1 in 20 dogs that we test for heartworms has the disease. In fact, Texas is in the top 5 states with the MOST heartworm-positive dogs.
While our main goal is to prevent heartworm disease with heartworm preventatives like Proheart, we see many dogs who already have heartworms.
There is only one approved treatment for canine heartworm disease, which we provide at our full-service clinic in the center of Dallas-Fort Worth (Irving, TX). This treatment plan involves 3 injections of melarsomine dihydrochloride, or Immiticide, which kills the adult heartworms.
We also prescribe antibiotics and medication to weaken those heartworms. The entire treatment plan takes about 4 – 6 months.
As we saw more and more heartworm-positive dogs, we wanted to make it easy for clients to treat their dogs. Heartworms are especially common in rescue dogs. Since many of these dogs come from neglectful homes, they are more likely to be infected. Sadly, shelters frequently put down dogs with heartworm disease because they can’t afford treatment.
We provide treatment for as low as $300 – $600. Plus, we provide completely free heartworm treatment consultations to make it easy to bring your dog in.
Schedule your heartworm treatment consultation here.
What About the Slow-Kill Method?
If you’ve spent much time researching heartworms, you may have heard of the ‘slow kill’ method. This is a cheap way of “killing” heartworms with ONLY doxycycline (an antibiotic we use to weaken heartworms) and heartworm prevention (like Triheart Plus or Heartgard).
This method is NOT recommended. It DOES sterilize heartworms and weaken them, which is why we also put dogs on prevention and doxy before treatment. In fact, this method is great to pair with heartworm treatment with immiticide.
However, it is NOT a complete treatment plan. It’s half of one. At best, the slow-kill method takes almost 3 years to kill the heartworms. Meanwhile, the heartworm disease is continuing to cause damage to your dog’s heart and lungs.
The slow kill method also can cause dogs to test a ‘false negative’ on heartworm tests. For some time, this led to a false belief that the slow-kill method was effective.
The American Heartworm Society does not recommend the protocol. Except in special circumstances, we never recommend the slow kill method.
How do I get more information about heartworm treatment?
We provide completely free heartworm treatment consultations at our full-service clinic in Irving.
Call us today to schedule your appointment at (817) 617-7387.