Heartgard Plus for Dogs

Heartgard Plus for dogs are a tasty beefy chewable treat that dogs love. As well as providing a guarantee that your dog never experiences heartworm disease they also help eradicate intestinal worms including roundworms and hookworms.

The fact that these chewy tablets contain beef means they are a real treat for most dogs, but of course not suitable for those with a beef allergy.

Through this piece we will be looking more closely at how Heartgard Plus protects our dogs from heartworm disease. If you are simply looking to buy Heartgard Plus for dogs at a great price, check the link to the right for the lowest prices we have found online.

Heartgard Plus are made by Merial, one of the biggest names in pet health-care today.

They use ivermectin in tiny doses, to destroy any larval stage heartworms found in the blood. In this way any parasites that are passed to your pet via an infected mosquito feeding, will not be able to mature into the adults that actually cause harm.

With regular use each month, no heartworms ever survive so your pet is at no risk from heartworm disease itself.

In addition to ivermectin, the chewable tablets include pyrantel which eliminates any existing populations of round-worms or hook-worms in the gut. It also reduces the risk of re-infestation.

There are still other intestinal parasites including tape-worms and in some locations whip-worms that you may need to treat for on a quarterly basis so speak to your vet about the parasites common in your region. Also it is worth remembering that the easiest way to prevent the most common form of tape-worms is simply to follow a strict flea control regime since fleas pass tape-worms to our pets.

A Note on Ivermectin

Some pet owners are reticent about using ivermectin to prevent heartworm disease.  This is due to the concern that some breeds (notably certain types of collie) have a genetic mutation which makes them susceptible to side effects when given larger doses of invermectin, such as those used by vets to treat for the infestation of adult heartworms.  

The volume of ivermectin used in preventatives that only need to destroy juvenile parasites is tiny in comparison and both the FDA and the American Heartworm Society agree its use is completely safe for all breeds of dogs including collies.

Higher doses of ivermectin may also interact with other medicines, but the volume contained in Heartgard and Heartgard Plus heartworm preventatives is so low that it causes no issues.

For the best priced Heartgard Plus for dogs we suggest you try the retailer linked at the top right of this article.   Based in Canada they benefit from lower medicine costs due to higher regulation than that carried out by the American authorities regarding medicine pricing.  

In addition with no sales tax to pay the costs stay low for US customers.

If you like to take advantage of the even cheaper prices available for generic pet medicines you will be pleased to know that Generic Heartgard Plus Chewables are now available too.  These have recently be licensed by the FDA as being bio-equivalent and therefore interchangeable with the original brand which is great news for consumers that don't want to remain brand loyal so they can save even more on their pet medicine bills.

And, if that was not enough because Canadian prescription rules differ Heartgard Plus without a prescription is available too.  There are also several other popular canine and feline heartworm preventatives without a prescription.

Using any heartworm medicine is a simple enough process.  But failure to follow the instructions completely can mean putting your pet at risk from the disease, so make sure you read the instructions fully.  More information is available in our heartworm medicine for dogs article.  But the key points are illustrated below:

• Dogs not previously treated with a preventative must have a blood-test to check they are not already carriers of the parasite.
• Heartgard Plus is provided in 3 dosage sizes, be sure you have the correct one for the weight of your dog.
• Use every 30 days.  If you miss a treatment, give the missing tablet immediately.  Do not double dose, simply continue using the pills every month from this new date.
• Where more than two months elapse between doses consult your vet as a re-test may be needed.
• Heartgard Plus is safe to use on all dogs from six weeks of age, including pregnant and nursing bitches as well as stud dogs.