll still need to keep them on heartworm prevention as you should any dog. But as long as it’s treated correctly and quickly, once treatment is done the dog should live a totally normal life. Personally, heart worms would not deter me from adopting a dog. Just make sure to find out if the rescue is covering the cost of treatment. If not, you need to be aware that you will have a somewhat costly vet bill of several hundred dollars right off the bat.
 
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There are two types of heartworm treatment-fast and slow kill. Fast kill is basically antibiotic (doxyclycline) as well three injections spaced out as described above of an arsenic derivative (yes, poison) which is painful...and since the point is to kill heartworms-they die and then circulate through the blood stream. The dog has to be very quiet and inactive during this time so the dead/dying circulating worms don't cause a blood clot and death. I've medically fostered several dogs during this and some can't stand being quiet for so long, others feel so poorly it's like they don't notice BUT happily all went on to lead happy heathy and active lives (I still hear about one from his new dad regularly-he is fat, happy and spoiled rotten).

Slow kill is for mild infestation and is just the same treatment (heartworm preventative) that you'd use monthly anyway, just with more frequent monitoring to determine when the heartworms are gone. Two of my three had mild infestations and you'd never know it today...I'd actually forgotten until I read your post.

So for mild infestations, no real change (if treated appropriately and early before serious symptoms develop), for more serious cases that's a case by case basis but I've seen some wonderful recoveries.
 
Thank you all for sharing your stories! :lovestruc

There was a dog I was interested in but it doesn’t look like it’s going to work out, and not because of the heartworm issue. I did ask for more information about that and a previous injury, but I didn’t get any answers about those. I know they are busy, but it can get frustrating. The big thing was that there was a behavior issue that wasn’t disclosed on the website. A lot of issues with a dog I can’t even meet before transport to the Northeast. But as I said, I seem to be seeing heartworm issues more and more. Looking at pictures it looks like there can be leftover structural damage in the heart if the infestation was severe, so I appreciate the poster who mentioned their dog had heart failure (yes, definitely can be related).
 
Our greyhound had been treated with the “slow kill” method when we got him (basically just giving regular HW preventative over a long period of time until the dog tests negative). This method is not preferred because damage continues for months or even years while waiting for the adult worms to die off.

He did have less stamina than a “normal” dog and would tire/overheat on longer walks or hikes. Unfortunately these tend to be common issues for the breed so I’m not sure how much was HW damage related and how much was just that he was a greyhound.
 
I am new to this discussion board, and I really want to hear what you guys think. I have taken our stray that we picked up 5 months ago to the vet, she can't breathe its really heard to watch her try to breathe, and we have had multiple vets tell us that her heartworms are to far gone for medication to take care of them. I don't know what to do. My heart is broken and I hate watching her suffer, like I say I don't like watching her struggle to breathe, ever since we got her, she has been like this. She won't put any weight on, she won't eat anything, I don't know what to do and I am desperate for some help. I really hope you guys can help. Thank you so much!
 
I am new to this discussion board, and I really want to hear what you guys think. I have taken our stray that we picked up 5 months ago to the vet, she can't breathe its really heard to watch her try to breathe, and we have had multiple vets tell us that her heartworms are to far gone for medication to take care of them. I don't know what to do. My heart is broken and I hate watching her suffer, like I say I don't like watching her struggle to breathe, ever since we got her, she has been like this. She won't put any weight on, she won't eat anything, I don't know what to do and I am desperate for some help. I really hope you guys can help. Thank you so much!
Welcome. I have never heard of a dog not being treated for heartworm because they are ‘too far gone’. (And I looked around a bit to verify that.) As some posters explained above, even for senior dogs there are things they can do, like a slow-kill method that uses a gentle method of eliminating the worms gradually. I would keep looking around and keep advocating for your dog. Look around for a veterinary academic medical center if there is one near you. Maybe talk to some rescues to see if they know any sympathetic vets that could help. You didn’t say how old the dog is. Is she legally your dog and do you have the money for the treatment? If not, maybe surrendering over to a no-kill rescue might be an option if they can take on her care. Tough to do but could be what’s best for the dog long term. Sounds like an excruciating situation. I couldn’t just watch, I’d have to do something. Keep trying! Can you tell us roughly where you are located?

This article is simple but helpful:

https://chowananimalhospital.com/heartworm-prevention-and-treatment
 
All of my dogs have been on Heartgard all of their lives and sometimes I've wondered if I should still pay for it. After reading the posts here, I am glad I never stopped it.
 

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