Lake Erie Labrador Retriever Rescue, Inc.

To the world you are nothing; To a rescued Lab you are the world

Labrador Care - Keep your dog Healthy

Heartworm is spread by a mosquito when it feeds on an infected dog. Once the mosquito becomes infected with microfilaria (baby heartworms), the larva will molt twice to stage 3. At this time they will move to the mouth of the mosquito and when the mosquito bites a dog, the larva crawl into the wound left by the mosquito. After maturing to stage 5, the larva enter the pulmonary arteries. This condition may last a year before the dog starts to exhibit visible symptoms.

The most common symptom is a persistent, soft, deep cough. The cough is worse after exercise and the dog may also exhibit listlessness or weakness. By the time a dog is showing symptoms, it is already seriously infected. The only way to know if your dog is infected is with a blood test by your vet.

Treatment is lengthy, costly and poses serious risks to the dog. Preventative treatments given monthly, like Heartguard or Interceptor or daily, like Filarbits Plus have been proven to be very effective in preventing the larva from maturing into adult heartworms. An excellent source of information is K9 Web.com or The American Heartworm society.

Please, it is important that you talk to your Vet about heartworm and how to prevent it.

Adult canine heart infected with heartworms

Heartworm

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