Pawz4me wrote:
Ahh . . . I remember Filaribits! My dogs always liked them. Would that really be an acceptable/more effective alternative? I'm fuzzy, but I seem to remember there was more risk in giving them to an already infected dog than there is with the current preventatives? And wasn't testing recommended every six months for dogs on Filaribits? That seems like such a long time ago . . .
Yes and no. DEC (diethylcarbamazine) the active ingredient causes an immediate rapid kill of microfilaria and resulted is SEVERE reactions including death. Thus the greater risk than what we have now and the absolute mandatory heartworm test with DEC use.
We still did annual heartworm tests when dogs were on DEC all year, but if there was any break they had to be retested before starting again.
It was so much easier to monitor when we were the only ones to supply the preventive (you knew if they only purchased a 60 day supply the dog didn't get the required medication). I see real potential for problems:
Vet: gave script for 12 months of meds
Client: I got it filled online and gave all of it when in fact they didn't.
Restart medication:
Results: dead dog.
