Koda’s Heartworm Treatment

When I adopted Koda, I agreed to treat her heartworm disease using a slow kill heartworm treatment.  This method is used by rescue groups and is being embraced by a growing number of veterinarians.  This method uses Ivermectin (aka Ivermec) given to dogs every two weeks or giving Heartguard on a monthly basis.  Ivermectin is the active ingredient of most heartworm preventatives. 

Ivermectin kills the microfilare or larvae living in the dog’s blood.  This keeps the adult heartworms from multiplying.  And so the heartworms die off at a rate that most dogs can handle without suffering side effects.  In most cases a dog will be heartworm free in 1 to 1 1/2 years.