If your dog has tested positive for heartworm, please call us to set up a consultation visit for treatment.
The consultation visit will consist of a confirmatory heartworm test, along with a comprehensive exam of your pet. The veterinarian will go over the treatment process, and talk about your pet’s current health, and what to expect during treatment.
You will also be provided with a treatment plan so you are aware of the process. Please ensure you make all scheduled appointments.
Heartworm treatment is not a quick treatment; it consists of many months of treatment and care for your pet. It also is a costly treatment. We try to keep our prices as low as possible so that everyone can afford to treat their pet.
Call to schedule a heartworm consultation!
Heartworm treatment includes:
- Initial consultation
- Heartworm test confirmation (if needed)
- 12 months of heartworm prevention
- 3 Injections of Melarsomine
- All antibiotics, steroids, and pain medications
- Antibiotics, steroids, and pain medication to take home if needed
- Microfilaria tests
- Follow-up consultations and heartworm test
Heartworm treatment prices range from $800 to $1,100
Day 0: Initial Treatment
From the moment your dog is diagnosed with heartworm disease, your dog must be kept strictly confined! That means your dog should be restricted to a very small area at all times throughout the entire treatment period (the use of a small cage or crate may be necessary), and continue for 4 to 6 weeks after the last injection of melarsomine (the drug that kills adult heartworms). To ensure exercise restriction, your dog must be kept on a leash when going outside. Your veterinarian will tell you when it is permissible to gradually allow your dog to exercise again.
Your dog will be started on a once-monthly medication called a “preventive,” to kill immature heartworms and prevent new infections from developing. You should continue to give it to your pet throughout treatment as well as for the rest of his/her life.
Your dog will also be given the antibiotic doxycycline for 30 days. This medication kills bacteria that live in heartworms. These bacteria help the worms survive and reproduce. They also may cause worsening inflammation when the adult heartworms die. By giving this antibiotic prior to the medication that will kill your dog’s heartworms, we decrease the likelihood of complications from the treatment and optimize the chance for complete elimination of the infection.
Day 60: First Adulticide Treatment
Day 90: Second Adulticide Treatment
One month after the first injection, two additional injections of melarsomine must be given 24 hours apart
Day 120: Interim Assessment of Health and Microfilaria Status
Day 365: Final Assessment of Efficacy
Responsible Home Care
Restrict Exercise!
The most important thing you can do to minimize complications during treatment is to restrict your pet’s exercise before, during and after the melarsomine injections. When adult worms die, they collapse and are pushed deeper into the smaller branches of the vessels that supply blood to the lungs. Because exercise increases blood flow to the lungs, it increases the likelihood that dead worms will block blood flow. This can result in severe complications and possibly death.