Heartworm, flea, & tick control - How to choose what to use?

How do heartworm preventatives work? All heartworm preventatives work by killing the circulating heartworm organism while it is still in a "baby" stage of development.  The monthly preventatives are simply more effective than the daily products at killing a wider age range of young heartworms, so they can be used on a monthly basis.  Each monthly dose kills any heartworms that have developed during the previous month.  Most also control intestinal parasites. We recommend Heartgard or Sentinel as the products of choice.

Why don’t you recommend that the preventative be given year-round? We don’t have mosquitoes in our area year-round, so it makes little sense to give the preventative year-round.  The one exception would be in cases where the risk of intestinal parasites is very high – for example, if your pet shares an exercise area with many other pets or trains regularly with many other pets.

If my pet has food allergies, can I still use one of the flavored heartworm pills? You probably shouldn’t – it could temporarily make the allergies worse.  It would be better to use either the unflavored Heartgard pill or Revolution, which is applied topically to control heartworms.

What works best for fleas? There are several good choices for flea control.  The heartworm preventative Sentinel controls fleas as well as heartworms.  It’s an excellent choice if your pet is exposed to fleas through periodic contact with other pets or with wildlife.  However, it works by keeping the fleas on your pet from reproducing – it won’t actually kill the flea.  If you have a pet with allergies to flea bites, or if your pet’s flea exposure is very high, it is better to stick with Heartgard for your heartworm preventative and to add Frontline to control the fleas.  This combination will definitely kill any flea that your pet is exposed to.

What about tick control? Again, there are several choices here.  Frontline is extremely effective protection against ticks, as it kills all kinds, including the ticks that carry Lyme disease.  Revolution also provides tick control, although it is effective mainly against the larger ticks and not the ones that carry Lyme disease.

How can something that is applied to the skin work on the whole body? Remember that the skin is the largest single organ of the body.  Anything applied in one spot can spread to other areas.  The better products do not need to be applied in more than one or two areas because they are specially formulated to move through the thin oily layer on top of the skin and to provide even protection over the entire body.  The flip side to this is that it is very important to not mix topical products.  For example, you would never want to use Frontline and also a flea collar, or to combine Frontline with a flea and tick shampoo.

What about more "natural" methods of heartworm and flea control? Aren’t they safer? A safe product also needs to be effective, and we are mindful that labeling something "natural" or "organic" doesn’t necessarily make it safe.  All of the touted natural products that purport to provide heartworm protection: walnut hulls, nosodes, herbs, etc. cannot offer any documentation that they actually kill circulating heartwoms.  Heartworm disease can be fatal.  It seems reasonable to us that the makers of "natural" products should be able to offer more than testimonials.  They can’t, so we don’t recommend them at this time.

Instead of filling it here, can you give me a prescription for that heartworm medication, Doc?  If you prefer to have your prescription filled elsewhere, we can supply a paper prescription for you.  It’s not easy keeping a small business running these days, and we have become forced to be very cost-conscious.  To keep our costs as low as possible for everyone, we cannot fax, call in, or mail prescriptions for you when a large prescription company reaps the profits.  Remember that by law, supplying any prescription requires a valid Doctor-patient relationship.  This means that we must have examined your pet recently and found that pet to be in good health prior to providing any prescription.

Don’t those on-line and mail-order prescription places get their heartworm and flea products from the same place as you, Doc? Actually, no.  Most obtain them illegally,  in huge lots and then re-sell them.  Often, these products have not been stored properly and may not be as effective.  One popular company is the worst offender and is constantly in court over this.  That’s why none of the makers of heartworm products will guarantee their products when they are purchased from these sources.  When you add in "handling fees", "shipping fees", and no guarantee, they’re not much of a bargain.