# Questions of Vaccines and Heartworms



## Dog Walker (Dec 23, 2010)

It has come to the time of year where I should take my dog to get vaccines. In the 5 years that I've had him he has only gotten vaccines once, as well as all the puppy shots before we adopted him. I am going for a low vaccine policy and was only going to get him DHLPP and Rabies. But since he has had the DHPP shot before should I get it again, or should I just get rabies?( He had one rabies at a few months old and then again at 3 years, and he is now 5, and it is required by law.)

We were also going to take my cat to the vet for the first time since he was a few weeks old. He had one of his FVRCP shots (out of 3) and has never had a rabies shot(he is almost 6yrs). He is an indoor cat, should we even bother with FVRCP or his Rabies? 

And as far as fleas and ticks I feed my dog garlic and put lavender oils on him. But we don't do anything for heartworms (aside from that awesome raw diet  ). I overheard someone the other day saying he gives his dog the Ivermectin from feedstores to his dogs. I would feel comfortable doing this as I can dose it out myself. But should we even bother with heartworm meds? Are there any holistic treatments?


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## lab mom (May 6, 2012)

The only vaccination that Wisconsin requires is the Rabies vaccination every *three* years for licensing, after the first two rabies shots! I would research the need of doing the DHLPP. Some say immunity from these may last many years, a titer may show whether vaccination is needed. Vets make some easy money on the office visit and vaccinations. Repeated unnecessary vaccinations may lead to problems with itching, allergies and effect their immune system in negative ways. Then your vet can make even more money on treating them for allergies with minimal results. If you are in a high risk area for heartworm, you should be using the preventative. Watch the dosing for the Ivermectin, the Ivermectin for swine and cattle is 100mg per ml. The Ivermectin is given to dogs in mcg's. 100mg=10,000mcg. I personally would never use the paste! I think the paste would be to hard to dose for a Yorkie! There are several post on here about using the Ivermectin.:smile:


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## Dog Walker (Dec 23, 2010)

Our law requires a 1 year rabies vac and then after that the 3 years. My vet told me since we skipped a year we have to start off with the 1 year again. I've found lots of sources stating that the DHPP is effective for 7-15 years or longer. And yes I was going to be carefulwith the Ivermectin dosing! I was going to work with the guidelines for guinea pigs to be safe! I have no idea if we are at high risk for heartworm. Probably should look into that, but he has NEVER had any heartworm meds.


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## creek817 (Feb 18, 2012)

My mom uses Ivomec Plus for all her hounds - it's the injectable Ivermectin that they use for cattle, and she gives it orally once a month. 1cc for the hounds (who are all big dogs, ranging from 50-80 pounds I'd say) and 1/2 cc for my corgi who lives there. Her vet (who is AMAZING) approves, and she hasn't had any adverse reactions...she's been doing it for probably....3 years. And, no heartworm. She lives in NJ, and the mosquitoes are nasty there, and she hasn't had any problems. I actually brought some of the Ivermectin back to Australia with me last time i went home to visit. If I do anything for heartworm, it's that. But, I haven't given it in two months, and I'm hoping not to have to give it again....it's winter here anyway right now, so not worrying about it.

Anyway, long story short, IMO, Ivermectin is safer than any of the prescription heartworm stuff - like you said, you know exactly what they're getting, it's only one ingredient....etc, etc, etc!


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## lab mom (May 6, 2012)

Ivomec 1% ivermectin injectable for cattle contains only the Ivermectin in a sterile solution. 100mg per cc.
Ivomec Plus injectable for cattle contains 1% Ivermectin plus 10% clorsulon (to kill other parasites) in a sterile solution. (You can find this info online. You may be able to find a Ivermectin injectable for swine online that is less than 100mg/ml but I beleive it is more expensive. Many farm supply stores carry the Ivermectin for cattle in Wisconsin but not for swine.)
1cc =100mg =10,000mcg 0.1cc= 1,000mcg 
My Mom and Dad raise toy dogs now, but have been a dog breeders for 30 years and a vet told them for their Chinese Cresteds to use one drop orally per 10 pounds of the dogs weight of the Ivomec 1% Ivermectin injectalbe for cattle. Not Ivomec plus. She has been doing this at least the last 3 years. No problems, no heartworms. How much smaller of an amount can you easily measure? 
Personally for a larger dog I think the rate of one drop per 10lbs. is to much. Especially, with a 80-100 pound dog.
When you start looking at how much Ivermectin certain brand name heartworm preventatives contain. Iverheart contains 274mcg of Ivermectin for a 50-100 pound dog. 0.1 cc of Ivomec is 1,000 mcg's. It is tricky giving Ivomec orally for bigger dogs, you need a needless syringe that is 1cc with gradient lines. The next headache is to determine the dosage to give. Few vets, will condone this, let alone give you the dose of the Ivomec to give. (Just like few Vets agree with a raw meat diet- unless you are lucky to live near a holistic vet!) They usually offer you one of the heart worm preventatives that they sell to you at a mark-up. If you are lucky your Vet will give you a prescription so you can avoid paying mark up and get it from a pet medication company!


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## Dog Walker (Dec 23, 2010)

Thank you for the info on Ivermectin, I thought it was a smart idea for the cost (I knew how much thought went into dosing due to guinea pigs). We have never given our dog any kind of heartworm preventative, so this shall be fun.

Also I am still wondering if we should bother vaccinating our cat who has never been vaccinated.


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## Nana52 (Apr 28, 2012)

I found this article very interesting. I struggle every month about whether or not to give HeartGard. I've switched to every 6 weeks rather than monthly but can't quite bring myself to stop it completely. Scam or not, heartworms scar me :twitch:

- Terrierman's Daily Dose -


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## lab mom (May 6, 2012)

Personally I think that if you have not vaccinated your cat in 6 years, why start now. I think a lot of people with Cats that keep them inside do not vaccinate. If your cat is not having any issues why take him to the vet?


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## Dog Walker (Dec 23, 2010)

I used to think the same thing about cats, but I just want him to have a check up and want the vet to check his teeth. No one in our house is daring enough to help me look in that cats mouth. Our last cat who we never took to the vet until she started developing a tumor had to most of her teeth removed when we finally took her, and that could have been prevented if we had them checked more regularly. (Our cat wont eat raw, he takes bites and licks it but it not really interested). So I don't think we will get him his shots, just a check up.


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