Heartgard for Dogs

Heartgard are chewable tablets that all dogs should take to kill immature heartworms which are transmitted by mosquitos as well as to control hookworms and ascarid (roundworms) infections in dogs. They come in 3 different categories for dogs of different weights, which are 1-25 lb, 26-50 lb and 51-100lb respectively.

 



What exactly is Heartworm Disease?

It is a potentially fatal condition in dogs that is caused by worms living in the right side of the heart and blood vessels that connect the heart to the lungs. These worms are transmitted through infected mosquito bites and dogs of all breeds and ages can be infected. Some signs of infection include persistent cough, fatigue, fainting and weight loss. Treatment of this disease is an expense for the owner and a painful ordeal for the dog.

 

 

These are for small dogs up to 25 lbs, it was about RM 70 for a packet with 6 chewable tablets.

They can start being administered to puppies once they reach 6 weeks of age and it is safe for pregnant/ breeding female dogs.

 

 

 Heartgard should be given to dogs once a month, preferably on the same date each month. To prevent over-administration or forgetfulness, the box even comes with stickers that can be stuck on the back to allow pet owners to record which month and which date their dogs had been given the tablet.

 

 

This is how it looks like, square tablets. Trust me, dogs go crazy for this!

 

So how does Heartgard work?

It contains two active ingredients, ivermectin which paralyses and kills immature heartworms (larvae) as well as pyrantel pamoate, which paralyses and kills intestinal worms.

 

 

The tablets should be given in a manner that encourages the dog to chew, rather than to swallow it whole. That is why we cut it up into pieces for Rusky since he is known to swallow his food without chewing!

 

 



Rusky enjoying his Heartgard, he even picked out his dog biscuits so he could get to the Heartgard first!

 

We hope all dog owners out there are aware of the dangers of heartworms, hookworms and roundworms to dogs and administer Heartgard to their dogs monthly to prevent this.