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well my parents told me today that my dog has heartworm.....
were taking her to the vet monday and after a day or two there she'll get a shot for it, and then she can come home, and she cant be very active...or anything, we have to keep her very calm for the medicine to work, we have to do this for like 3 weeks, then a little later she'll get a second shot and we have to do the same thing shes a very active puppy and we play with her alot so this will be hard on our whole family, including her.
we were told the treatmeant has a 95% sucsess rate...
anyone here else ever have a dog get heartworm? if so how did he/she do with the treatment


its me sk8freak20...i need to get premie so i can change my name back

I use Revolution for my pets, it treats fleas, ticks, and heartworm, and other parasites.
Not to scare you or anything but I have heard heartworm sufferers rarely recover, so I prefer prevention myself rather to cure!
I sure hope your dog will be ok!


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I have had a dog that did get heartworms and he made a full recovery. I also work for my local vet and have seen many hearworm cases and many of those have also made full recoveries. Did the vet let you know how severe he thought your dogs case was??
Stella

I think a lot will depend on the severity of the condition, how soon it was caught and how the dog responds to the medication.
I have never had a dog with heartworms, but the preventative works well once you can get your dog on it. My dog is nearly 17, and has never had a problems with heartworms. I use Heartgard Plus.
I hope you pet will make a full recovery.

It should be Ok if she gets through the first 3 weeks

Your main problems are if the heart has been severely damaged, and if too many worms die at once and block the heart.

How old is your pup?

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

well shes around two, but the vet says its probably not a very bad case at all, they said the most common symptom of the littlest cases is a cough, and right now she doesnt have a cough and she doesnt have any of the other symptoms.

its me sk8freak20...i need to get premie so i can change my name back

Well thats a good sign

My fingers and toes are crossed for you and your girl

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

When I was about your age or a little younger, my dog Sheba got heartworms. She went through the treatments and did fine...she was a bit sick if memory serves me right for awhile, but she did fine, all in all.

My folks finally had to put her down when she was about 13 or 14, but that was due to old age, not to heartworms.

Your little angel will be just fine, don't worry...love her and keep her warm

heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

well, we just picked her up from the vet, she seems a little dazed at the moment, she also looks sad but atleast this will make her better...now its time to keep her calm and still for 3-4 weeks...

its me sk8freak20...i need to get premie so i can change my name back

I current work at a vet clinic and I'm taking vet tech. Heres what I know about heart worms:

there are three stages (can't tell you much specifically about each stage), but stage one and two can be treated with shots and things like revolution. Stage 3 is when it really gets serious. May need some hospitol stay and advanced treatment. Stage four is, obviously, the worst. That is when the heart is filled with the worms. This stage REQUIRES surgery (pyscially go into the heart and remove worms). When they get to stage four, i think the survival rate drops to under 50%.

However, to confort you, it sounds as if your pup is only at stage two (which is the shot and 3 to 4 weeks of little activity). Usually not a problem. Nothing to really panic about. However, do what you can to keep your puppy as inactive as possible. That means a LOT of personal loving time (petting, rubbing, hugging, etc. no playing) and walks must be kept to a minimum. Get doggy to poop/pee, and then either go a little further or straight back home (depending on how far you walked).

HTH and best to your pup