Does my dog has heartworm disease?
Heartworm testing is strongly recommended for your dog before starting any preventive product. Heartworm disease is a serious, progressive disease. The earlier it is detected and treated, the better the chances the pet will recover completely.
Dog is a natural host for heartworms. Heartworms that live inside the dog can mature into adults, mate and produce offspring. If untreated, their numbers can increase. Do you know dogs have been known to harbour several hundreds of worms in their bodies? Once mature, heartworms can live for 5 to 7 years in dog. The lasting damage can affect the dog’s health and quality of life even long after the parasites are gone.
Clinical Signs of Heartworm Disease
Active dogs, dogs heavily infected with heartworms, or those with other health problems often show pronounced clinical signs. Signs of heartworm disease may include:
- mild persistent cough
- reluctance to exercise
- fatigue after moderate activity
- panting to even difficulty in breathing
- decreased appetite
- weight loss
In some dog with heavy worm burdens, a life-threatening form of the disease known as Caval Syndrome can happen. Sudden collapse and death may occur in some dogs.
Heartworm Testing
Heartworm testing requires just a small amount of blood from your dog, and it works by detecting the presence of heartworm proteins, or the presence of microfilaria. If your dog has a confirmative positive test results for heartworm, please talk to your veterinarian for in-depth treatment related information. It is worth to take note that, apart from the damaging effects already caused by the heartworms, treatment in dogs comes with the potential of severe complications.
Hence, heartworm prevention is by far the ONLY BEST option to protect our dogs from the disease and the complications. It is extremely important that heartworm preventives be administered strictly on schedule. Just one monthly chew of NexGard SPECTRA® protects against fleas, ticks, mites, heartworm disease, lungworm disease and intestinal worms. Protecting your dog from parasites has never been easier!