# Heart worm/flea prevention



## Carolina Blue (Sep 20, 2012)

Just had my new pup to the vet for her first checkup. Now I need to decide what heartworm prevention to put her on. Seems now, everything is a multi - meaning heartworm, flea, internal parasite pill. I live in a heavily wooded area, so fleas and ticks are a problem, but is the internal parasite really necessary? I have had dogs in the past that didn't get a pill and they always were clear of worms at their checkups. 

Thank you for any advice


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## jcbuch (Oct 15, 2009)

I presume you are referencing the internal parasite meds as the heart worm meds? If so and again presuming by your name you are US based in one of the Carolina states, heart worm is definitely necessary in any warm weather climate that has mosquitos. Mosquitos are the carrier for the heartworm larvae. Its a nasty disease and heart worm medicine is about $10 per month per dog. I believe i pay about $60 for a six month supply based on weight of the dog and i use heartguard brand. 

Joe


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

I wondered the same as we always had semi outdoor cats before that never went on anything were always fine. But I still dose my dogs thinking of it as an insurance plan. If I spend $7-10 a month (worm med only per dog) it could save me more $ in the future and keep my dogs from getting sickly. Personal choice.


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## dmak (Jul 25, 2012)

I live in new orleans about 1/2 mile from the Mississippi where the mosquitos are incessant. Heartworms are a serious problem for a lot of animals here in the south. We use Trifexis with great success. We have to use it year round here. I have never seen a single flea on Kauzy ever and he always tests negative for heartworms. He doesn't really even itch himself at all. As a deep woods/ bayou hunting dog, I would assume he would be more prone to insect related issues than most dogs, and we've never had a problem. I highly recommend Trifexis. Its a once a month pill and it works. Its a little pricey at $125 for a 6 month supply but that is cheap in my eyes for total flea and heartworm prevention. A lot of shelter dogs die of heartworm disease here in nola


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Your vet should be able to tell you if your area has a heartworm issue.


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## Carolina Blue (Sep 20, 2012)

No I'm all for the heartworm prevention. The internal parasites I referred to his the hookworms, round worms, etc. the vet was tring to get me to buy Trifexis which is to prevent heartworms fleas and the hook/round worms. I read a bit about the Trifexis can cause seizures and other troubling side effects. So wondering what others are using.


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## dmak (Jul 25, 2012)

*Re: Re: Heart worm/flea prevention*



Carolina said:


> No I'm all for the heartworm prevention. The internal parasites I referred to his the hookworms, round worms, etc. the vet was tring to get me to buy Trifexis which is to prevent heartworms fleas and the hook/round worms. I read a bit about the Trifexis can cause seizures and other troubling side effects. So wondering what others are using.


I read that in my research as well and was a little concerned at first, but then read the same issues and potential side effects occurred with the majority of other orally induced prevention tabs. I guess it comes with theterritory. He's been on it for 1 1/2 years now with now issues


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

Ok well we use heartgard now. Use to use interceptor but there's some availability issues with that. Heartgard seems to working fine and prevents several things. And I think is a bit cheaper than some others.


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## jcbuch (Oct 15, 2009)

I use heartguard plus it does heart, round, and hook worms. For fleas and ticks I use frontline plus when it's hot out. At first consistent frost I don't use the frontline, nless I am heading south for an event. All in all it seems to work. The occassional chiggers in the late summer. More so on me than the dogs

Joe


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