15. Yes, we still recommend annual heartworm testing. Heartworm is a very serious disease with life threatening consequences. We follow the guidelines of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association and The American Heartworm Society with our testing and preventative guidelines. If you pet is on monthly preventative medication throughout the year, then we can test at any time of the year, generally at the time of the annual physical exam.
depends on who you speak to and the overall health of your dog. Most southern vet offices will tell you yes unless they are a holistic vet. Holistic vets go for a more natural approach that states if the over all health of an animal is good the chances of him/her getting heartworm is very unlikely. This mean it has a good diet (mainly not kibble fed) good excercise and no other health conditions. Some states who do not have issues with mosquitoes have no need for heartworm testing.
Yep, my vet told me that I still have to test my dog annually, even if he’s on heartworm prevention. That is to ensure that the prevention program is running smoothly. Also, make sure that your dog doesn’t miss any dose of monthly medication because it might be too late, and he’ll be unprotected. By the way, does anybody’s dog experience side effects like vomiting and diarrhea because of the medication? My dog was feeling really ill the other day, and we went to the vet, and he said he’s okay. But, you can imagine that I worry a lot. I even got him a new Dog Rope Toy Set to make him happier. Please, let me know if your dog has experienced side effects like the ones I have listed above.