Cat/Dog owners come in here

mekiakoo

I am really angry, but wanted to check with others to see if I'm the crazy one or not.

We've always got heartgard for our dogs in the past without any problem. Sometimes we'd buy them from a pet store or from the vet. We have nothing left for Tucker so we ordered them online from 1800petmeds (thought we'd try it out). Turns out they refuse to ship it to us because Tucker's vet says he has to have a heartworm test first.

I am annoyed because first of all, Tucker needs them no matter what and the test costs another $30. They say it's part of the "preventive care". I just feel like this is just a way for them to make money. I called them and explained that this was the first time they're requiring us to do that. We never had to in the past and Tucker is 2.5 years old now. They said they "think" they just started this right now and the heartgards are prescription medicines now.

Tell me I'm crazy and to suck up and do this. Tucker has an appointment at 4 for his lyme shots and the heartworm test. I'm just mad because we had no idea we had to do this.

So my question is- do you also need to do this for your cat/dog before getting heartgard?

bells24412

My dog gets a test done every year for heart worms and he takes heartgard. So yes is the answer

mekiakoo

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_catdog-owners-come-in-here?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:96ea726e-f5ff-4591-a2fc-9b084e23a113Post:07b8fcff-6364-4843-9c17-38cc72bb04ff">Re: Cat/Dog owners come in here</a>:
[QUOTE]My dog gets a test done every year for heart worms and he takes heartgard. So yes is the answer
Posted by bells24412[/QUOTE]

<img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-undecided.gif" border="0" alt="Undecided" title="Undecided" /> So I'm being crazy, huh? Maybe it's a new thing around here now, but the norm in other places.

LADY324

yes that should be done every single year at his check up.  Our vet does this every year.  Heartworm is a very serious condition and sometimes owners can be forgetful of giving their dogs their heartworm pills.  So they want to make sure that the dog does not have heart worm and they do that by the test.  Some people are too cheap and won't buy these meds for their dogs.  So I think this is just their way of making sure your dog is heart worm free before they give you a prescription to refill the meds. 

kidlets2

I'm in MN and our vet tests for heartworm every year before giving him his HeartGuard.

mekiakoo

I suppose that's true. I'd never skip giving Tucker his medicine though!

I'm sad now that Tucker needs to have his blood drawn and a shot. He's usually grouchy after shots.

mekiakoo

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_catdog-owners-come-in-here?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:96ea726e-f5ff-4591-a2fc-9b084e23a113Post:f83c2ee8-50de-4058-aa8a-62830d43e547">Re: Cat/Dog owners come in here</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm in MN and our vet tests for heartworm every year before giving him his HeartGuard.
Posted by kidlets2[/QUOTE]

This is news to us. Kind of strange. We're from a tiny town though so maybe they haven't been following the rules all along?

Thanks!

KatieK501

Yes he needs to be tested.  I've also ordered heart worm preventative for my dog online, and they had to verify with the vet as well.  It was still within a year since he had been tested, so I didn't have to take him in, and the prescription was sent from PetMeds.

My parents have two dogs and have always kept them on heartworm preventative.  However, they both ended up getting heartworms.  The dogs were treated and survived - and one of the manufactures actually paid the $1600 for both dogs heartworm treatment (they were using 6 month heart worm shots for a couple of years, which apparently didn't work, and the manufacture paid).

Long story short....it's a good idea to have Tucker test yearly.

BeabullMom

Yes, in CT we have RIley tested every year.  We also just recently order from 1880petmeds and they had to call Riley's vet to check that she was ok'd by the vet to get the meds before they would ship them.  We had they test, so they could ship.

mekiakoo

KatieK- that's horrible! I'm glad the dogs were treated and are okay. They used shots? I've always seen the chewable tablets.

I remember seeing models/displays of a heart with worms when volunteering at the vet when I was maybe 11. I was always horrified by the sight of the worms.

MeaganR12

yep, we've always had to get our dogs tested before they give us heartgard. 

I think 90% of the stuff vets do is to make more money though. For examply, De Yum Yum got kennel cough this year and I told the vet that was impossible because she had gotten the bordetella vaccine. Well apparently there are hundreds of strains of kennel cough. So what exactly is the point of getting the bordetella vaccine? /endvent.

mekiakoo

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_catdog-owners-come-in-here?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:96ea726e-f5ff-4591-a2fc-9b084e23a113Post:aba64f68-bd8e-4e56-b6c4-9832fffa1081">Re: Cat/Dog owners come in here</a>:
[QUOTE]yep, we've always had to get our dogs tested before they give us heartgard.  I think 90% of the stuff vets do is to make more money though. For examply, De Yum Yum got kennel cough this year and I told the vet that was impossible because she had gotten the bordetella vaccine. Well apparently there are hundreds of strains of kennel cough. So what exactly is the point of getting the bordetella vaccine? /endvent.
Posted by MeaganR12[/QUOTE]

