So, we are looking at adopting a dog that is heartworm positive. I know nothing about treatment or possible problems since I have always kept my dogs up to date on prevention. Can someone please let me know what to expect in case we go through with the adoption?
I did call my vet and from what I understand they give two months of preventive followed by two shots. The dog has to remain quiet, which is what I am most worried about. Any advice would be great!
My vet uses something quite different that is working for a heartworm positive and badly affected dog that came in through my dog door and stayed. He got 30 days of doxycycline (sp), and every day since the first day, he has gotten a preventative dose of ivermectin (1/10th of a cc per 10 lbs of weight). He’s on that for 6 months, with another go at the doxycycline half way through.
He’s already breathing much better and in much less distress from exercise. And since the dosage every day is so small, there is no need to keep him quiet because the worms are not dying all at once.
A lot depends on the severity of the heartworm infestation. If it’s bad, the worry is that as the worms are dying off (after the treatment), if the dog gets too worked up and is allowed to run and get it’s heart rate up excessively high, it can allow the worms to clog a major valve or artery.
I found this article, which I thought explained things very well.
http://www.yourpetsbestfriend.com/your_pets_best_friend/2007/07/problems-with-h.html
That said, I used to volunteer with an animal shelter, and every single dog we had that went through heartworm treatment did very well with both the treatment and the need for being kept calm.
[QUOTE=vineyridge;8999050]
My vet uses something quite different that is working for a heartworm positive and badly affected dog that came in through my dog door and stayed. He got 30 days of doxycycline (sp), and every day since the first day, he has gotten a preventative dose of ivermectin (1/10th of a cc per 10 lbs of weight). He’s on that for 6 months, with another go at the doxycycline half way through.
He’s already breathing much better and in much less distress from exercise. And since the dosage every day is so small, there is no need to keep him quiet because the worms are not dying all at once.[/QUOTE]
I believe this method is good for hw+ dogs that have a mild hw infestation. Dogs that have been hw positive for years, the “slow kill” method may not be feasible.
Ivermectin kills HW in the microfilia/larval stage. It takes an adult hw approximately 2 years to die off naturally. So while you’re killing the ‘juveniles,’ your dog is still experiencing the negative health impact of having adult hw floating around in their arteries.
Also, some dog breeds have a genetic mutation that impacts your ability to use ivermectin (Collies & shelties, I think). Use of ivermectin in those dogs can kill them.
I am not sure if he is heavy positive or light positive. I am worried about excersie/stress since we have an active, goofy dog already.
They generally don’t feel so awesome for a few days following the Immiticide treatment, so they’re often pretty content to just chill in a crate.
I am going to meet him today. I will see how it goes!
I foster dogs and I have had several go through treatment. It is imperative that they stay quiet for the time they are undergoing treatment. Fast kill or imiticide is the ONLY AVMA approved treatment to kill HWs. All of the ones I have taken care of have not had any issues with the treatment itself. We did not do the doxy since it increased the cost of treatment significantly but that is the best treatment, doxy for a month then imiticide, one injection, and a month later imiticide 2 injections back to back. On one who was a young dog and light + we only did the 2 injections back to back and she cleared no problem. All were leashed walked or confined in 12x12 stall during treatment. All have been HW - 6 months after treatment.
I have heard that Aussies and other herding breeds may be difficult to treat when heartworm positive.
You may want to check MDR1 status if it’s a mix breed.
There is no contraindication for Immiticide in a herding breed, and no need to test for MDR1 before its use. Only ivermectin sensitivity, not Immiticide.
The American Heartworm Society no longer recommends the so-called “slow kill” method, as has already been posted, you have to wait an average of two years for the adult worms to die of old age. The monthly ivermectin is simply preventing your dog from developing microfilaremia, and therefore being “Typhoid Mary” in your neighborhood.
If you do Immiticide, the three injection protocol is recommended. In my first year of practice a colleague had done two injections, and the dog remained heartworm positive. The client was MAD. If they still test positive, they have a female worm, and it takes two injections 24 hours apart to kill females. So, if you do two and don’t kill them all, you have to do two again. Two injections kills 90% of the work burden and three kills 98%.
Anne, are you a vet? Can you discuss with me the confinement? The vet tech I spoke to said to keep them as still as possible. I guess this is what has me the most worried!
