Heartworms and Why Prevention Is Important to Our Lakeshore Pets

Heartworms are a terrible and invasive parasite that puts your dog at risk of severe health issues. What's worse is that they are transmitted through infected mosquitoes, making it hard to prevent without help. All dog owners need to be knowledgeable about heartworms and why prevention is essential to our Lakeshore pets. With the advancements in medicine, dog owners can thankfully rest assured that their dog can be safe from heartworms if they do the right things!

 

Heartworm Medication Effectivity

Preventing heartworms is genuinely your best bet at keeping your dog safe from them. Contrary to what you may think, heartworm preventatives are not some barrier that repels infested mosquitoes and their larvae. Instead, the medicine works within the body to kill the larvae present and stop them from reaching adulthood, where they can cause the most damage. The reason why prevention is so essential to our Lakeshore pets is that the medicine is not effective against already present adult heartworms. To keep your pup safe, the larvae need to be killed while they are at an early stage!

 

Getting a Prescription

In case you are scared that getting your hands on this medicine would be a complicated ordeal, don't worry because it's actually relatively easy. Most vets already know about heartworms and why prevention is important to our Lakeshore pets, and they are more than happy to give you a prescription for the preventatives. However, they need to run a few tests first to ensure your canine companion's safety. They need to check their medical records as well as make sure there are no adult heartworms already present in their system.

 

All Year-Round

It is highly recommended that you give your dog its heartworm prevention medication all year-round to keep them safe at all times. While it's understandable to think that in some seasons, you may not need to do so because there are no mosquitoes around, it's generally better to be safe in this regard. You never know when some unexpected season change occurs, and mosquitoes start flying without your notice! 

 

We Can Keep Your Pet Free From Heartworms

Monroe Animal Health Center has over 40 years of experience providing animal companions with the medical care they need. We treat both pets and their owners as members of our happy and growing family. It means that we only provide the best care we could possibly give to each and every one of our patients. Send us a message and learn why pet owners believe in us to give their furry friends medical attention!