# Ivermectin for heartworm prevention



## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

* edited *


*It should be noted that ivermectin should not be administered to collies, shetland sheepdogs, or related breeds, because they are sensitive to the drug. *


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

What citation can you give us for that dosage?

I can't find that info (although I didn't look very hard, assuming that you had an authoritative source:smile: ).


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

There is no actual online citation that I know of. It's calculated based on the amount of ivermectin in products that are specifically made for heartworm prevention in dogs (Heartgard being an example), and agreed with by my vet. I should have said that the dosage of 10cc per 10 pounds of dog is right, but ONLY if you further dilute the Ivomec with propylene glycol, which can be hard to do if you don't know how, and it's also more difficult to store because there's more liquid.

Here are two pages I can provide, though, after a really quick search, before I leave work:

http://heartgard.us.merial.com/downloads/chewablesPlus_dogs.pdf
and
http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/dxendopar/drug pages/ivermectin.htm


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Kristen Cabe said:


> There is no actual online citation that I know of. It's calculated based on the amount of ivermectin in products that are specifically made for heartworm prevention in dogs (Heartgard being an example), and agreed with by my vet. I should have said that the dosage of 10cc per 10 pounds of dog is right, but ONLY if you further dilute the Ivomec with propylene glycol, which can be hard to do if you don't know how, and it's also more difficult to store because there's more liquid.
> 
> Here are two pages I can provide, though, after a really quick search, before I leave work:
> 
> ...



I find a reference to the "form of Ivermectin approved for canine use (Ivomec)," which to me means that the Ivermectin sold for cattle use may not be in the same form as the Ivermectin used as the active ingredient in Heartgard.

I found too that Heartgard also contains Pyrantel Pamoate (another anti-parasite agent).

I'm all for generics and I'm not a big proponent of increasing the pharmaceutical companies' profit margins .... in this case, however, I can find nothing authoritative that supports using the Ivermectin labeled for cattle as heartworm prevention in dogs.

Let's leave it at this: Ask your vet. I understand that Kristen did so, and received a response, so presumably we can all do the same thing.  

I'm uncomfortable with publicly posting instructions for off-label use of a med.

And yes, I certainly could be way off here. Also, I do appreciate any and all efforts to give us info on generic equivalents of spendy RXs. I imagine that we all do.


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

While I know of people who do this, I would never recommend this as an accidental wrong dosage would be deadly to the dog. 

If the warnings say not to give it to specific breeds, then I would think that not giving it to any breed should be the choice. 

We use this stuff on our cattle and it specifically states on the packaging that it is only to be used on cattle or pigs. 

I asked my vet about it and got a little bit of an ass chewing for even mentioning it. 

Just my two cents. 

http://merialusa.naccvp.com/view.php?prodnum=1111031
above is the product label


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

The breed warning applies with Heartgard, too.

Regardless, I think we'd better leave this up to individuals and their vets. :smile:


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