I met him this afternoon. He is truly a hard luck case. Super skinny, sores from having to lie on hard surfaces and a dry dull coat. He is super sweet and friendly. His tail never stopped wagging! I am talking to DH tonight to see if he wants to proceed but the heart worms may prevent us from adopting 
I sometimes watch Pit Bulls & Parolees, on Animal Planet. They say that it’s very unusual to have a heartworm negative dog in that area, because of lack of HW preventative, and lack of vet care with the dogs that are found, or rescued.
What I meant to say, depending on the geographic, there can be a huge percentage of dogs that are infected with HW.
Mine had hw and I had him treated. It wasn’t bad, for me, just a longer process. Also…mine has damage in his heart and they believe it was from HW. My best guess now though is that he’s around 16 years old.
Less as information, more as just a - I don’t know, maybe just to say it’s okay to pass on a dog for health reasons.
I was interested in a shelter dog who came in from a transport with HW. The shelter treated him and he had to stay there for 2 months before being made available for adoption, so I had a lot of chances to see him. It was obvious when he’d had the shot recently - he’d be depressed and sore. Then, when the soreness wore off, he’d be very hyper because of the confinement. Toward the end of the time, he went from being high-spirited hyper to hardcore hyper - whereas he’d been running and bouncing, now he was bolting and slamming inside his kennel. They did a fundraiser for him, saying the HW treatment was around $1k; he was a 60lb dog, and showed no obvious signs of HW.
I decided against adopting him, in part because I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of his health being somewhat questionable, with the short-term exercise restrictions and the long-term possibility of heart damage. I know people adopt HW+ dogs and everyone survives, but I was a bit shaken by the minor research I did into HW and treatment - both are quite capable of killing the dog. After painstakingly nursing my very elderly, fragile dog for several years, I have zero desire to acquire a dog with health issues, even ones that will resolve. And the exercise restrictions had clearly been feeding the worst of his hyper behavior, and it would have been very hard to deal with when there was less option of letting him exercise out his wildness. He was adopted, btw, within 24 hours of being made available, and has apparently worked out for someone else. Sometimes, it’s just not your dog.
I adopted one of my pits in the middle of treatment. He had chest films to check out his heart and also underwent sx for another problem. He got ivermectin and doxy, then the one injection. Then 30 days later he got the two immitacide injections back to back. He stayed on denamarin, hydroxazine, tramadol, and I’m sure something I’m missing. He stayed crated durin the day and at night and on a leash when I was home…usually on the couch. This was for 30 days after the last treatment. He was also extremely thin and loaded with parasites. The vet that did his treatment does all Hw treatments for local shelter and spares no expense…he’s done great. He was ill after the injections. He’s been negative for three years now.
Heartworms: The good - prevention is effective and cheap. No reason not to do it.
the bad: treatment is expensive and sometimes kills them. The only approved method is Immiticide. Unfortunately, Immiticide contains arsenic. The “slow kill” method is crap. It kills the microfilaria (baby heartworms), but never the adults. You’re just waiting for the adults to die. While waiting, if your dog runs around and gets all excited, the adult can cause an embolus, and your dog dies.
the ugly: we see far too many cases of heartworm, far too many people who are not interested in treating. far too many cases of congestive heart failure and horrible deaths because of it.
I had a dog that had to go through treatment. We kept her in a crate in her own room when gone and on a leash at all other times. For the first couple of weeks it was pretty easy, she didn’t feel well and kept herself quiet. After that, she was a little fresher, but I still didn’t find it very challenging even with two other dogs in the house. It requires some effort, but in my opinion, it’s very manageable if you’re committed to it. I found it a good way to work on leash obedience and general manners, really.
The rescue where I volunteer has gone back to fast kill also. Keeping a dog quiet doesn’t mean they have to be crated all the time. It does mean no running or exertion. We gave placed quite a few HW+ dogs and not had a problem with them recovering
My MIL adopted a wonderful lab mix ~8 years ago who was heartworm positive. She fostered the dog for the local shelter and ended up being a foster failure and adopted her. The dog was treated for HW while they were fostering her (not sure which method).
About 2 months ago MIL woke up in the morning to find the dog acting lethargic and not wanting to leave the couch. She had to go to work so her DH kept an eye on her and when she didn’t improve her drove her to the vet. Dog died in the waiting area before a vet even examined her. 
Necropsy showed that she died from damage from the HW 8 years earlier.
This was a healthy active dog who showed no symptoms until the day she died. If she was in congestive heart failure she hid it well, no coughing, no lethargy nothing; seemingly normal then dead. She was only about 10, MIL is heartbroken. This is my first personal experience with a HW+ dog but it makes me hesitant to adopt one. :no:
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