I have to agree. But at the same time I start getting scared when the vet gives us a long list of stuff that we "should" do for our dogs and they cost a lot of money. They'd push us to do this or that, and often after we say "no thanks" then they make us feel guilty. And I start to wonder about things like "what if we missed something?" . This was mostly when my previous dog was getting old and she wasn't doing very well (a Samoyed, she was 13). When we finally decided she was suffering too much and we had to put her to sleep, I spent a long time questioning my decisions.

ginadog

I think my dog gets a HW test every 2-3 years not sure which.  It's not yearly for us I do know that.  HW pills are preventative but not 100% so they have to check just to be sure.

mekiakoo

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_catdog-owners-come-in-here?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:96ea726e-f5ff-4591-a2fc-9b084e23a113Post:555bf39a-8cbf-4b9a-bb62-b6dd867bb424">Re: Cat/Dog owners come in here</a>:
[QUOTE]I think my dog gets a HW test every 2-3 years not sure which.  It's not yearly for us I do know that.  HW pills are preventative but not 100% so they have to check just to be sure.
Posted by ginadog[/QUOTE]

Really? Are you still able to get the pills during the years your dog doesn't get tested? Interesting!

k8888

My vet requires my dog to be tested every year, as well.

Annoying, but what can you do?

I have nothing to compare it to because my parents never gave heartworm meds to any of our other dogs growing up....

ETA: Be thankful the manufacturer of your heartworm pills didn't "halt production" without giving any specific reasoning.  Thanks, Novartis!

knjorgensen

My Max gets tested once a year and I'm happy to pay the $30 for the test rather than find out he has heartworms and pay for the treatment. I get Heartgard through 1800PetMeds and my vet happily signs over a yearly prescription after Max's test is HW-free.

KatieK501

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_catdog-owners-come-in-here?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:96ea726e-f5ff-4591-a2fc-9b084e23a113Post:c598080e-edf0-4084-a395-c89314934edb">Re: Cat/Dog owners come in here</a>:
[QUOTE]KatieK- that's horrible! I'm glad the dogs were treated and are okay. They used shots? I've always seen the chewable tablets. I remember seeing models/displays of a heart with worms when volunteering at the vet when I was maybe 11. I was always horrified by the sight of the worms.
Posted by mekiakoo[/QUOTE]

I don't know what the shots were called, but our vet offered a shot that the dogs could have once every 6 months instead of a monthly pill.  I don't know if it didn't work b/c the shots were bad and it's something that happened to a lot of dogs, or if it's because my parents live in Mississippi River delta where mosquitos thrive (and mosquitos are what carry heartworms) and it's more of an option for places where there aren't many mosquitos.  It was horrible and crazy expensive for treatment!

Madisonpenny

A heartworm test needs to be done at least every other year so no it's not just a money grab.

[Deleted User]

I'm glad we have a really good vet that doesn't do the whole "your dog needs this, this and this." She tells us what the dog really needs and we usually do that.  In regards to heartworm medication, we do have to get her tested every year in order to get the medication.

ginadog

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_catdog-owners-come-in-here?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:96ea726e-f5ff-4591-a2fc-9b084e23a113Post:b428c995-2d37-4192-ab0b-02c67be52404">Re: Cat/Dog owners come in here</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Cat/Dog owners come in here : Really? Are you still able to get the pills during the years your dog doesn't get tested? Interesting!
Posted by mekiakoo[/QUOTE]

I'm thinking the test they use is good for longer than a year?

shelby8020

Yes is really aggravating lol

Eliz77

Where I work, we recommend pet owners do a yearly heartworm test, but they will allow clients to do it every other year if they give a preventative year round and do not miss a dose. 

Heartworm isn't common every where, but now that we have so many petfinder type of organizations with puppies being shipped all over the country, we've been seeing more positive test results. That is probably why some vets are becoming more strict about requiring testing yearly.

littlemoments324

Clyde gets checked every 6 months because we buy in bulk.

Eliz77

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_july-2012-weddings_catdog-owners-come-in-here?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:066005ef-215f-48b1-8655-328b41e07c52Discussion:96ea726e-f5ff-4591-a2fc-9b084e23a113Post:2e5f2884-661a-430c-bcd9-66bac37ca9f7">Re: Cat/Dog owners come in here</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Cat/Dog owners come in here : I'm thinking the test they use is good for longer than a year?
Posted by ginadog[/QUOTE]
A test only shows if the dog has HW at that time of testing-a dog could be negative and then positive 6 months later. The reason vets recommend testing yearly is because some clients prefer to only pill during the "warm" months and take a break when mosquitos are not prevalent. Vets will recommend you test prior to starting back on the pills (so it generally ends up being springtime). Like I said in my previous post-some vets will allow clients to skip a year of testing if they pill their dog year round. <div>
</div><div>I use Intreceptor because I have Shelties, but once Norvatis stopped production, I had my dogs tested and luckily they do not have an ivermectin sensitivity and will be able to take Heartgard once I run out.</div>

tszostek

We do it every year also.. and we have a great vet who tries to make our visits as cheap as possible!