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Heartworm Medicine for Dogs

Heartworm Medicine for Dogs

Heartworm medicine for dogs doesn't have to be confusing. There are really two types of heartworm medicine for dogs: (1) those that prevent heartworms in dogs; and (2) those that are used to treat heartworms in dogs after they become infected. 

Preventive medications come in several forms, including chewable pills, topical “spot-ons” and injectable medications. Because one form or another may be easier for owners to give their dogs and because some—but not all—products may prevent multiple parasites besides heartworms, owners and veterinarians should work together to determine the best product for an individual pet. The American Heartworm Society recommends year-round administration of heartworm preventives to ensure pets are protected from deadly heartworms.

If a dog becomes infected, the resulting heartworm disease can cause life-long damage. Treating heartworm infection and killing the adult worms that infect the dogs heart, lungs and arteries can be very expensive and requires months of treatment and multiple veterinary visits. During the treatment period, pets must be kept quiet, with exercise avoided. 

Medications for heartworm prevention and treatment are available only by prescription from veterinarians. Prevention is always the best option, as damage from heartworms can be permanent.  

Regardless of what owners read or hear from other owners, it’s important to understand that there are no "natural" products that can be used for either prevention or treatment.  Always use FDA-approved products as recommended by your veterinarian.

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The colors are changing but your clients’ heartworm prevention programs shouldn’t. To help spice up your client outreach programs this fall, the AHS has created a new set of posters you can print or post on your social pages.

To keep this message front and center with your clients, we’re sharing a set of new posters you can print OR post on your Facebook or Instagram page.

  • To save or print a poster, just click on the image below, then click on the “download” button and save the PDF file.
  • To save a poster for use on your social pages, simply open the downloaded poster, then right click on the file and follow the menu instructions to save the file as a JPEG image.

For more client tools, be sure to visit the Resource Center. And if you don’t already, make sure you’re sharing our Facebook and Instagram posts!