Heartworm

Heartworm Disease is spread by mosquitoes.  It is dangerous because because it has the potential to cause heart failure and death. Contracting this disease does not require your dog to be in contact with other dogs.

The heartworm lifecycle can begin with a single bite from a carrier mosquito.  The mosquito infects your dog with heartworm larve as it feeds on your dogs blood. These larve then migrate through your dogs tissues to the heart and adjacent blood vessels of the lungs where they grow into adult worms.  In the early stages of heartworm infection, there may be no outward signs of the disease.

To prevent heartworm there are a few options availiable, the most convienient is an injection that is given once a year, alternatively there are monthly tablets availiable to treat heartworm. If it is your Dogs first time recieving heartworm protection it is likely the vet will recommend a simple blood test to ensure your dog does not already have heartworm.