Heartworm Treatment For Dogs Timeline

1st treatment 60 days from consultation positive test results.

Heartworm treatment for dogs timeline. As the disease progresses this cough becomes more pronounced. You will give your dog an oral sedative at home 30 minutes to one hour prior to arrival at the clinic. An examination and blood work will be performed to check your dog s liver and kidney function. The treatment for heartworm disease takes at least 60 days to complete and consists of a series of drug injections that kills the worms.

Dogs with severe heartworm disease may require antibiotics pain relief medications special diets diuretics to remove fluid accumulation in the lungs and or drugs to improve heart function prior to treatment for the heartworms. Once a dog tests positive on an antigen test the diagnosis should be confirmed with an additional and different test. Give the third injection of melarsomine one day after the second. Consider pre treatment with antihistamines and or steroids to reduce reaction risk.

Administer heartworm prevention in the veterinary clinic then monitor for 8 hours. Melarsomine administered through a series of injections eradicates adult worms and ivermectin kills the microfilaria larval stage. Injection treatment 1 is given. Test for microfilariae juvenile heartworms in the blood stream three to five months after third melarsomine injection.

Even after the heartworms have been killed some dogs may require lifetime treatment for heart failure. Administer prednisone if the dog is symptomatic for heartworm disease. Begin doxycycline 10 mg kg po bid for 4 weeks. Additionally a vet may prescribe antibiotics or steroids depending on the stage and severity of infection.

Once your dog has completed the course of steroids heartworm preventive and antibiotics he should be ready to start the actual adult heartworm treatment. Give the second injection of melarsomine 30 days after the first. Heartworm disease is divided up into four stages. Without treatment the symptoms become increasingly severe having a negative effect on the dog s heart and lungs.

This requirement might be difficult to adhere to especially if your dog is accustomed to being active.