Dog Heartworm: Symptoms and Prevention

In a nutshell, you don't want to wait until your dog has heartworm symptoms. You want to prevent heartworm from getting into your dog in the first place.

What is Heartworm Disease?

Heartworm disease is a nasty, serious disease. It is caused by infected mosquitoes biting your dog and depositing microscopic larvae, which mature and migrate to your dog's heart. When they grow into adult worms, they can be as long as a foot in length. They mate and produce additional larvae inside the heart and can expand to the blood vessels leading from the heart to the lungs. If left untreated, dogs will usually die of heart failure.

Dog Heartworm Symptoms

Heartworm symptoms in your dog include tiredness, decreased appetite, weight loss and heart failure. Unfortunately, dog heartworm symptoms often don't show up until about a year after the pet has been infected. Heartworm is usually diagnosed via blood test and your vet will normally perform a heartworm test as part of your dog's yearly checkup.

Heartworm Prevention

The point is, you don't want to get to the point that your dog has heartworm symptoms. Prevention is key, and it is simple. Your vet can prescribe a once-a-month tablet (prescription only) or else a topical treatment. Interceptor and Revolution Heartworm medication are the most popular brands.

If you live in an area with large mosquito outbreaks, consider using a flea medication that also has repels and kills mosquitoes. See our comparison chart.

Find Cheap Heartworm Medication Online

While you can get the prescription filled by your vet, our experience is that heartworm medication will cost a lot more at your vet's office than if you order the same brand product at an online pet site such as EntirelyPets or 1-800-PetMeds . There is nothing inferior about "cheap" heartworm medication, as long as you buy from a reputable site. It is the same medication, the only thing cheap is the price. Since a prescription is required, the usual procedure is to place your order online and fax or mail a copy of the heartworm medicine prescription to the online store. By law, they cannot fill it without a written prescription.

Alternative Heartworm Medication for Dogs

Some people are concerned that medicine for heartworm prevention may cause liver disease. We are not veterinarians, so we recommend you talk to your vet for their opinion and to see if there are alternative heartworm medications for your dog.

Recommended Sites

1-800-PetMeds is America's largest pet pharmacy. They carry a huge stock of prescription and non-prescription pet meds including flea and tick control, heartworm medication, and allergy and arthritis medications. They also carry a wide variety of dog vitamin/nutritional supplements, skin and coat care products, dental care products, and more. 1-800-PetMeds guarantees the best price at time of shipping. Get $5 off every order! 1-800-PetMeds is taking $5 off each purchase no matter what the order size.  Customers also get Free Shipping on orders over $39.Ordering is fast and secure. 1800PetMeds.com uses an industry security standard called SSL to encrypt your order.

PetCareRx is one of the most affordable pet pharmacy and supply stores on the web. They carry prescription and non-prescription pet healthcare items and ship them conveniently to your door. When ordering with PetCareRx you can save up to 50% when compared to your vet's prices. Save up to 50% on all your pet care needs with PetCareRx.

SitStay.com offers an extraordinary range of dog supplies at great prices. They carry everything from beds, crates, leashes and grooming supplies to food and treats, toys, clothing (including "outdoor wear"), dog flea and tick control and other pet meds, travel carriers and dog seat belts, plus dog training books. Their products are hand-picked and SitStay dog-tested, and they offer personal, friendliness service. Prices are extremely competitive, online transactions are secure, shipping costs are low (based on actual UPS cost to your zipcode) and shipping is fast. SitStay is a member of BBB Online and they have received national recognition from BizRate.com for their customer service and support. We also like that SitStay donates portion of their proceeds to canine rescue organizations. Use Promotion Code DOGLOVER and save 10% on your next order. Free shipping for orders $100 or more through Sunday, May 18th

Drs. Foster & Smith is the largest catalog and online seller of pet supplies in the U.S. They feature high quality pet products for enhancing pet health and well-being. Products include healthy pet foods, vitamin supplements, pet meds, nutraceuticals, furniture, bedding, and more, often at lower prices than what you may find in retail pet stores. In addition to carrying thousands of name-brands, Drs. Foster & Smith have their own high quality brand name products, all American-made. They offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee – If you're not satisfied with a product you purchase from Drs. Foster & Smith you can return it for a full refund of the product price – no questions asked. Save at the Drs. Foster and Smith Flea and Tick Sale! Offer ends 5.12.08! Get Free Ground Shipping on Flea and Tick Products through Dec '08 !