Injectible Heartworm Preventative

[yellowumbrella]

I saw on my vet's facebook page that they now offer an injectible heartworm preventative that is good for 6 months. I feel like I'm usually pretty informed about pet stuff thanks to you all, but I've never heard of this. Do any of your vets offer this? Have you used it?

[momof2boys]

They had one years ago that got taken off the market. Not sure if its the same one but I would wait until its been around awhile (like a few years) before I gave it to my dog.

[yellowumbrella]

Thanks - I'll try and google to see if I can find more info. I'm definitely skeptical.

[Doctorblue]

It's most likely Proheart 6. It was pulled from the market several years ago, but has been back on the market for a few years.

When it was originally pulled (voluntarily), there were no guidelines on the administration. A lot of side effects that could be contributed to other things (like the dogs already being ancient, debilitated, etc.) were blamed on the Proheart.

When they brought it back on the market a few years ago, there were a lot of guidelines put in place. Bloodwork was required before administration, age limits were imposed, couldn't be administered concurrently with vaccines, etc. Most of the restrictions have since been lifted.

During the time it was pulled in the US, it was being used overseas. It continues to be used elsewhere.

Definitely do some research. Try to look beyond the sensationalism before you make your decision though.

[phunluvin82]

I don't know much about it honestly...but I do know that the woman who runs a rescue that we were working with when we got our new dog last month mentioned to us that she wasn't fond of the vet we use.

One of the reasons being that they are apparently pushing this shot really hard @ their practice and she felt that they didn't give the owners enough information regarding the risks and regarding the unknown long-term effects. She said they basically pushed a waiver form on pet owners to sign. She said that she would not use the shot for her own pets.

Her opinion was good enough for us...she seemed spot on with all of her other advice...so we won't be using it. Better safe than sorry IMO.