WHEN IT COMES TO HEARTWORMS
PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE!

Although we mountain-dwellers have not had to worry too much about heartworm disease in the past, with the influx of dogs from other areas and the increase of heartworm disease in general, we feel it is safest for our dogs to be tested regularly.

If your dog is not on preventative at all, or is on preventative only during the summer months, we recommend testing every year and, for their safety, we require a yearly test before dispensing heartworm preventative or a prescription for preventative. It is not safe to give preventative to a dog with heartworm disease.

If your dog is on year-round preventative, we recommend testing every 2 years.

You will want to put your dog on preventative during the summer months, at a minimum, if you take them down the hill during the summer, or out of state.

See a map showing the prevalence of heartworm disease across the nation:
CLICK HERE FOR MAP

ALERT: You should be aware that dogs with the MDR1 gene can have adverse reactions to the drug ivermectin, found in many heartworm preventatives.
Click here for FAQs about the MDR1 gene:
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts-VCPL/FAQ.aspx

It is possible to test your dog for the presence of the MDR1 gene, but because of the number of clients with herding dogs or herding dog mixes, we use and recommend a heartworm preventative that does not contain ivermectin and is safe for all breeds.

Fortunately, cats are resistant to heartworm disease, so at this point we are not recommending testing or preventative for mountain-dwelling cats.

Click here for information about heartworm disease from the
American Veterinary Medical Association:
http://www.avma.org/communications/brochures/heartworm/heartworm_brochure.asp#formats

The type of heartworm test we use also checks for two tick-borne diseases --Lyme disease and Erlichia. Please call us to schedule a quick blood draw for a SNAP 3DX test!

(303) 674-6288