Another question... (vet, prescription, heartworms, stomach)

[sueprnova]

Here in the desert of So Cal we don't have fleas... heartworm isn't an issue...with us moving to the midwest should I put the furbabies on heartworm and whatever preventative now? We'll probably end up in NW Indiana when we finally settle down in the Spring...
What should we worry about/prevent?

[leorah]

I lived in NW Indiana. Heartworm is a serious problem throughout the state so you will definitely need to keep your dog on HW meds year round. You don't need to start the meds until you settle there. Most HW medications work backwards. They prevent HW disease by killing any larvae that are present in the blood, so with once-a-month products, the medication kills the larvae that infected the dog during the previous 30 days.

Here's a site with more info: American Heartworm Society | What Is Heartworm Disease? (http://www.heartwormsociety.org/article.asp?id=17 - broken link)

[Va-Cat]

Originally Posted by sueprnova

Here in the desert of So Cal we don't have fleas... heartworm isn't an issue...with us moving to the midwest should I put the furbabies on heartworm and whatever preventative now? We'll probably end up in NW Indiana when we finally settle down in the Spring...
What should we worry about/prevent?

Since HW preventitive is a prescription med, you may want to go ahead and get the prescription for it from your current vet before you move. If not you will need to find a new vet and have the HW blood test done before it will be prescribed to you. This way you will have it and not have to rush to find a new vet while you are trying to get settled into a new area. You should definately get them on a flea and tick preventitive like Frontline 30 days before you move. While you are at it, make sure to take a few gallons of the water they are drinking now with you and slowly change over to their new water supply by mixing the two. That way they won't end up with diarrhea from the water change. (Another issue you definately don't want while trying to get unpacked and settled )

[Viralmd]

You should ALWAYS have the heartworm blood test prior to starting the medication - ALWAYS.

Frankly I don't know of any area of the US where vets don't recommend HR prevention, because mosquitoes are everywhere (the worm is transmitted by mosquitoes) but you're certainly going to need this in the midwest. And you'll need something like Frontline for ticks. After the first frost you don't need it (the ticks die then) but in the Spring it needs to be applied monthly right through the summer and autumn to the first frost.

[Va-Cat]

Originally Posted by Viralmd

You should ALWAYS have the heartworm blood test prior to starting the medication - ALWAYS.

Frankly I don't know of any area of the US where vets don't recommend HR prevention, because mosquitoes are everywhere (the worm is transmitted by mosquitoes)

You are correct that there are mosquitos everywhere but many western states have a very low incident rate of HW and its normal for vets to not prescibe preventitive. My last post wasn't clear. What I meant was that the OP should have the test AND the prescription done with her current vet so that she won't have to search out a new vet right away.

[SD snowbird]

I agree with the posters above. Definately get your animals on meds for heartworms and fleas/ticks. And getting the prescrips from your current vet will be much easier than rushing to find a new vet in your new city, let's face it, we're almost as picky about our vets as we are about pediatricians.
And the suggestion about taking water from your current city with you to help transition your pets over to the new city's water is a great idea. Why have your furbabies stomachs upset while they're trying to settle into a new home?

[rural lady]

I moved from the west to east also, get your heartworms meds done as well as flea med frontline plus before you move, the frontline you can wait till about March to first apply it then stop using the Frontline around Nov after 2nd frost.