# health question



## mytibbie (Nov 26, 2009)

Hello: I am a new member. I have a Tibetan Spaniel and he's absolutely gorgeous, loving and very good natured. I got him about a year ago and after a few months I could not care for him at the time so I gave him to a friend of mine. When I had him, I made sure he had his shots and heartworm pills and I was financially able to do all that at the the time and take care of all the important things a puppy needed. Well I went to visit my friend five months later who had my Tibbie and to my horror they had him chained up and left outside whether it was hot or cold so I asked to get him back. When I got him back I immediately took him to get groomed and cleaned, he had so many fleas and ticks. The five months my friend had him, they did not give him his monthly heartworm pills which I stressed they had to do. 

Now that I have him back I do feed him proper dog food and he is so wonderful and adorable and I love him to pieces but my question is right now I can't afford to take him to a vet to get him his heart pills and I can't afford a vet bill but he is in the house and he is so happy. How long can I not give him his heart pills and be ok? Plus he is not neutered but hopefully soon but since I have to make a choice of the vet or feeding him good dog food and just basically loving him will my not giving him heart pills for a while be ok? I'm so worried about this but I just can't take him to a vet at the moment. His shots were up to date. 

Thanks for your reply and I hope someone knowledgeable can answer my question. 

Much love


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

I'm glad you got your dog back. As for heartworm pill, it depends on where you live. You don't need to give him any heartworm pills until mosquito season. I don't give my dogs the pills through the winter. I live in west Georgia (the state, not the country) and begin the pills in late may or early june. I wait until 45 days after I see the first mosquito. They are due another pill in about 2 weeks but I doubt I will give that one and won't give another until late spring/early summer. I would have him tested for heartworms just berfore you begin the next pills.

So the whole question of when you need to give the pills depends on when mosquitoes are out in your area.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Did you get him checked for heartworm to make sure he doesent have it? its not too expensive around $25 ( but call around for best rates), you want to make sure he's heartworm clear before starting on the hearworm prevention. 

There are certain things you can do to minimize the dogs chance of getting HW, like keeping him inside during summer evenings. Use a neem spray to repel mosquitoes. I cant help you much on the cost of HW prev. , its expensive, but like RFD said, you dont have to use it all year, especially if you live in colder climate. I just give it May-Oct. You can ask the vet for prescription and buy it online cheaper, but again, shop around to find a best price.


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## HarleyandRoscoesMom (Nov 24, 2009)

mytibbie said:


> Hello: I am a new member. I have a Tibetan Spaniel and he's absolutely gorgeous, loving and very good natured. I got him about a year ago and after a few months I could not care for him at the time so I gave him to a friend of mine. When I had him, I made sure he had his shots and heartworm pills and I was financially able to do all that at the the time and take care of all the important things a puppy needed. Well I went to visit my friend five months later who had my Tibbie and to my horror they had him chained up and left outside whether it was hot or cold so I asked to get him back. When I got him back I immediately took him to get groomed and cleaned, he had so many fleas and ticks. The five months my friend had him, they did not give him his monthly heartworm pills which I stressed they had to do.
> 
> Now that I have him back I do feed him proper dog food and he is so wonderful and adorable and I love him to pieces but my question is right now I can't afford to take him to a vet to get him his heart pills and I can't afford a vet bill but he is in the house and he is so happy. How long can I not give him his heart pills and be ok? Plus he is not neutered but hopefully soon but since I have to make a choice of the vet or feeding him good dog food and just basically loving him will my not giving him heart pills for a while be ok? I'm so worried about this but I just can't take him to a vet at the moment. His shots were up to date.
> 
> ...


IDK where you are located but I get my heartworm prevention pretty cheap you can buy it month to month if you cant afford a supply I pay around 5 dollars a month when I buy them individually from a vet clinic on our military base....they also sell it at any animal birth control clinic cheap...if you can find an abc then they also offer inexpensive services if you let me know where you are I will try to find somewhere for you!!! I know here in OK I have to give the dogs them every month because I swear the mosquitos live year round or at least untill it freezes but they are back after it thaws..you also have to be careful of the fleas they can cause worms I dont give flea prevention year round here unless I notice any signs of fleas!! There is a pill that you can get from the vet that will kill fleas within 30 mins and protect all month but it is a little costly...


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I agree with all that has been said so far. Call around to all the vets in your area and find one that will do an _*in house*_ heartworm test, but not charge you for an exam. Its a quick 5 minute blood draw and in house test. Your dog technically doesn't even need to see a vet for it! That way you keep your costs down....


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