Parasites and Your Pet
Incidence of heartworm disease infection in dogs is 1 in 200. Incidence of cancer in people is 1 in 200. The difference is that heartworm disease is 100% preventable. Would you take a monthly medication to prevent cancer?
It is fairly common for an animal to become infected with an internal or external parasite at some point in its lifetime. Parasites can affect your animal in a variety of ways, ranging from simple irritation to causing life-threatening conditions if left untreated. Some parasites can infect and transmit diseases to people.
Protocols for Protecting You, Your Family and Your Pet
Administer year-round treatment with heartworm preventives that have broad-spectrum activity against parasites with zoonotic potential. Redmond Veterinary Clinic recommends Iverhart Max.
- Conduct annual physical examination with complete history.
- Conduct annual heartworm testing in dogs and periodic testing in cats.
- Feed pets cooked or prepared food (not raw meat) and provide fresh, potable water.
- Conduct fecal examinations two to four times during the first year of life and one to two times per year in adults, depending on patient health and lifestyle factors.
- Administer anthelmintic treatment to puppies at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks of age, followed by administration of a monthly preventive.
- Administer biweekly anthelmintic treatment to kittens between 3 and 9 weeks of age, followed by administration of a monthly preventive.
- Treat nursing bitches and queens along with their offspring.
- Administer preventive flea and/or tick products year-round.
If optimal year-round heartworm preventive/intestinal parasite products are not used:
- Deworm puppies at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks of age.
- In kittens, begin biweekly anthelmintic treatment between 3 and 9 weeks of age and then again monthly until 6 months of age.
- Conduct fecal examinations two to four times a year in adult pets, depending on patient health and lifestyle factors, and treat with appropriate parasiticides.
- Test for heartworm status yearly in dogs and/or before starting preventive medications.
- Tailor parasite prevention programs to parasite prevalence and pet lifestyle factors.
Redmond Veterinary Clinic highly recommends that you visit the Companion Animal Parasite Council website for more information on parasitic zoonotic disease.
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