• Hello all, what heartworm medication do you give your Basenji? Has anyone had problems with Interceptor or Heartguard? Also, do you give it year around or just during mosquito season? Thanks


  • Heartguard gave Nicky an upset stomach so we switched him to Interceptor. He has not had a problem since.


  • I give it year round and have always used Heartguard… Being in a warm"ish" climate, I am more comfortable giving it year round, but as I understand it you are OK over the winter where there is usually a hard freeze... that said, you should before re-starting always have them check (blood test)... so in the end the price is most likely about the same


  • I use Heartguard.

    Check w/ your own vet, but w/ mine, if I give Heartguard all year long (12 mths) my dog does not need the heartworm test every year. Instead it's every other year. If you only give the meds during part of the year, you may be required to test for it annually.


  • I use the advantix with heartguard in it. It's combination. Worked well last year!


  • Have you guys ever researched the whole "heartworm medication" thing?
    I'm not advocating not using the meds, but actual reports of canine heartworm in Canada is pretty low. The medication itself is an insecticide, and can compromise immune systems, as your animal will regard it as a toxic substance in it's body. As with all pharmacuticals the companies would like us to buy their product. There are pros and cons about heartworm medicine all over the web. Where I live, it's almost non-existent especially if you consider a mosquito must first bite an infected dog, then bite yours…. Just my 2cents..


  • We have had quite a few cases down here in the Niagara Area. Probably because of the lakes and river-lots of mosquitos too.


  • Our vet never mentioned heart worm medication. Should I be giving our Bs something without consulting the vet?


  • You need to talk to your vet about it. NJ has a pretty good mosquito population. Typically you give heartworm medicine April through the first hard freeze….


  • jys1011… heartworm meds are prescription. Even though I order mine online, it still needs to be cleared w/ my vet. you definately should talk to your vet about it.


  • Thanks for the response. We had spoken to our vets, we use 2, and one recommended year around because mosqitos can come out on warm days even in the winter here in Mass and they also protect from Whipworm which is found in poop which they could eat at anytime. Our other vet told us to start in May and end in October because she feels less is more in regards of medication.


  • I use Heartguard all year because we sometimes have warm weather in the winter. The vet recommended it and she has to get tested every year because there have been a lot of heartworm cases in my area.


  • It is important that especially if you are in a high area of Heartworm and I know for a fact NJ is one of them.. (I used to live there)… Heartworm meds are very important. I am very surprised that your Vet didn't say anything about it?.. Most unusual, IMO... In this area of California, Heartworm is not very bad, but IMO, if you have ever seen a dog with heartworms and the treatment, it will change your mind about using it.... and of course we travel to shows and coursing, so with the different areas we go to, I would rather be safe then sorry....


  • I give Sahara Interceptor, year round, my vet recommended it. Here in NC we have lots of mosquitos, and where I live they are as big as flies. No joke, they are terrible, I would never take the chance not to medicate her. My brother-in-law's lab got heartworms and they had to treat her with medication that cost like $100 a pill, and she died anyways. I panic when I get close to forgetting her dosage, she changes weight all the time so I can't buy in advance.


  • Peanut's been on year round heartworm(11+yrs.) since he was a pup. The breeder and vet both recomended it. Tried Interceptor first, but it made his stomach very upset so I switched to Heartguard with no problems. Plus he like the chewy block better than a pill. 😃


  • @nomrbddgs:

    I use the advantix with heartguard in it. It's combination. Worked well last year!

    Cool! I use topical K9 Advantix for repelling/killing fleas, ticks and mosquitos and ingestible Interceptor for heartworm. I would love to have an "all-in-one." Do you need a vet prescription for this? Is it topical or ingestible? Where can you buy it (I haven't been able to find Advantix/Heartguard combo on the internet, or maybe you're referring to Advantage Multi)?


  • We use Interceptor. We adopted Jojo from BRAT about 7 weeks ago and she came with Heartguard and I did give her one. I took her to the vet a few days ago and she said that there is something in Heartguard that is not good for sight hounds, like Greyhounds, Whippets, Basenjis, etc. It can be bad enough to cause death. I didn't want to take any chances with Jojo so we switched. I wish I could remember what the name was the vet called this.


  • He sounds like a good vet if he knows about the sighthound stuff. Sighthounds are also sensitive to anasthetic. Ask your vet about it if you ever need to get your B knocked out. I was a nervous wreck when my boy had to be neutered, but my vet knew about the sighthound thing….


  • @gbroxon:

    Cool! I use topical K9 Advantix for repelling/killing fleas, ticks and mosquitos and ingestible Interceptor for heartworm. I would love to have an "all-in-one." Do you need a vet prescription for this? Is it topical or ingestible? Where can you buy it (I haven't been able to find Advantix/Heartguard combo on the internet, or maybe you're referring to Advantage Multi)?

    Could be-I haven't looked at the box. I don't need to put it on til June 1 or there about. I do get it at the vet. I believe it comes in a chewy pill form. I'll find out for sure. I'll find out more about it for you and let you know. Don't forget we have different stuff in Canada. (Don't know why. Surolan for ear infections is one we have up here, but you guys don't have it-at least not in NY)


  • @nomrbddgs:

    Could be-I haven't looked at the box. I don't need to put it on til June 1 or there about. I do get it at the vet. I believe it comes in a chewy pill form. I'll find out for sure. I'll find out more about it for you and let you know. Don't forget we have different stuff in Canada. (Don't know why. Surolan for ear infections is one we have up here, but you guys don't have it-at least not in NY)

    I'd appreciate that, Arlene. I hope it's not just a Canadian thing…

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