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I recently rescued a min pin / dachshund mix and have been struggling with the heartgard medication dosage amount. She is 25.2 pounds. For the last three months I have been purchasing single dose applications of the med while keeping her on a weight loss diet in the hopes I can get her under 25 pounds. I have restricted her food to 1/2 cup a day and she goes for a walk everyday. She just doesn't seem to lose the couple of ounces the vet would like to see her at. I cant see giving her any less food than what she gets now. My question is, the weight /dosage threshold is up to 25 pounds, and then 26-50 pounds. The vet has been giving her the larger dose. I keep feeling like the amount of heartgard given is just too much for her. Does anyone know for certain that I can give her the lower dosage and it adequately protect her?
...while keeping her on a weight loss diet in the hopes I can get her under 25 pounds.
I have restricted her food to 1/2 cup a day and she goes for a walk everyday
She just doesn't seem to lose the couple of ounces the vet would like to see her at.
She needs more exercise than that.
As to medication dosage... what has the VET said about the amount?
I recently rescued a min pin / dachshund mix and have been struggling with the heartgard medication dosage amount. She is 25.2 pounds. For the last three months I have been purchasing single dose applications of the med while keeping her on a weight loss diet in the hopes I can get her under 25 pounds. I have restricted her food to 1/2 cup a day and she goes for a walk everyday. She just doesn't seem to lose the couple of ounces the vet would like to see her at. I cant see giving her any less food than what she gets now. My question is, the weight /dosage threshold is up to 25 pounds, and then 26-50 pounds. The vet has been giving her the larger dose. I keep feeling like the amount of heartgard given is just too much for her. Does anyone know for certain that I can give her the lower dosage and it adequately protect her?
I can understand you wanting to go with the lower dose of heartworm med. I'm surprised your vet wouldn't let you round down from 25.2 pounds to an even 25. Or have you pushed the vet about the dosage?
A half cup of food per day sounds very low to me. The Maltese that we had until last summer was 11 pounds, and she ate 2/3 cup of food per day. I'll admit I don't know anything about your dog's breed.
I recently rescued a min pin / dachshund mix and have been struggling with the heartgard medication dosage amount. She is 25.2 pounds. For the last three months I have been purchasing single dose applications of the med while keeping her on a weight loss diet in the hopes I can get her under 25 pounds. I have restricted her food to 1/2 cup a day and she goes for a walk everyday. She just doesn't seem to lose the couple of ounces the vet would like to see her at. I cant see giving her any less food than what she gets now. My question is, the weight /dosage threshold is up to 25 pounds, and then 26-50 pounds. The vet has been giving her the larger dose. I keep feeling like the amount of heartgard given is just too much for her. Does anyone know for certain that I can give her the lower dosage and it adequately protect her?
OBJECTIVELY, what difference do you think it would make. The pill doesn't know exactly what your dog weighs. If the dog is 24 lbs, 14 ounces or 25 lbs, 2 ounces, makes little difference. Similarly, it isn't as if your dog will suddenly be poisoned because it took a large dookie that morning.
OBJECTIVELY, why do you think the dose is too much?
Heartguard is Ivermectin and Pyrantel.
In the 25-50 lb heartguard dose, There are 0.136 MG of Ivermectin. Toxicity in a 25.2 lb dog would be 28 MGs of Ivermectin. That's over 200 pills.
The lethal dose of Pyrantel is 690 MG/kg....So for a dog the size if yours, that would be 67 tablets of heartguard at once, OR, giving her a heartworm tablet every day (as it can build toxicity.)
SUBJECTIVELY...I'm dealing with a dog that has heartworms as a foster. The penalty for missing isn't worth it. Injections right into the heart, etc...If your dog isn't having a reaction don't screw with the treatment recommended by the vet.
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I have noticed that the dosage for my dog, who is 20.8#, is the over 20# dosage. It is not prescribed for his desired weight, which is more like 18#.
Incidentally, my dog had a “spell” or a type of seizure while on TriHeart which our vet says is very safe. None the less, our dog is on a topical now, and has not had an episode since.
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The Maltese that we had until last summer was 11 pounds, and she ate 2/3 cup of food per day. I'll admit I don't know anything about your dog's breed.
