[nagdu] heartworm prevention

Fri Jan 3 20:29:55 UTC 2014

Tina,
You said exactly what I am thinking. It seems to hurt nothing to leave my dogs on preventative, and I've seen dogs that get heart worm, and I will definitely pass on that one.

Also, for me right now, if I stopped treating him for the winter months, I would have to get him retested. Since he has his physical in November and gets tested then, I do not want to afford this. If I were to travel to Tucson, which I used to do a lot more, I would need him protected for that trip.

Tina is right, there are factors that we as individual dog handlers need to consider to make our best decision.

Kristeen & Mendle

On Jan 3, 2014, at 12:29 PM, Tina Thomas <judotina48kg at gmail.com> wrote:

> Your claims	 that some vets are just in it for the money might have some
> merit. However, speaking from someone who lives on the west coast and trusts
> the vet I'm working with, I think I will rely on her research, knowledge as
> well as having 30 years of experience working with animals. I am not willing
> to gamble with the health of my dog or put someone else's dog at risk by not
> being mindful of mites and fleas that can infect my dog as well as someone s
> else's dog based on sources sited on the internet. The best we as a dog
> handling community can do for ourselves, is to evaluate our lifestyle and
> what we do day to day with our dogs, so that we can make an informed choice
> to what is best for us and our dogs to have a long and lasting partnership. 
> Tina and the girls               
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Raven Tolliver
> Sent: Friday, January 03, 2014 8:34 AM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nagdu] heartworm prevention
> 
> the heartworm pill does not prevent heartworm, it is a pesticide that kills
> heartworm babies. Nothing can stop your dog from getting heartworm unless it
> can stop mosquitoes infected with heartworm from biting your dog. You can
> reduce mosquito bites with mosquito control, but obviously, that is not
> 100%. The ultimate solution to fending off pests and fighting worms is a
> healthy immune system.
> Getting a heartworm infestation is far more difficult than vets and drug
> companies would have us believe. There are 7 steps necessary for an
> infestation:
> Step 1: A hungry female mosquito of a certain species must bite your dog.
> Female mosquitoes act as airborne incubators for premature baby heartworms
> (called microfilariae). Mosquitoes thrive in warm, humid conditions, as I
> stated in an earlier post.
> Step 2: Our hungry mosquito needs access to a dog already infected with
> sexually mature male andfemale heartworms that have produced babies.
> Step 3: The heartworm babies must be at the L1 stage of development when
> the mosquito bites the dog and withdraws blood.
> Step 4:  Ten to fourteen days later — if the temperature is right –the
> microfilariae mature inside the mosquito to the infective L3 stage then
> migrate to the mosquito’s mouth. (Yum!) Step 5:  Madame mosquito transmits
> the L3′s to your dog’s skin with a bite. Then, if all conditions are right,
> the L3′s develop in the skin for three to four months (to the L5 stage)
> before making their way into your dog’s blood.  But your dog still isn’t
> doomed.
> Step 6:   Only if the dog’s immune system doesn’t rid the dog of these
> worms do the heartworms develop to adulthood.
> Step 7:   It takes approximately six months for the surviving larvae
> to achieve maturity. At this point, the adult heartworms may produce babies
> if there are both males and females, but the kiddies will die unless a
> mosquito carrying L3′s intervenes.  Otherwise, the adults will live several
> years then die.
> In summation, a particular species of mosquito must bite a dog infected
> with circulating L1 heartworm babies, must carry the babies to stage L3 and
> then must bite your dog. The adult worms and babies will eventually die off
> in the dog unless your dog is bitten again!
> Also, heartworms Development Requires Sustained Day & Night Weather Above
> 57˚F ...
> The University of Pennsylvania vet school (in a study funded by
> Merial) found: “Development in the mosquito is temperature dependent,
> requiring approximately two weeks of temperature at or above 27C (80F).
> Below a threshold temperature of 14C (57F), development cannot occur, and
> the cycle will be halted. As a result, transmission is limited to warm
> months, and duration of the transmission season varies geographically.”
> ...
> The Washington State University vet school reports that laboratory studies
> show that maturation of the worms requires “the equivalent of a steady
> 24-hour daily temperature in excess of 64°F (18°C) for approximately one
> month.”  In other words, it has to be warm day AND night or development is
> retarded even if the average temperature is sufficiently warm. They add,
> that at 80° F, “10 to 14 days are required for development of microfilariae
> to the infective stage.”
> Jerold Theis, DVM, PhD, says, “If the mean monthly temperature is only a
> few degrees above 14 degrees centigrade [57 degrees F] it can take so many
> days for infective larvae to develop that the likelihood of the female
> mosquito living that long is remote.”
> https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/heartworm-medication-part-1-truths-om
> issions-and-profits/
> 
> http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/08/03/why-hav
> ent-pet-owners-been-told-these-facts-about-heartworm.aspx
> 
> The vets at Holistic Vet Center say:  “… monthly heartworm preventatives
> are actually 100% effective if given every 45 days and 99% effective if
> given every 60 days.”
> https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/heartworm-medication-part-2/
> 
> Also, people need to understand that heartworm positive results is not a
> death sentence. there are various herbs which treat heartworm; and there is
> also Heartworm Free, which is both a preventative and treatment.
> http://www.heartwormfree.com/heartworm_prevention.htm
> 
> If you do a Google search for heartworm development and temperature, you
> will see the same facts on numerous websites.
> Sorry, vets are in it for the money, and the vets at guide dog schools are
> no more competent than the four vets I visited with my golden. You know that
> money is a top priority in the guide dog programs because they feed the dogs
> foods like Iams, Proplan, insert low-cost, low quality dog food here. And
> these vets truly think that these brands of kibble are healthy. Any vet who
> says things like: "Iams is a healthy kibble," or "Eating kibble cleans your
> dog's teeth," are not good vets in my opinion. Statements such as these
> demonstrate that a vet is concerned about money over health.
> Statements such as these come from the same vets who say give heartworm
> preventative once a month, even when there's not a chance of mosquitoes
> appearing for more than half the year. If you live in states with climates
> similar to Florida or Texas, I can understand where they're coming from. But
> in regions like the Northeast and Midwest, that is just overkill.
> --
> Raven
> 
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