Heartworm prevention information

Heartworms have been the leading cause of death for many dogs that have been exposed to mosquito that transmits this deadly disease. Most heart worm preventatives are costly and now that most states require a yearly test for heart worms before giving the meds for heart worms which add more money to make sure your dog will not have heart worms even if your dog or dogs have been on a heart worm preventative program for years, they will require the test. All this is very costly and burdensome for the dog owners. Before using any heart worm prevention, please have your dog tested for heartworms if he/she has not been on any type of heart worm prevention meds.

 Please note  certain dogs are genetically hypersensitive to the medication. In these dogs, ivermectin can pass directly to the brain and be toxic or even lethal. Sensitivity to the drug can also be seen in dogs or puppies that have overdosed on a similar medication in the past.

A genetic sensitivity to ivermectin can be seen in several breeds, but is more commonly seen in the following breeds:

• Collie
• Old English sheepdog
• Shetland sheepdog (Sheltie)
• Australian shepherd
• German shepherd
• Longhaired whippet
• Silken windhound
• Border collie
• Dogs of mixed breeds that include herding breeds

This genetic sensitivity is due to a mutation in what is called the MDR1 gene. This mutant gene may make the dog more sensitive to several other medications as well. Not all individual dogs in the breeds listed above carry the mutant gene. The only way to know if an individual dog has the mutant MDR1 gene is through testing. To do the test, cells are scraped from the inside of the dog’s cheek and sent to a laboratory for genetic testing. Talk to your veterinarian if you are interested in having your dog tested.

Ivomec 1% injectable cattle wormer. Give it orally. Use it 1/10 of 1 cc for each 10 pounds of body weight.

You can mix with soft drink or orange juice to make it taste better for the dog.

How to treat for worms and parasites

The cost to keep worm infestations out of your dogs may end up a lot of money if you take your dog to a vet .. I think you can safe a lot of money just by going to your  feed store or going on line.

What I use is very inexpensive and a all around deworming treatment. Fenbendazole 10% it is 100% effective against all four types of canine intestinal worms. If you would by deworming medications just for deworming dogs you would be paying a lot more for them. So instead of buying dog/puppy deworming medications you can use Safe-Guard 10% suspension goat dewormer. You can use this on puppies that are 2 weeks or older dogs.  You should deworm your dogs every month to keep them free of worm infestations. If you only have one dog you could share with friends the cost to buy a 1000 ml bottle that contains 100 mg per ml of the active ingredient of Fenbendazole. This is cheaper to buy on a yearly basis than any deworming medication. When you buy the dog/puppy deworming medications from Wal Mart they only treat for two may be three canine intestinal worms, so you would have to buy two types of deworming medications to do the same as buying Safe-Guard 10% suspension goat dewormer which is effective against all four types of intestinal worms.

Recommended dosage of Safe-Guard 10% Suspension(Fenbendazole) strength is 1ml which contains 100mg active ingredient per 5lbs of dog body weight. For example: 25lbs dog would receive 5ml per day for 3 days a total 3 day treatment of 15 ml.  Fenbendazole is always given in three days rather than one day for adult dogs. For puppies I deworm at 2,3, 4, 6 weeks with Safe-Guard and have vet when getting their health check up at 8 weeks. I deworm my dogs around the 15th of the month and heart worm preventative on the 1st of the month.
Fenbendazole - Safe Guard 10% is the same as Panacur which is one of the safest dewormers on the market today. No fasting is required and it is safe during pregnancy and lactation.
Don't wait till you see worms in your dog's feces before treating them. It's better to treat and keep them worm free before they have them. If you are a breeder you should deworm before you breed her and during the last two weeks before she has her pups. Also deworm her each time you deworm your pups at 2,3,6 and 8 weeks. This will even treat and prevent giardiasis.

Tape Worms

Parziquantel is used for the removal of tapeworms.

Dogs and Puppies over 4 weeks of age with 34mg Praziquantel.

5lbs and under - 1/2 capsule
6 to 10lbs - 1 capsule
11 to 15lbs - 1 1/2 capsules
16 to 30lbs  - 2 capsules
31 to 45lbs - 3 capsules
46 to 60lbs - 4 capsules
over 60lbs - 5 capsules

Monthly Dosage for Cats and Kittens over 6 weeks of age with 23mg Praziquantel

4lbs and under - 1/2 capsule
5 to 11lbs - 1 capsule
over 11lbs - 1 1/2 capsules

Fish Tapes Praziquantel 34mg comes in capsule form.
 For lower dosage the capsules can be separated and the powder can be divided accordingly.