Protect your puppy against heartworm by starting them on prevention from 12 weeks of age.

We recommend the Annual Heartworm Injection (Proheart SR 12) for all our canine patients from 6 months of age. This is a simple, safe method of preventing heartworm disease and takes away the pressure to remember monthly treatments. Your dog is protected for an entire year without missing any doses.

Our team sends you a reminder when your dog is due, and most people choose to have the injection done at the same time as their pet’s Annual Health Check.

If a dog is over 6 months of age, and not on any prevention, they should have heartworm testing before going onto medication. If not, severe reactions and possibly death can occur.

Dogs which test positive for heartworm can be treated depending on their age and symptoms.

Research has shown that feline heartworm infection is more prevalent than previously thought. Unfortunately, the disease is difficult to diagnose in cats, yet it can kill cats as well as dogs.

There is no treatment, only prevention, of which we recommend a monthly tablet (Milbemax), or a monthly spotton application (Revolution).

ABOUT HEARTWORM DISEASE:

Mosquitoes transmit heartworm disease to dogs and cats.

The large adult heartworm live inside the heart and the arteries that take blood to the lungs.

A few worms in the arteries cause the blood to clot and the heart needs to work extra hard to pump blood through the clogged arteries.

With over 25 worms, there is reduced space in the heart for enough blood to get through to the lungs.

When there’s 100 worms, the heart is completely full and the dog develops a fatal condition called caval syndrome, and most do not survive.

We can diagnose heartworm disease by:

  • Symptoms. eg. Tiring easily with exercise, coughing, enlarged abdomen.

  • The results of a physical examination.

  • Blood Tests – this is the main method of diagnosis.

  • Xrays