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Mosquitoes transmit heartworm disease which, untreated, can be fatal
to your dog.
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Dogs may not show signs of heartworm disease until there are 15 to 19
heartworms around a foot in length living in their heart and lungs.
Symptoms include fatigue, weight loss and a chronic cough. By the
time these symptoms appear, your dog has probably already incurred
permanent damage to his heart and lungs.
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Successful treatment of heartworm disease requires powerful drugs and
is expensive. Additionally, treatment is not always successful in
eradicating all stages of heartworms and sometimes has to be repeated.
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Add these factors up and you can see why prevention is healthier and
less expensive than treating heartworm disease.
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Before giving a heartworm preventative, a blood test should be
performed to make sure your dog isn't already infected with
heartworms.
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If the test is negative, your dog can begin taking a heartworm
preventative. Some owners only give heartworm preventative during the
summer months but in Oklahoma mosquitoes are present about 8 months of
the year. The safest course of action is to establish a monthly,
year-round schedule of administering heartworm preventative.
Contact us for a comparison of heartworm preventatives and the protection they
provide. Some heartworm preventative formulas
provide protection against other parasites as well.
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