Heartworm disease is a year round risk for dogs, and that is why continuous year round protection is critical for your dog. A 6-month heartworm injection will help with one less thing for you to remember.
Inside or outside dogs need heartworm protection.
I am going to give you ProHeart 6 reviews, discuss if this is the best heartworm protection for your dog, talk about what is heartworm and talk about ProHeart 6 side effects. This should help you make an educated decision as to if going with the 6-month heartworm shot is the best choice for you and your dog.
Table of Contents
ProHeart 6 Heartworm Protection
ProHeart 6 is an injection that is given to your dog every 6 months by a veterinarian or a certified staff member only. One injection will provide complete protection for your dog for an entire 6 months. It is the 6 month heartworm shot that lets you worry about one less thing.
In a study done comparing the monthly heartworm protection against ProHeart 6, the results show that the monthly protection is only killing third stage and fourth stage larvae. With ProHeart 6’s sustained release formulation, it provides prevention for the full 180 days, killing incoming larvae before they ever get to stage 3 or stage 4 at an effective rate of 99.5% of the time.
ProHeart 6 is convenient and proven effective and safe in dogs of varying sizes and breeds. It may be prescribed to any healthy dog older than 6 months old.
ProHeart also treats common hookworm or Ancylostoma Caninum and Uncinaria stenocephala infections present at the time of the injection.
Dogs should be tested for existing heartworms prior to receiving their first injection. Infected dogs should be treated to remove adult heartworms prior to their injection. ProHeart 6 is not effective against adult larvae.
Be advised that ProHeart 6 should be administered with caution in dogs with pre-existing allergic disease, including food allergy, atopy allergies and flea allergy dermatitis. There has been cases that have resulted in liver disease and death from dogs with these allergies. Your veterinarian should be speaking with you about this prior to deciding if this is the best protection method for your dog.
In most cases, your veterinarian should spread out your annual vaccinations from your dog receiving their heartworm injection. There has been adverse reactions in dogs getting their vaccinations with a heartworm injection including a severe allergic reaction.
A 6 month heartworm shot can prevent your dog from heartworm
ProHeart 6 Side Effects
As in all medicines, there are potential side effects in receiving the ProHeart 6 injection. Generally speaking, healthy dogs should be fine, but here is the list of side effects to watch for.
- Severe Allergic Reaction
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea – with and without blood
- Listlessness
- Weight Loss
- Seizures
- Injection Site Pruritus
- Elevated Body Temperature
Dogs with clinically significant weight loss (which is less than 10% of the dogs) were more likely to experience a severe adverse reaction. In a laboratory study, of dogs with 4 and 6 month old heartworm infections, they experienced the greatest symptoms.
ProHeart 6 Safety Information
This injection should be used on healthy dogs only. Never administer to sick, debilitated, underweight dogs or dogs that have a history of weight loss.
Prior to administration, your veterinarian should assess your dog’s health through their prior medical history, physical examination and if appropriate, diagnostic testing.
Use caution when administering ProHeart 6 concurrently with vaccinations.
What Is Heartworm Disease
Heartworm disease is a serious, potentially fatal illness transmitted to dogs by infected mosquitoes. Dogs in areas with high levels of mosquitoes are especially at risk. This includes no matter what time of the year it is and no matter if your dog is indoors or outdoors.
The cycle of heartworm
A mosquito bites an infected animal and takes in young heartworms as it feeds. The heartworms grow in the mosquito and become infected.
When a mosquito bites another dog, the heartworms enter through the bite wound. Inside the dog, heartworms grow into adults, which live in the heart and blood vessels of the lungs.
Within 7 months, adult female heartworms release young heartworms into the dog’s bloodstream. Adult worms can grow up to 12″ in length and can survive 5 to 7 years. Dogs can have as many as 250 worms in their system.
At first, you won’t notice any symptoms, but as the heart and lungs get crowded with more worms, most dogs will develop a cough. As it progresses, your dog won’t be able to exercise as much and they will become winded more easily.
In severe cases, veterinarians can hear abnormal lung sounds. Your dog can pass out from lack of blood to the brain and eventually most will die if the worms aren’t treated.
Review
Heartworm disease has been diagnosed in all 50 states in the United States, and the disease is spreading each year. That is why one missed or delayed dose of heartworm protection could lead to an infection. Having your dog protected year round is much easier when you don’t have to remember to give your dog a pill every month on the same day.
This ProHeart 6 reviews what the benefits are of using a 6-month injection protection for your dog along with what are some of the potential risks of using this product. Your veterinarian will be able to make the best determination if this product is right for your dog or not based on your dog’s health.
Protect your dog with Proheart 6. The 6 month heartworm shot.
To answer if this is the best heartworm protection, yes, if you have a healthy dog I would say it is. I have been using this product for the past 3 years, and I love not having to remember if my dog is protected or not. I know he is protected every day. My veterinarian sends me a reminder when it is time for my dog to get his next heartworm injection, and I know he is covered every day of the year.
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