re: worming/dogs

["Shannon Weston-Wood" <wood.shannon@acd.net>]

> >One word of caution, Ivomec was been know to cause fatalities in dogs
> >that are collie or related to the collie breeds

Just wanted to add something here.... I accidentally deleted the original
post about using Ivomec in horses/dogs but the author mentioned
having"treated dogs with heartworm disease" with Ivermectin also.

For anyone that uses Ivermectin off-label for dogs, please be aware of the
dangers.  Ivermectin only kills the heartworm microfilaria circulating in
the dog's bloodstream. It does NOT kill the adult worms which reside in the
heart/pulmonary vessels. Your dog may not be a reservoir of infection for
other dogs if you "treat" in this manner, but he will still have heartworm
disease.

If you "treat" a massively infected dog with ivermectin, killing off many
microfilaria at once can cause anaphylactic shock and possible death. This
is why veterinarians insist on performing a heartworm test before placing
dogs on Ivermectin as a monthly preventative.  If you use ivermectin as as
preventative without a prescription from your veterinarian, and if your dog
goes in for a heartworm test please tell your vet that you have been using
Ivomec ..... it may affect the type of test they use as in the past
screening for microfilaria was pretty much diagnostic.  If you've been
using Ivermectin your dog will not have microfilaria even if it does have
adult heartworms and the vet will want to do an "occult" (ELISA) test to
check for the parasite.

I'm not saying DON'T treat at home with Ivomec ....just be aware of the
possible problems with it.  Believe me, I know about being on a budget and
trying to cut corners to save... I'm an endurance rider, after all!  Also,
sorry to be off-topic, but horse people are the most likely to encounter
this problem and I thought it might prevent some heartache...

Cheers,
Shannon W
LVT
Laingsburg, MI