Heartworm Disease in Dogs: a Festival of Links

Throughout this blog we have used information from many resources. Today, we will fulfill the promise to collect them all in one place. We are sure it is a day you have been waiting for!

If you are just finding this from a Google search, we invite you to not only check out these links, but to read through the blog as well. You will find pictures of the heartworm treatment of Mila and we hope some easy to understand information that will help you help your dog, as we have broken down the complicated information from these sites into what we hope will make more sense to everyone.

Links after this:
---> Immiticide Unavailability!<---

These goals may be achieved by strict adherence to the following - basic overview:

1. Limit the activity level of the dog to reduce pathology. (Really important! More activity makes the dog SICKER FASTER)
2. Carefully place the non-protected dog on heartworm prevention. (see the PDF)
3. Administer doxycycline to reduce pathology and infective potential of heartworms. The doxycycline protocol would be 1 month on, 2 months off, 1 month on, 2 months off, etc.

All the details to review with your veterinarian are in that PDF. You should probably print and bring the whole PDF with you so they can see the source of the information and all the footnoting stuff.

Now the links!

Thank you to The Bark Magazine!

http://www.thebark.com/content/big-dog-big-heartworm
The Bark Magazine Facebook Page

American Heartworm Society (AHS) main page:
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/

Graphic image of a heart full of worms from Placerville vet:
http://www.placervillevet.com/images/heartworms.JPG

Some prevention information from the AHS:
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/heartworm.html#prevention

Remind My Pet to help you remember when to give meds:
http://www.remindmypet.com/

Merial medicine reminder:
http://us.merial.com/pet_owners/reminder_services/index.asp

A free Apple product from Merial:
Heartgard Apple App

Sends you email reminders and more:
Revolution Membership
(If you use a brand of preventative not named, check their website to see if they will send you a reminder.)

Where is heartworm?
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/Incidence-Map-logos.jpg

From LSU Cardiology:
http://cardiology.vetmed.lsu.edu/Education/AcquiredCardiacDiseases/HeartwormDisease/tabid/448/Default.aspx

American Mosquito Association:
http://www.mosquito.org/

Canis Major:
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/hartworm.html

Heartworm lifecycle:
http://www.interceptorspectrum.com.au/images/heartworm-life-cycle.png

A little more complicated lifecycle:
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/images/comparedog.jpg

The big vet info from AHS:
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/veterinary-resources/canine-guidelines.html

Probiotic info for when the dog is on doxy before treatment begins:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/88063-use-probiotics-during-antibiotic-treatment/

MarVista Vet info with Wolbacchia info:
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_heartworm_treatment.html

Life cycle written info:
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/heartworm.html#lifecycle

Graphic heartworm photo:
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/h2.jpg

Graphic heartworm photo 2:
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/h1.jpg

Baby worm picture:
http://www.capcvet.org/images/Heartworm/heartworm-microfilariae.jpg%20

Drs. Foster and Smith heartworm info:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=584&c=9547&

DogAware HW info - 2006:
http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjheartwormtreatment.html#

WebMD alternative medicine for pets:
http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/alternative-medicine-for-rover

Canine Acupressure Meridian Chart
http://www.lhasaoms.com/2005/sqerl/inv/caninectlg.jpg

Acupuncture/Dr. Schoen:
http://www.askdrschoen.com/therapies_L2_acupunc.html

American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture:
http://www.aava.org/

Pancreatitis in pets:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1580&aid=335

VIN Heartworm Treatment:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=610

Some news articles about the lack of Immiticide:
http://articles.kspr.com/2011-08-12/heartworm_29882623

http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-lack-of-heartworm-medication-leading-to-euthanizations-20110812,0,3791678.story

Whole Dog Journal recommended that you look for a VIPPS pharmacy: http://nabp.net/programs/accreditation/vet-vipps/find-a-vet-vipps-online-pharmacy/

If you give Heartgard to your dog  make sure that they either chew it well or you tear it up into pieces so that they actually get the medicine part:
http://heartgard.us.merial.com/pdf/HEARTGARD-Chewables-for-Dogs.pdf

Strict exercise restriction to be used during slow or fast kill treatment:
http://projectspayneuter.com/petowner/heartworm.htm

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

Heartworm treatment aftercare with disclaimer - ALWAYS talk to your vet!
http://www.houstoncollierescue.org/download_info_files/heartworm%20treatment%20aftercare.pdf

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/heartworm-disease-in-dogs/page4.aspx

http://bigdogsbigheartworm.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html 
Any coughing should be reported to your veterinarian.

Immiticide Unavailability Guidelines:
http://heartwormsociety.org/UrgentAlert-8-9-11.pdf

Info on that from the VIN:
http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=19471

Heartworm disease symptoms:
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/hartworm.html

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

Clinical signs of heartworm disease:
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/veterinary-resources/images2/summary.jpg

From: The "Slow Kill" Method of Treatment
Slow kill (There are a lot of misconceptions about heartworm treatment in dogs. One of the most common misconceptions is that using ivermectin-based heartworm preventive medications for a "slow kill" is the preferred way to treat canine heartworm disease.):
http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/diseasesandconditions/a/CW-HeartwormSlowKillversusImmiticide.htm

How to raise money for a dog's heartworm treatment:
http://www.imom.org/fa/pdf/fundraising.pdf

Heartworm medicines ("preventitives"):
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_heartworm_prevention.html

Study on treating heartworm:
http://www.2ndchance.info/heartworm.htmwas nice enough to explain this study: http://www.2ndchance.info/heartworm-ivermectinstudy.pdf

Will finish September (Caval Syndrome and beyond) at another time on this post.