[badbullgator]

Where is the best place to buy HW meds. I got mine from a place in Australia, but I have a new computer and cannot find their site. Any suggestions?

 

[lablover]

Why go that far?
I use Drs Foster & Smith.

My Vet just loves that.....
But with 3 dog, he doesn't cut me a price break.

 

[Troopers Mom]

Here is the link to one I use. Have had very good luck with them.

http://www.maak4pets.com/

Arleen

 

[labraiser]

www.petshed.com

 

[oakwood]

anyone used the generic ones!

Thanks

 

[Mark Sehon]

Ivermectin at the feed store. $36 and some change for 50cc. 1/2cc per dog, once a month. Has not let me down in close to 20 years. They also sell the generic(Double Impact).

 

[labraiser]

I use the generic heartguard, it's just ivermectin. Dogs never had a problem.

 

[RailRoadRetrievers]

has anyone used Iverheart, according to what I have read it is half the price of Heartguard and prevents/controls other worms, unlike heartguard.

Thought about straight ivermectin, but little concerned myself.

 

[Julie R.]

I switched to feed store ivermectin also but have yet to find a good source for Frontline Plus at about $40 a month (3 dogs). Anyone have any good sources for that? Ticks and Lyme disease are a problem here.

 

[Guest]

has anyone used Iverheart, according to what I have read it is half the price of Heartguard and prevents/controls other worms, unlike heartguard.

Thought about straight ivermectin, but little concerned myself.

My husband has been selling a lot of the iverheart, really likes it for the tapeworm prevention. One dose of tapeworm meds is quite expensive ($40-$50 for the average lab).

We use straight up ivermectin. There's nothing to be afraid of because it's the same exact ingredient as what's in HW meds that contain ivermectin.

-K

 

[RailRoadRetrievers]

I hate high jacking the thread, but do you give it to them straight or over their food? Also, does it help prevent any other worms or anything else?

 

[awesmlab]

I've been buying my Frontline from www.petshed.com. They are in Australia and it's in Australian packaging but it's the same stuff. Also, I buy the largest size and split it among dogs since there's such a range in the weights each size covers. You can measure it exactly with a syringe but I just eyeball it.

 

[Matt G]

Not to tangent your thread, but I want to pass the word that I've seen firsthand regarding purchasing Heartworm Meds online. In the past year, a rash of flatland dogs in the southeast that were on multiple brands of HW preventive were diagnosed with Heartworms. As I put in a previous post, I know several of the owners, and can vouch that the meds were administered in a timely and consistant fashion. So when it came time to hold the manufacturer's feet to the fire for coverage of the $800-$1000 treatment, the first question was "where's your documentation of purchasing the meds from your vet?". The bottom line in all of the cases was that if one could show receipts proving purchase of the meds from a vet for the particular infected dog, and the particular dog was tested for a baseline (with negative results), and then tested 6 weeks later (with negative results) all within the same timeframe, then the treatment was covered (from both major manufacturers). However, in the cases where the meds were bought on-line, neither manufacturer would honor the cost of the treatment. Period. I can't quote any specific reasoning for the manufacturer's stance, but those are the facts that I can vouch for.

So my stance on it is that the extra $20 to even $100 your paying for (depending on the # of dogs you buy for) by purchasing from the vet is good "insurance" in the event that you need it for a heartwork treatment.

To caviat this, I'd also mention that if one opts to buy online and not bother with the manufacturer backing for treatment, then one would be better off buying straight "Ivomec 1% Swine and Cattle" from a place like Tractor Supply Co (less than $40 for a bottle which averages 100 doses at .1cc per 10lbs), and using the money saved from manufacturer meds to pay for treatment, in the event it is needed. I'm definitely no vet so I'm in no way prescribing this method, just passing the word along.

Ounces of prevention Regards,

-Matt

 

[Last Frontier Labs]

With all the dogs in the south coming up positive for Heartworms, why get them online? If you get them from your vet and your dog tests negative right now, the drug manufacturer will cover the cost of treatment, if your dog becomes positive.
Heartworm treatment isn't cheap and I know of several dogs who came up positive this past year.
You might end up payin' a whole lot more than what you save for the meds....

 

[Julie R.]

Matt, I had followed the tale of some dogs getting HW despite being treated monthly with meds and I believe those meds were purchased online so there may be some suspicion about the quality of the meds or even if they actually even contained the drug?

Myself, I feel safer using feed store Ivermectin (ivomec or the generics) than something bought from overseas. All the houndsmen I know have used it for years and never gotten any cases of HW. I'm well aware of the treatment not being covered because using it for dogs is an off-label use and am willing to take that risk. I don't understand why the dog meds are so much higher than the livestock meds when the drug itself is apparently quite cheap.

 

[labraiser]

marketing

Simple marketing is about what the market will bear. An example is corn herbicides vs soybean herbicides. Soybeans herbicides are always more expensive than corn herbicides, even though the active ingredients are the same and at the same concentration. so as seen dog owners pay more than livestcok owners. Just the way it is.

 

[blackpowder]

I don't understand why the dog meds are so much higher than the livestock meds when the drug itself is apparently quite cheap.

Because of product packaging, form(liquid vs chewable), marketing, sales, the cost of R&D, and the fact that the market will support it. Face it, we are the minority of pet owners whether we want to believe it or not. The majority of pet owners don't know any better. They are willing to pay more. They want a product that is easy to administer with as little hassle as possible. Can you see the average Joe trying to calculate the dosages for all of his different pets? Many live in a city and have no idea what Tractor Supply is. In this day and age you pay for convenience. I'll get off my soapbox now.

