Heartworm is a very serious and fatal disease that is caused by a parasitic worm known as Dirofilaria Immitis. Such a disease is spread from one infected animal to another via a single bite of a mosquito.
And since this particular disease is extremely hard to cure, it becomes essential for pet parents to take necessary preventative steps.
Thus, putting your buddy on a heartworm preventative schedule is mandatory. But unfortunately, there are quite a few dog parents that make common mistakes with regards to heartworm prevention in their dogs.
So in this blog, we will go through the common mistakes made and hopefully it will help pet parents refrain from performing them again. Let’s get started!
6 Common Heartworm Prevention Mistakes Made
There are quite a few mistakes that dog parents make with regards to heartworm prevention. So let us look at those, one by one.
1. Not Getting in Touch With A Vet Before Administering Any Heartworm Preventatives
Before putting your four-legged friend on a heartworm preventative schedule, it is always recommended to first consult a vet.
It is because the vet will first perform a blood test for heartworm and see to it if your buddy has the heartworm infection or not. Then he would prescribe a heartworm preventative for the same.
Moreover, if you just want to prevent heartworm from getting in close contact with your dog, you still should visit a vet and consult their expert opinion.
2. Sticking To Heartworm Preventatives Only During The Peak Seasons
Most pet parents make this common mistake of putting their buddy on a heartworm preventative schedule only during the peak seasons. For instance, there are many parents who opt for heartworm preventatives only in the warmer months because that is the time when there are many mosquitoes hovering in the air.
But the truth is, heartworm can affect your dog at any time. So basically there is no rest or time to breathe easy. Hence, heartworm prevention should be all year round and not just during the so called peak seasons.
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3. Not Paying Enough Attention To Your Pet’s Weight
Not just heartwormers, but there are several other pet treatments that require you to dose your pet based on their weight. Thus, keeping an eye on your pet’s weight is equally important because that will determine the dose as well.
If your pet happens to lose or gain weight, the dose will also fluctuate based on that. Thus, pay very close attention to your four-legged pal’s weight.
4. Being Unaware Of Other Heartworm Preventative Options
Heartworm preventatives are plenty and many pet parents do not know that. Generally, pet parents opt for the branded Heartgard Plus. And when they are low on finances, they often skip a month or two.
But this can be rectified because there are many generic heartwormers too that do the same work for a relatively lesser cost. Heartwormers like Nuheart and Valuheart can be opted for during the months pet parents have a tight budget.
On the other hand for enhancing protection, pet parents can also go for Simparica Trio which helps control and treat fleas, ticks, roundworms, and hookworms along with heartworm prevention. In this way, you will be protecting your buddy from heartworm all throughout the year.
5. No Heartworm Preventatives For Indoor Dogs
One of the biggest mistakes made by pet parents with regards to heartworm prevention is, not giving their indoor dogs heartworm preventatives.
Just because the dog lives indoors does not mean that they are at no risk of getting affected by heartworm. Since heartworm is transmitted by just a mosquito bite, it is very likely that indoor dogs can get the dreaded disease too.
Thus, putting your indoor dog on a heartworm preventative schedule is equally important and mandatory.
6. Unware Of The Dosage Patterns Or Forgetting To Dose The Pet On Time
We are humans and tend to make mistakes, and that is understandable. But when it comes to heartworm prevention in dogs, we must be extremely careful about the dosing patten.
Heartworm treatments are dosed every month, so it is important to dose the pet once every month. It can be difficult to remember, so mark your calendars and make sure you dose your pet every month.
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Once or twice, you might forget and that is okay, but make sure it is not repeated every single month. Dosing your pet on time is important, which is why pet parents should make it a point to get the dosing pattern spot on, every month.
Conclusion
Pet parents who tend to make these common mistakes with regards to heartworm prevention, we request you to rectify the mistakes and we are sure it is very much doable. We love our pets so much that we would do anything to give them the best ever care. So stay safe, stay alert, and always do the correct and right thing!
