heartworm meds and microchipping?

[laughing_anima]

Hi guys, I've never had a dog before and I'm trying to take the best care of my guy as I possibly can.

Heartworm medication - are there any vegan brands? What do you give your dogs? Is monthly heartworm medication a must?

Microchipping - when I was last at the vet, my boyfriend and I asked about microchipping and the price is surprisingly

Comments

[supercarrot]

there used to be a heartguard tablet, but they discontinued that.

as far as i know, there are no more vegan heartworm meds. :-(

we now use tri-heart plus. which has a small amount of pork-derived flavoring. i suppose if enough people write to them asking for a non-flavored or vegetable-based flavoring they might add it to their repertoire?
http://www.triheartplus.com/index.html

[amolibertas]

TEST YOUR DOG before you start treating it for worms- that stuff is harsh on the dogs system and should only be given if you live in an area known for the bugs that give them to the dogs. Like, every six months, have the vet take a fecal.

I think chips are stupid- If the pound has the ability to scan and does- it still doesn't ensure anything because there are different brands of chips. This system is not universal, and sometimes scanners don't pick up on another brands chip.

Just keep a collar with current information at all times.

sorry for more questions!

[laughing_anima]

He did just have a blood test for heartworm and was negative. Is a fecal test the one you need? How do you know if you're in an area that has those bugs?

Yeah, the more I read up about microchipping the less useful it seems. I was looking at the wikipedia article about compatability and so on and it seems pretty silly.

Re: sorry for more questions!

[amolibertas]

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/heartworm-test-in-dogs/page1.aspx

sorry, it's other worms that you test with fecal matter. But if your dog lives indoors and/or you live in an area with very little mosquitoes, then I'd just stick to testing every 6 months rather than put an animal on a poison with side effects every month.

On one of these forums I follow, a lady said every time she gave the pill to her pet, he dog laid around and threw up a little for a few days, then just laid around- so 10 days later the dog would start acting normally again. And then repeat.

[lemur_cat]

I have read that heartworm can be fatal, so all dogs should get medicine to prevent it. When we had a dog, we gave her heartworm stuff; I think when they actually have heartworm the treatment is more intense.

My cats are microchipped. It isn't a guarantee, because some pounds are crap and don't care (some won't look at collars either), but it increases your odds of being reunited with them. I would get microchips if you can afford it.

[socraticomatic]

Definitely microchip, I think it's irresponsible not to. The "some pounds might not scan" argument doesn't make any sense, because if you DO microchip, there's a chance they won't scan (if what you've read is even true), but if you DON'T microchip, it's 100% CERTAIN they won't even have anything to scan.

When they say it's as big as a ball point pen, they probably mean as big as the tip + the thin ink tube inside.

[socraticomatic]

Are you screening comments, or is that community-wide?

[laughing_anima]

I didn't screen comments, but it looks like lj only screened yours. They unscreened now. (very weird)

thanks for your advice on microchipping, too!