Symptoms of Heartworm in Dogs

There are no obvious symptoms in the early stages of heartworm infection in dogs, which makes it easy for dog owners to overlook. However, as the dog becomes infected for a period of time and the number of heartworms increases, the dog will gradually show symptoms such as coughing, lethargy, difficulty breathing, exercise intolerance, loss of appetite, and weight loss. If not treated in time, the condition will worsen, and the dog may develop anemia, weight loss, ascites, pleural effusion, heart and lung failure, jaundice, liver and kidney failure, and other symptoms.

Heartworm Testing Methods

You can check if a dog has heartworms by using microscopy or blood tests, which can be done at most pet hospitals. The results can be obtained in a few minutes. Based on the test results and the dog's symptoms, a definitive diagnosis should be made by taking peripheral blood samples at night to find microfilariae and performing echocardiography to determine the severity of the infection.

Heartworm Treatment

If a dog has heartworm disease and the infection is mild and not yet obstructing the heart, conventional heartworm prevention and treatment can be used. After the dog has recovered, it is recommended to regularly administer preventive worm pills. If the heartworms have partially or almost completely obstructed the heart, conventional worm prevention methods are no longer effective. In this case, surgical treatment is generally required, but the treatment risk is high. It is recommended to adopt a conservative approach and kill heartworms in small doses repeatedly.

Heartworm Prevention

To prevent heartworm disease in dogs, you can give the dog oral ivermectin-containing drugs or apply selamectin solution to the dog's local skin. It is important to note that some dog breeds, such as Collies, cannot tolerate ivermectin. It is recommended that dog owners give their dogs external parasite prevention monthly and internal parasite prevention every three months.