Dog People--advice wanted!

emiliewright

Do I really need to spend all this $$ on heart gaurd and frontline for my shih tzu???

I called the vet to check what I needed and it was outrageous!

Any suggestions or advice please?

Katina3333

I don't use any of that stuff... I'm all about low maintenance animals. Don't like the food that I feed the other dogs, too bad, you'll eat it when you're hungry enough. lol

katrwal

yes, yes you do. because watching your beloved pet die from heartworm or some other disease is horrible.

now - getting the meds from the vet's office is stupid expensive - i agree. go online - there are online pet pharmacies that have it much cheaper - for instance, i buy a 6 month supply of a combo treatment for my dog, and it's $60US.

best of luck to you.

pnut456

Personally, I think it depends on what you do with your dog and how much outdoor activity they see. If they are not around a lot of other dogs, IE dog parks, doggy daycare, etc.. then they may not be necessary. I give my 3 heartguard but not frontline... I live in the city and they are not playing in the woods or in tall grass so I don't think the frontline is useful. If you do want your dog to be on the meds try calling different vets or even research online to see if you can get better pricing. You don't have to go through your vet for it. Good Luck!!

halips

Frontline is about 1/3 cheaper at Costo/Sams. Costco also makes a store brand that works and is about 1/4 of the price. To the best of my knowledge, Heartguard only come from the Vet, but you can ask for the prescription and fill it at places like 1800 petmeds where its a lot cheaper.

Quest529

Yes (though, depending on your area you may not need to do year round). The cost and stress of treating heartworm or parasite infestations/illnesses is MUCH higher than using the preventative. Plus, having your pet suffer, is never worth it.


If cost is what's stopping you, see if your vet offers a generic version of the heartmed. If they don't, get it online. Some companies will have coupons or specials on their flea/tick meds too.

Iverhart (Iverheart sp?) is a generic heartworm preventative. We get six months for about $36.

DalekBrittany

Coming from someone who had to watch her family dog die for 3 days (it took him THREE DAYS to die) because my parents didn't have the money for Heartguard and didn't have the money to have him put to sleep, yes. Anti-heartworm meds are worth it if you care for your dog. Flea medicine...that depends entirely on you. If you live in a city, you probably could forgo it, but don't forget about mosquitoes. If you don't, it depends on whether you want to prevent them, or when they eventually get fleas if you want to give them countless flea baths and have to wash everything in your house, lol. It's just easier to use Frontline.

raisingemilyjune

DEFINITELY! Heartworm is a horrible and preventable condition, but if you are in the US definitely purchase online. It should be noted though, that in Canada we can't get those products online, we have to go to our vet. I pay $130/season for my 13lb Pug to have Revolution.

footiechick82

Absolutely!

If you're in the US you got it easy -it's cheap! here in Canada it's over $100 bucks...

If your dog gets heart worms... it's a very painful death... would you want that for him?

Edit: online it's cheap cheap cheap! I use Revolution.

dward2011

I buy our dogs' food and meds online. It is much less expensive that way. They eat grain-free high quality dry food, take heartworm pills every month, and get a flea/tick/mosquito drop/liquid every month.

britkip

YES! If you care about your pet at all do it and don't buy the cheap stuff cause that is bad for their livers and can kill them. Pay for the good stuff!!!

ElyseL1

I don't use any of that stuff... I'm all about low maintenance animals. Don't like the food that I feed the other dogs, too bad, you'll eat it when you're hungry enough. lol

Does this mean you feed your dog cheap food? If you have a large breed dog that can be very dangerous for them.

Tuffjourney

Yes.. your dog is worth it.

melsmith612

Heartworm medication is a MUST. Not to sound like a jerk but if you can't afford it then you shouldn't have the dog in the first place. This is essential preventative medicine.

Flea/tick control is optional but unless you want to deal with vet bills and pest control later I would highly recommend using SOMETHING. I buy online typically because it's cheaper than most vet's offices.

cwaters120

YES! If you care about your pet at all do it

^^ yup. I love my dogs and make sure I take as good care of them as I do my family. They get regular check-ups, grain-free food, regular grooming and preventative care. Why have a pet if you aren't going to care for it and love it???

hannah0419

YES! Heartworm is carried by mosquitos… and everyone is right about the dire consequence for your pet. If they get it, you will need to spend thousands to save your pet. Ticks spread Lyme disease which will debilitate your pet. Fleas cause a lot of alley problems for your pet, your family etc. They infest your house as well.

