Do you give heartworm medicine?

Do you give heartworm medicine?

  • Yes

    Votes: 44 89.8%

  • No

    Votes: 5 10.2%
  • Total voters
    49
JLSOhio51 said:
As an admitted (and perhaps avowed) pessimist, I read this comment with a knowing and an affimative nod. I have no doubt that some vets DO (often) employ such scare tactics. However, even if I AM bowing to doggy doc scare tactics, where does the harm lie? Even if the chance of contracting heartworms in a givin area is low, where does the harm lie? The question is (for me), does the heartworm med HARM my pet even if unneccessary? If the answer is NO, the choice is simple - do it! If the answer is YES (or MAYBE) the choice becomes much more difficult.
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This. I was going to post basically the same thing when I got around to it. I kinda suspect Fasb may not need heartworm meds. He was 4 or 5 before his first owner put him on Heartgard, so I suspect it may not be a big risk for us. But I don't see any reason to question the vet's judgment. If Fasb did get heartworms, it'd be a horrible ordeal for him. Not worth any sort of risk. And, even if I look at it as a purely financial issue, Heartgard costs me about $110 a year (I don't price shop; just buy it from the vet and pay what he charges). If Fasb lives another five years, I may spend $600 on Heartgard. I don't know how much it would cost me to treat heartworms, but I'm almost certain it'd be more than $600.
 
Ann said:
Geez, I've never been to a vet that does this! :ick What kind of vets do you know? I'd give them a wide berth!!
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Several, including the military veterinary facility I support with IT work, although I'm not privileged to use its services.

I wouldn't necessarily not use a vet simply because of such a thing. Vets are business people, and need to turn a profit to stay in existence. I believe it's incumbent upon myself not to be taken in by such tactics, and stay informed. In this day and age, that's easier than ever!
 
Fasb's Owner: You captured my point pretty well. To me, it's sort of like buying insurance. The only caveat would be if I found that there was significant, foreseeable risk for giving it to a dog with no need. Otherwise it would be REALLY cheap insurance.
 
Mignarda said:
... I wouldn't necessarily not use a vet simply because of such a thing. Vets are business people, and need to turn a profit to stay in existence. I believe it's incumbent upon myself not to be taken in by such tactics, and stay informed...
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ABSOLUTELY agree with this. WE must do our due diligence.
 
So reading this thread, it looks like some of you give Heartgard every 5-6 weeks. I normally give Fasb one Heartgard tablet a month. Just realized he's due this week (Friday will be 31 days since last dose), but we're out of town (Fasb is with us) for the next 9 days.

I don't have a dose with me. I'd like to wait until we get home to give him his next dose. Anyone see a problem with waiting a week?
 
consider where the info is coming from

Mignarda said:
Several, including the military veterinary facility I support with IT work, although I'm not privileged to use its services.

I wouldn't necessarily not use a vet simply because of such a thing. Vets are business people, and need to turn a profit to stay in existence. I believe it's incumbent upon myself not to be taken in by such tactics, and stay informed. In this day and age, that's easier than ever!
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Mignarda, I totally agree, vet medicine is lucrative these days, evident by the offices springing up on EVERY corner in higher rent shopping malls. So I think it is HIGHLY necessary to do diligent research into EVERYTHING they suggest, push, etc. It is a BUSINESS and volunteering at a hospital I can ASSURE anyone, they are in the BUSINESS for profit, NOT necessarily the health and welfare of the patients!!!. Buyer beware, don't allow your dog to be their medical guinea pig. Most think I am too stern, but I prefer a holistic approach, feeding quality organic food, and I have had healthy happy dogs. And vets that have science diet in their offices, THAT STUFF IS PURE JUNK, I would flee from any place offering it.
 
Our plan

We use a mobile vet, so he doesn't have an office - let alone any jars or models in an office (grin). He has recommended that we put Oberon on year-round heartworm preventative. I have no reason not to. Mercutio was a blood donor, and part of that was that he was on year-round preventative; as a matter of fact, the medication was part of his "compensation"
 
I can see why there is such a high suicide rate amongst vets in the US - such a lot of criticism.

Of course they are a business - they are hardly going to operate as a charity, they have to live too. And yes they offer more, so do the pet shops, because nowadays pet owners want more. The beauty is, it's not a monopoly, if you don't like one vet you can just go to another. But tarring every vet with the brush of 'they don't care, they just want to make money' is extremely disappointing.

And vets have to charge more for products - they don't get the distributor discounts large sellers get. I know from ordering for my dog club when you are small seller you can only use second tier distributors so everything is much more expensive. We were non-profit, just to cover costs I need a min 20% mark up, and that only makes us similar to the big stores (who make huge profits). The difference with my club is we offer a specialist service and could identify problems in classes and fit dogs on the spot. That's exactly the same as vets, they won't be making that much on selling heartworm meds, it's about offering the service they may recommend to make it easier for clients (or members in our case).
 
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