Heartworm is a serious, often fatal disease and is one of the worst diseases your dog can face. Luckily, it’s easy to prevent heartworm and it takes nothing more than a pill, food additive, and preventive care. You can purchase a heartworm pill to give to your bird dogs as a “treat,” or get liquid or powder additives to put into your dog’s food regularly (weekly, monthly, etc. depending on the treatment).

Heartworm Facts
Heartworm can live in the dog’s body and work its way into all major organs and tissue, and finally the heart, which is what kills the animal. Heartworm is a parasite and mosquitoes are often to blame because they carry heartworm. However, your dog can also get heartworm from other animals like foxes and coyotes.

Preventing Heartworm
Preventing is the easiest way to “treat” heartworm. As said earlier, getting protection is as easy as giving him a pill, adding something to his food, and keeping his home (and him) clean. While it’s common to treat heartworm only in the warmer months, many people have found that doing it year-round is both easier and more effective. Veterinarians agree.

Symptoms of Heartworm
One of the first symptoms you may notice is weight loss, lack of energy, or excessive coughs. As the parasite attacks the dog’s lungs or respiratory system, the cough will become more severe. And as it reaches other areas of the body, symptoms will worsen. In the first few months, the heartworm infection usually goes unnoticed because parasites are too busy propagating and haven’t yet spread to show the symptoms in the dog.

Diagnosis
A veterinarian will be able to diagnose a dog with heartworm through observation and blood tests. Treatment options will be based on whether the infection is male or female since they must be treated according to infection type. A double test will be done not only to determine whether male or female, but also to determine worm count. This will also how far the infection has advanced.

Treating Heartworm
Once diagnosed, heartworm must be treated immediately before the dog succumbs to it or spread the disease to other dogs. The treatment will depend on the stage of the infestation. An unhealthy dog has little chance of living through treatment or an infestation, but a healthy one can. If the parasites have entered too many of the dog’s organs or have become too much for him to handle, it’s not likely that treatment will work. This is why catching it as early as possible is key.

If any other dogs are living with or around the infected dog, they should be tested immediately for heartworm as well. It spreads quickly from one dog to the next, so testing is important. People should be tested as well, as humans are also capable of getting heartworm.

While heartworm is a deadly parasite, it can be prevented or treated if it is done properly.