Vets have a huge markup on such supplies but your vet should be able to give you a prescription for the Heartgard. The best (cheapest) place I have found online is entirelypets.com

Hannah

Tuffjourney

I have three labs and one cat. I only buy the best for them. One lab has diabetes, her medicine is 25 bucks a month(Thanks to Walmart) or it would be triple that. Then the needles. She has special food that I give her only available by her vet. It is 65.00 a bag and last almost a month. And that is just for her to eat. The others get their own special food. Yes, it is expensive and I would work over time just to do it for them if I had too. I dont, but they are so worth it. They are my

rbn_held

Heartguard is a must. You don't want you dog to get heartworms. The treatment is really hard on them plus expensive. We adpoted a lab that ended up having heartworms. We got her treated and It was rough watching her go through that. We have 4 labs and they get heartguard regularly. I will state what I always state and I think someone on here beat me to it already. If you can't afford proper care for a pet then you should not own one. I don't mean to come off mean or rude but a pet is a family member and they deserve the proper care they need.

kgem4u2

Yes you do!! Try getting it from 1800 Pet Meds it is cheaper than going to the Vet

auroranflash

I asked my vet about 1800 petmeds and they warned me against it. Apparently, so they said, the company (a year ago or so) had many lawsuits against them for bad product which resulted in deaths. Not sure if the vet just wanted me to buy from them instead, I didn't research into it, but she was very serious in her warning.

I've used Trifexis and Revolution which are combo flea and heartworm. Both were fabulous. Texas fleas are ruthless but we haven't seen a single one since.

ItsCasey

People, take care of your animals or don't have them. It IS a choice.

downinaggieland98

I don't use any of that stuff... I'm all about low maintenance animals. Don't like the food that I feed the other dogs, too bad, you'll eat it when you're hungry enough. lol

What? That makes me sad. Heartworm disease is 100% preventable and if you own a dog, you should take care of the dog.

WattsJA

As someone who has rescued an abused dog (neglect) .. YES you MUST use the HG. The dog I adopted was recovered due to abuse by neglect .. and guess what his #1 problem was ...... EXTREME heartworm infestation. It was bad enough that the vet wasn't sure he would survive the first dose of HG because he was so weak .. and then if the HG killed to many at once, they could break free and clog the heart.

I am happy to report that he is 100% heartworm NEGATIVE .. but he gets HG one a month .. EVERY month on the FIRST Saturday of the month.

Don't think that just because your dog is "indoors" they can't / won't get heartworms. That is just a built in expense of pet owning .. much like dog food.

thecanface

have to get the medicine? YES! if you want the thing to live a good life.

have to get that brand? No. there are cheaper options.

rbn_held

Just a not for those looking for the cheap way out. cheaper is not always better. Stay away from anything made by Hartz, I worked at a vet and we had numerous ailments and deaths due to Hartz products. Just a warning. I don't know how stores are allowed to sell products that are known to be harmful.

Alison12121

I know the stuff is expensive, but it's very necessary. I've seen dogs die of heartworm before, and it's awful, but it's easily preventable.

I get Iverhart (for heartworm prevention) from the vet, but I get my Frontline Plus from Amazon.com. I buy it directly from Amazon.com (not a third party seller) and it's so much cheaper there than at the vet or PetSmart, Petco or the vet. I can get a year supply from Amazon for the price of a 6 month supply from PetSmart or Petco, so you might want to check it out.

DalekBrittany

I don't use any of that stuff... I'm all about low maintenance animals. Don't like the food that I feed the other dogs, too bad, you'll eat it when you're hungry enough. lol

What? That makes me sad. Heartworm disease is 100% preventable and if you own a dog, you should take care of the dog.

Yeah...not everyone can afford the top-of-the-line stuff, but there is no reason to cheap out on it, either. Do your research, find a product that both you and your dog are happy with. Don't buy something just because it is cheap.

I live with my MIL. I have a Chorkie (Chihuahua/Yorkie mix) and she has a Chihuahua. Both of them are the same size and should be the same weight. They both get fed twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. I feed my dog Blue Buffalo dry food (which I realize not everyone can afford) with a fish protein instead of chicken or beef, as recommended by her vet for dry skin problems. She now has no problems with dry skin, has a beautiful coat, has a healthy digestive system (I could set a watch by her bowel movements :laugh:) and is a healthy 7.4 pounds.

My MIL's dog, on the other hand, gets fed only wet food, I think it's Pedigree, and it's made with chicken by-product, "meat by-product" (would love to know what that is O.o) and artificial coloring, among many other things. She has many bowel movements per day, has terribly dry skin, and is 11 pounds, which led to her having hip problems. No matter how hard they try to get her to lose weight, it is not coming off, but they refuse to switch brands. They say she "only will eat wet food",but more than once I have caught her having a few kibbles left over from my dog's food. I even offered to let them use ours and we can both pitch in on the next bag. Sometimes, buying cheap food may help you in one aspect, but the money they are now spending on vet bills trying to control her weight could have been spent buying better food.

kasslass2

I use both on my babies and they are worth every last penny

cookiealbright

I get mine at 1800petmeds.com and never had any problems. My big old dog now has to take fish oil for his joints - recommended by his vet. I just get that at any store and I take what he takes. I love that dumb old dog!

nolachick

bump for later.

just my 2 cents, I have 1 dog and while he's not exposed to other dogs that much nor do we have a yard for him to play in, I walk him everyday and give him trifexis once a month because I rather be safe than sorry.

MelsAuntie

I don't, because of the expense and because we rarely see a mosquito here. Maybe two per summer.