 

[Anthony Heath]

Not to tangent your thread, but I want to pass the word that I've seen firsthand regarding purchasing Heartworm Meds online. In the past year, a rash of flatland dogs in the southeast that were on multiple brands of HW preventive were diagnosed with Heartworms. As I put in a previous post, I know several of the owners, and can vouch that the meds were administered in a timely and consistant fashion. So when it came time to hold the manufacturer's feet to the fire for coverage of the $800-$1000 treatment, the first question was "where's your documentation of purchasing the meds from your vet?". The bottom line in all of the cases was that if one could show receipts proving purchase of the meds from a vet for the particular infected dog, and the particular dog was tested for a baseline (with negative results), and then tested 6 weeks later (with negative results) all within the same timeframe, then the treatment was covered (from both major manufacturers). However, in the cases where the meds were bought on-line, neither manufacturer would honor the cost of the treatment. Period. I can't quote any specific reasoning for the manufacturer's stance, but those are the facts that I can vouch for.

So my stance on it is that the extra $20 to even $100 your paying for (depending on the # of dogs you buy for) by purchasing from the vet is good "insurance" in the event that you need it for a heartwork treatment.

To caviat this, I'd also mention that if one opts to buy online and not bother with the manufacturer backing for treatment, then one would be better off buying straight "Ivomec 1% Swine and Cattle" from a place like Tractor Supply Co (less than $40 for a bottle which averages 100 doses at .1cc per 10lbs), and using the money saved from manufacturer meds to pay for treatment, in the event it is needed. I'm definitely no vet so I'm in no way prescribing this method, just passing the word along.

Ounces of prevention Regards,

If this occurred in dogs using both US and overseas meds, then it looks like something doesn't work very well. Care to share the meds that were being taken. Would cause me serious concern if I'm paying for a med that doesn't work as advertised and is putting my dogs at risk regardless of whoever ends up paying for the treatment.

 

[goosebruce]

3 of my 4 dogs came up postive within the last year, on vet bought medicines (hartguard). I live in memphis, tn. One of the threes treatment was covered by hartguard. The other 2 we didnt have detailed enough records, because when I get low, I send someone to the vet to buy hartguard and they simply pull up a dog with a current prescription, and bill it to that dogs account. We had purchased more than enough, but there wasnt the clear paper trail needed for coverage, and one dog only had one negative test (apprently you must have two, which means you need to have a hartowrm check every 6 months for the guarentee to actually cover it before a dog is over 2 years old). Apprently convience is a double edged sword, because of the convience of me being able to do that, Im out the cost of treating 2 of my dogs. But in reality, thats no big deal to me... Id pay twice that if someone could tell me how to keep my dogs from getting hartworms. Nobody can. There are probably 15 dogs in my club that have come up postive in the last year and half, and Id vouch 100% they had the meds on 95% of them. Hartguard, interceptor, and dogs on the liquid ivermetic all 3. The cruel reality is, hartworm prevatives in this area are not working. Nobody wants to face this. I can't see how its an issue of the meds, when the 2 biggest companies that use different medicines that kill worms at different stages are effected. And I cant see they are watering the medicines down if the liquid is having postives as well. So all i can deduce is the mosquitos and the worms have changed. Time for someone to step up to the plate and say the old stuff isnt working, to do something else. Ive been told rumors from more than one vet, something is coming. I will be the first to try it. As it is, I have no more faith in any hartworm preventative than I would a truck stop condem.

On a side note, the only dog I didnt have come up postive last year was a dog that summered in alaska with a friend. So I dont really see a victory there for the 500 bucks a year I spend on hartworm preventative. And a dog I took on this winter that was 'supposedly' hartworm free (ive got vet records from last summer) and on hartguard tested postive last week. I cant say for sure the dog got the prevantive in time between the vets check and I when I took the dog over, it was in pretty sad shape when i first saw it so that is that.

The meds online are not the same meds. Reputable vets get bombarded with letters, from those companies wanting them to sell them hartworm meds... apprently the scam is, if SOME of them go thru a reptuable clinic, they can muddy the waters up enough to cause the compaines grief and put them on the hook. Medicines are often formulated different for different parts of the country, let alone world. Im all for free enterpirse, but if my vet makes a buck or two off my meds, he can keep the rest of his prices as reasonable as he does. Perhaps everyone isnt as lucky to have a vet like mine, Ive had vets in the past I could care less what they make so Id probably feel the same way.

This year I plan to have fans on my kennels, to help keep the mosquitos off the dogs, as well as using the advantix stuff that supposedly keeps mosquitos off. Of course keep up with the hundreds of dollars of hartworm prevatnives, and hope for the best. So far, I aint been too lucky. travis

 

[NateB]

I am not going to get into the online vs vet bought meds. "IF" it is the same product then it should not matter. I get at least 5-6 letters a years trying to get me to sell products to these resellers, somce even say it is for sale overseas, yea, right. However, if the manufacturer sees my orders skyrocket and find out what I am doing then they can and will cut me off completely.

However, meds coming from overseas into this country are not legal if they do not have an EPA registration number of the box for flea and tick items and an FDA registration #/approval for heartworm. If the products you buy do not have those items then the company is breaking the law selling them for delivery in the US. So makes you wonder about what their ethics are about business in general.

The breakdown of preventation that is being seen is disturbing, especially when it comes from someone who knows dogs a lot better than the "average" pet owner. Just speculating I wonder if the worms have changed or has metabolism of the drug changed and the blood levels are now lower than before. If I come across anything new in the professional journals I will pass it along. I recently switched from Tri-hart that we were getting for FREE from our Schering rep(manufacturer) back to Interceptor. I like the fact it is not Ivermectin AND it treats hooks, rounds and whips too. None of the Ivermectin products treat whips.