Heartworm disease is fatal and preventable! We will start your puppy on heartworm prevention at their first visit, a beef flavored chewable called Heartgard. Most dogs love this chew and it's been on the market for decades.
Heartworms are spread by mosquitos! Unfortunately, mosquitos are everywhere in Georgia, so pets are very susceptible to being bitten by one. An infected mosquito takes one blood meal from your pet and can transmit the larvae into the blood stream. From the bloodstream, the larvae migrate to the chest area and into the heart. It takes 6 months to form adult heartworms, and these worms cause irreversible damage to the heart and lungs.
Heartworm disease can be treated, but the treatment is thousands of dollars, is painful for your pet, includes a lot of activity restriction, and the lasting damage from the parasites can create problems for your dog later in life, such as heart failure. One time treatment for heartworms costs the same as 7 years of prevention with the ProHeart 6 injection!
Once your dog has come to a steady weight, we will recommend ProHeart 6 as prevention. This is an injection they receive once every 6 months for protection against heartworms.