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HEARTWORMS AND PARASITES

Heartworms - Heartworms are a mosquito borne parasite. When an infected mosquito bites the dog it deposits the infective larvae under the skin where it hibernates for several weeks. Then it migrates into the blood vessels where there are 5 stages of the life cycle. Once it reaches L5 it migrates to the right side of the heart where it lives.

canine heartworms

When they are fully mature they reproduce and send millions of microfilaria circulating throughout the blood stream. It is a very slow life cycle, 6 months from bite to adult heartworm. It takes a full 2 months for L5 to develop. L5 is the stage of the larvae that is killed by our preventative medications.


Puppies can be started on heartworm medication without any testing the first year. The tricky thing with puppies, is be sure not to under dose, and puppies grow very fast so usually medication is dispensed monthly based on the weight until they are full grown. There are a huge variety of heartworm monthly preventative medications on the market at this time, most will also help with intestinal parasites and some also control flea problems.

In most areas heartworm medication is recommended to be used year-round, if you do want to stop over the winter, please remember that you do not kill the larvae at the time of the mosquito bite, but in fact it can be up to 2 months after the bite, so you should continue the preventative at least 2 months into the cold weather to be safe.

Intestinal Parasites - There are a HUGE variety of intestinal parasites that can affect dogs. Some of them can also be transmitted from your dog to people. There are no medications that will kill all of the parasites, so the best approach is to check stool samples regularly. In order to be sure that your new dog is in fact parasite free we recommend at least 2 negative stool samples spaced one month apart.

External Parasites - The good news is that we finally have some really good medications available to prevent and control fleas and ticks. For the last 10 years there have been a variety of non-insecticidal medications on the market. They are safer and better than the previous insecticides. Most of these medications are available only from veterinarians, but some are making their way over the counter. All Creatures discourages owners from purchasing any medications online, since counterfeit products are unreliable and are not guaranteed by the manufacturer.

If you see one flea on your pet, that could mean there are hundreds of eggs and maggots already in your home! If you suspect your pet has fleas, call right away to begin treatment.