# HW Question



## Melissa Thom (Jun 21, 2011)

I have very little experience with HW. I've always lived in a place either too high of an altitude for mosquitoes or that just didn't bear heartworm.

The new dog I'm getting is from a HW bearing area and has been getting monthly treatment. It's my understanding that HW treatment just kills HW by poisoning larvals before they get big enough to be cloggers. So, how many months should I be treating after he gets here? 

I called my vet and asked and he said he'd check into it for me, since it wasn't a question he got often but surely someone out there has done this?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Melissa Thom said:


> I have very little experience with HW. I've always lived in a place either too high of an altitude for mosquitoes or that just didn't bear heartworm.
> 
> The new dog I'm getting is from a HW bearing area and has been getting monthly treatment. It's my understanding that HW treatment just kills HW by poisoning larvals before they get big enough to be cloggers. So, how many months should I be treating after he gets here?
> 
> I called my vet and asked and he said he'd check into it for me, since it wasn't a question he got often but surely someone out there has done this?


You live in a no-HW area? I didn't know any still existed in this country, now that both Salt Lake and the deserts of SoCal have HW.

If so, I would probably just do the simple (cheap) blood test.



eta
The last time I had the blood test done (after accidentally skipping the monthly dose during a couple of mosquito months), it was under $60. There would have been an office visit charge too, but I was there for something else. You might also be there for a general check anyway, and then it might be just the blood-draw and lab.


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## Melissa Thom (Jun 21, 2011)

Yeah, it's a no HW area as long as I stay north of the Columbia River and west of the Mountains which I do. The only HW my vet has seen in his practice has come from other places or from dogs who travel through infected areas. Apparently the larval form of HW doesn't like our weather, mosquitoes, or temperatures so the area doesn't bear it.


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## Gina Pasieka (Apr 25, 2010)

The prevenative kills the L2-L4 larva...once the larva enter the vasculature (L5) - they are no longer fully suspectible. If you really live in an area where there is no heartworm (you may want to check with the american heartworm society webpage to make sure), then you should be able to just give another dose and be done...but I would probably be safe and do 2 months. The issue with the timing has to do more with testing, as you need to have adults for the test to be positive...so they can take up to 7 months to become positive once infected. In other words you could get a dog, have them test negative, start preventative and have them come up positive later.


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## Melissa Thom (Jun 21, 2011)

I'm sure about living in a HW negative area, our year round temps are too cold for development. If ever there was a year for there to be no heartworm it's this one. It's one of the coldest years on record here so unless a HW positive mosquito took a bus in, flew across the salt pond to find my shore, then flew five miles uphill to find some blood before a normal temp drop night I can't imagine how my dogs would be infected. It's the trade off I think from only having three seasons here. Wet, Frozen, and August. 

I think you're maybe right on the two treatments and clear thing the more I read about it. I'll just run the thought by my vet and maybe get two doses of something. I can't see a need for a snap test on a dog that has been on year round meds his whole life.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Gina Pasieka said:


> The prevenative kills the L2-L4 larva...once the larva enter the vasculature (L5) - they are no longer fully suspectible. If you really live in an area where there is no heartworm (you may want to check with the american heartworm society webpage to make sure), then you should be able to just give another dose and be done...but I would probably be safe and do 2 months. *The issue with the timing has to do more with testing, as you need to have adults for the test to be positive*...so they can take up to 7 months to become positive once infected. In other words you could get a dog, have them test negative, start preventative and have them come up positive later.


Yow! I didn't know that about the test!


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## Katie Finlay (Jan 31, 2010)

Connie Sutherland said:


> Yow! I didn't know that about the test!


Yep, unfortunately. 

http://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/faqs.html#q6


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