When Should I Use Natural Heartworm Meds For Dog Treatment?
Heartworm disease is a potentially fatal but wholly preventable condition in dogs
. Heartworm larvae are transmitted from animal to animal by mosquitoes. Some chemical treatments for heartworm are fairly toxic to your dog.
This article looks at when you should use natural heartworm meds for dog treatment and when you should use chemical meds.
There are a number of components for an effective heartworm treatment for your dog. Natural meds have a role to play as do chemical meds. Let's take a look at each of them.
1. Treatment to prevent infection
Natural heartworm meds are excellent for preventing your dog from getting infected in the first place. The chemical alternative is pretty toxic stuff so you don't want to be exposing your dog to this on a long term basis. You need to give your dog a herbal supplement that makes him less attractive to mosquitoes and will also kill any larvae that do get into his bloodstream. You also want to spray him with a herbal mosquito repellent to keep them off him. You need to do both these steps consistently throughout mosquito season.
2. Heartworm disease testing
It is really important to have heartworm disease testing probably around every six months or so. This depends on how bad mosquitoes are where you live and how much your dog is outside. Hopefully, if you are consistent about prevention, he won't get infected, but no prevention is foolproof. So if he does get infected it's always best to spot it early. Ask your vet for guidance.
3. Treatment of heartworm disease
Hopefully he won't ever get to this position, but if the heartworms do turn into adults and take a hold in his heart and lungs, then this is where chemical treatments should come in. this treatment should only ever be done under the guidance of a veterinarian due to potential complications in the heartworms dying off.
So as you can see, there is a place for natural heartworm meds for dog treatment in the prevention of heartworm infection. Make sure you are consistent throughout mosquito season and hopefully you'll be able to avoid the chemical treatments altogether.