Heartworm PositiveQuestion:I just got my new Chocolate Lab, Shelby from the pound. I've always wanted one and she is a great addition to our family! We have one other dog, Penny, a Beagle. Unfortunately when I took her to the vet to get checked out she was heartworm positive. Luckily though everything else including her fecal checked out okay. The vet is guesstimating that Shelby is approximately 5 years old but he thinks that the heartworms are in an early stage because she is an active dog and is not coughing, etc... We started the heartworm treatment today. She has gotten the first injection today and done well. She will stay at the vet overnight and get the next one done tomorrow morning. They'll watch her tomorrow and she'll go home tomorrow night. Then I have to SOMEHOW manage to keep her calm for the next month or so. Has anyone else been through this? If anyone has any advice for me I'd be grateful! Answer: Awww, keeping fingers crossed for a speedy recovery. Answer: Thank you so much for adopting! I am sorry to hear about the HW, but if caught early, your dog should do fine. It's really so nice that you adopted her and now she is getting the treatment she needs. I don't have any experience with HW but I know many members here on the board have gone through this with their rescues. Hopefully, they will chime in for you. We would love to see a picture of your Shelby sometime! Good luck and I will keep positive thoughts for her. Answer: I've had two heartworm positive foster dogs. If she will accept being crated, that is your best solution. It really stinks to have to keep them crated like that (take her out on leash for potty breaks), but you're saving her life by doing it. If you don't keep her calm, the dying heartworms can form a clot and kill her. So, the crate is the best way to keep her calm. I had one who cried for a few days, but then she got used to life in the crate. You can give her a Kong or some other toy that you can hide treats in, and she can have that to keep her busy when she's in the crate. She might like a Nylabone in there to chew, too. I can't remember if it is 4 or 6 weeks (ask the vet), but it feels like FOREVER. When it's over, you can start to take some little walks, but no major exercise right away. You can build her up to longer walks. If you don't have a crate, you can pick one up at Wal-Mart, some farm/feed stores, or a pet superstore like Petco (which may cost a little more than the others). Make sure it is big enough for her to stand up and turn around in it. Answer: I just checked, and you have to keep your dog quiet for 6 weeks after the treatment. Answer: I agree with Patex. The best thing to do is crate and a leash for potty breaks. I have put two dogs that we have adopted through the HW treatment and they turned out great! It is hard to keep them quiet but it is very necessary. When the kids went to bed or were napping I would let them out of the crate to stretch and move around a little but I kept the leash on and kept them close to be sure they were settled. Good Luck. It is worth it. And thank you for adopting!!! Jody Answer: Thank you for adopting this dog and keeping her in spite of the hw+ status! Probably 25-30% of the dogs we get in are hw+ and I am almost always the one to care for them during recovery (now that PATEX is too far away!!!). Crating is the best. And as Jody mentioned, it is okay to let them out to hang out with you while you watch a movie or something. They just have to be calm. Most of mine would just find a bone and lie down and chew on it. The rest of the dogs are put in another room while the hw dog is out so there are no chances of an impromptu wrestiling match. Good luck! Answer: Kim (shaqpuppy) has done it. I got my Cooper from her after he had gone through the heartworm treatment. You could pm her. She did a great job with him and he is very active now!!! Answer: Thanks everyone. I appreciate any advice I get. I'll post pictures as soon as I can. I only got her a few days ago so we started the treatment right away. She had her first injection yesterday and her second today. When I went to see her last night she was doing great. I just talked to the vet and he said that she was doing great today after her second one and she can come home tonight. I felt so bad because she only spent one night with us and then we took her to the vet but I wanted her to get the treatment as soon as possible and I want her to be able to run around a little more by Christmas. She's such a good dog and like I said before, I've always wanted a chocolate Lab and I'm so excited to see how she does in the water and to be able to play with her more. Thanks for all of your advice and kind thoughts. I appreciate it, and so does Shelby! Answer: I forgot to mention that you should put her crate in a room that gets quite a bit of traffic so she isn't isolated and lonely. If she is crated in the kitchen when you are cooking or the family room if that is where you spend a lot of time, then she can still be a part of the family. Answer: Thanks for your advice everyone. Shelby had been doing really well. She is crated while I'm at work and she is out while I'm home but she is really good about just taking it easy. That is, until today. I feel so bad. I was letting my other dog out and I guess the door didn't latch and she got out and went over to the neighbors house. I followed behind her to try to catch her but I didn't want to run after her because I knew it would just make her run. Luckily she didn't run she just kind of fast walked stopping along the way to smell. To make matters worse, she was in the neighbors yard and he came out and yelled at her and scared her (not realizing she was my dog) which is how I caught her. I just hope she's okay. I took her to the vet so they could check her out and watch her today while I'm at work just to be sure. I'm just glad she didn't take off at a full sprint. I know it's just because she just hasn't been able to get outside and play like she wants too. I just feel so sorry for her. Last night she was hacking coughing a little bit like she was trying to throw up so I wanted to take her in to have them observe her about that anyway.Well as I was typing this the vet called and said that the coughing was normal since it's not alot and that her lungs sounded fine. Thank Goodness! Please everyone keep praying for us. Answer: Hi ~ I have no experience with HW treatment but our first Lab, Brutus, had been treated for HW a year before we got him at 3 years of age. He'd apparently gone through treatment well but always (!!!) had a problem after that with warm weather. He was given to us, in fact, because his prior owner was moving to Florida and he knew Brutus wouldn't be able to withstand the heat. Bru was very active...running the yard with our Akita and playing normally.....just not outside too much in the Summer. He was 13 when he started having seizures that, after what we learned subsequently with our Honey, were probably from his not being able to withstand internal heat buildup (he was never allowed to stay outside in warm weather....it wasn't an external heat factor). Barb and Baffle Answer: Hi ~ I have no experience with HW treatment but our first Lab, Brutus, had been treated for HW a year before we got him at 3 years of age. He'd apparently gone through treatment well but always (!!!) had a problem after that with warm weather. He was given to us, in fact, because his prior owner was moving to Florida and he knew Brutus wouldn't be able to withstand the heat. Bru was very active...running the yard with our Akita and playing normally.....just not outside too much in the Summer. He was 13 when he started having seizures that, after what we learned subsequently with our Honey, were probably from his not being able to withstand internal heat buildup (he was never allowed to stay outside in warm weather....it wasn't an external heat factor). Barb and Baffle His internal heat buildup? Was it caused from the heartworms or from something else? How did you find out what it was with Honey if I may ask? Answer: Hi ~ Honey's seizures were diagnosed by a holistic vet -- and eliminated for many years just with a change from dry to canned food (with "cool" food proteins). She started seizing again after her hip dysplasia started to really freak her out -- her anxiety kept her overheated and it was a viscious cycle. Internal heat can be affected by dry foods....grain products...as well as "warm" protein sources like chicken and lamb. We had Honey on foods with turkey, beef, fish as the protein sources. My understanding with Bru was that the heartworms or the treatment itself would have affected his heart. Just like people with heart problems can't stand to overexercise or be out in heat. I never really looked into that that much, just knew I had to be protective of him, temperature-wise. Just something to keep an eye on with Shelby.....hopefully it won't be an issue for you. (I have no idea how infected Bru was when he was diagnosed, but his HW treatment would have been before he was two years of age and, therefore, pretty resilient) Honey's seizures were petit mal but Brutus' started out as petit and became grand mal over time. Both dogs really freaked out when/after it happened. Barb and Baffle |
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