# heartworms,ticks,etc worms.



## RickyPunter (Mar 30, 2010)

my girl is 1 year old, i didnt knew ne thing about heartworms or tick fleas etc, but now i do. should i start the prevention by using interceptor frontline heartguard? im not sure if she has all those worms, she is very active on raw diet, mostly outdoor. please help me


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## Whiteshepherds (Aug 21, 2010)

RickyPunter said:


> my girl is 1 year old, i didnt knew ne thing about heartworms or tick fleas etc, but now i do. should i start the prevention by using interceptor frontline heartguard? im not sure if she has all those worms, she is very active on raw diet, mostly outdoor. please help me


You should be able to start using something for the ticks and fleas but
take her to your vet for a wellness exam before you give her meds for heartworm. The vet can also check to see if she has worms.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

You'll have to take her to the vet for a heartworm check first because you can't put her on the Heartguard prevention if she tests positive. The Frontline for fleas and ticks you can start now, then once a month from now on. Has she had any vaccinations?


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## Cluemanti (Jun 25, 2010)

Yes you need to do a test before giving HW prevention. Frontline/advantix are top picks for topical fleas/tick.


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## RickyPunter (Mar 30, 2010)

yes i ll start giving her sumthing for fleas and stuff. oh yeah the booster shots, do we give them on their first bday or a year after the 3rd shots?


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## Zoeys mom (Jan 23, 2010)

Has she had all her other shots like for parvo, distemper, and other viruses? Has she had a rabies? I do only rabies and distemper every third year after they have gotten all their puppy shots


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## alaman (May 3, 2006)

Before giving tick and flea medicine, check her for them. Mine have never had either so no medicine for them are needed. Interceptor takes care of the worms and heartworms except tapes


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## RickyPunter (Mar 30, 2010)

yeah she had all of her shots, the 3rd puppy shots she got were in JAN 2010 including rabies/.


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## Montana Scout (Sep 27, 2010)

i just took my pup in to see the vet for the 1st time yesterday and he's perfectly healthy, she just gave him a "mild-parvo" vaccine and heartworm chewy.. anyway, last night he was doing his "duty" and i noticed a 4-5 inch white spaghetti noodle looking thing.... i grabbed it w/ the scooper and couldn't really figure it out... could it have been a worm? or just some flimsy thing that he swallowed? he's already had 2 doses of nemex


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

Montana Scout said:


> i just took my pup in to see the vet for the 1st time yesterday and he's perfectly healthy, she just gave him a "mild-parvo" vaccine and heartworm chewy.. anyway, last night he was doing his "duty" and i noticed a 4-5 inch white spaghetti noodle looking thing.... i grabbed it w/ the scooper and couldn't really figure it out... could it have been a worm? or just some flimsy thing that he swallowed? he's already had 2 doses of nemex


I would bring it to the vet-they will tell you for sure. Assuming you no longer have it-I would bring a fresh stool sample to the vet to be checked.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

She will probably have to go in for booster on her rabies. I followed the AAHA guidelines for shots. Jax had her baby shots, 1 year booster and she'll have her next when she's 4 years (3 years between shots). I would get her shots when she is due for her rabies. You may want to space it out over a couple weeks so her immune system isn't overwhelmed. So that should be 1 year from her last baby shot, or her rabies shot.

You'll need a wellness exam and a HW test before starting on preventatives. You should also have her checked for tick diseases and worms.


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## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

RickyPunter said:


> my girl is 1 year old, i didnt knew ne thing about heartworms or tick fleas etc, but now i do. should i start the prevention by using interceptor frontline heartguard? im not sure if she has all those worms, she is very active on raw diet, mostly outdoor. please help me



With a dog the size of a GSD it is quite easy to use 1.87% ivermectin paste instead of Heartguard. A two-year supply of this paste is around $8 for the branded stuff Zimectrin. It is sold for horses at any feed store or saddle shop. The equivalent of Heartguard is easily $200.

You would have to be totally crackers to mess up using this product. 1/4 click is more than enough for heartworms and even some intestinals. I use 1/2 click for all my dogs.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

RickyPunter said:


> yeah she had all of her shots, the 3rd puppy shots she got were in JAN 2010 including rabies/.


If she had any vaccinations at 16 weeks or after, they should be good for life, you would only need the rabies booster, a year after the original shot was given.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

sable123 said:


> With a dog the size of a GSD it is quite easy to use 1.87% ivermectin paste instead of Heartguard. A two-year supply of this paste is around $8 for the branded stuff Zimectrin. It is sold for horses at any feed store or saddle shop. The equivalent of Heartguard is easily $200.
> 
> You would have to be totally crackers to mess up using this product. 1/4 click is more than enough for heartworms and even some intestinals. I use 1/2 click for all my dogs.


You would also have to be totally crackers to give this product without first testing to see if the dog has contracted heartworms. That would be VERY dangerous.


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## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

LisaT said:


> You would also have to be totally crackers to give this product without first testing to see if the dog has contracted heartworms. That would be VERY dangerous.


No kidding, where did I say not to test? Duh?


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