If you live in Southern California, do you give your dogs heartworm medication?

No.

I always call a vet in the area I am traveling with my dogs though and find out if heartworm is an issue. I did that just two years ago when I traveled to Nampa, ID. Neither my vet here in So Cal or the vet I called in Nampa felt it was necessary for me to give my dogs heartworm prevention.

Years ago when I traveled to an area with heartworm I did give my dogs the preventative.

A dog getting heartworms is bad. Has your mother-in-law ever seen a dog with heartworms? Your mother-in-law should not own a pet if she will not take care of the animal and protect it from distemper, heartworms and other diseases that can be prevented by simple medicines and vacinations. If the dog gets heartworms, the dog will suffer. Where does she live? If she lives in an area in the south, the dog needs the medicine. If she lives where there are no mosquitos and there are no incidents of heartworms it is another thing. We have 10 dogs, there has never been any reaction from the heartworm medication from our 4 pound maltese to our 104 pound rotweiller. Home remedies are nice for people who have the desire to use them, but to subject a dog a home remedy that may or may not work when the dog has no choice in the matter seems to be cruel to me. I wonder if she would do the same for her family members who were prescribed blood pressure medicine or cancer medicine. If the dog is not eating, she should get it to a vet, because there is definately something wrong. Dogs will not refuse food if they are healthy when they are hungry. If you are really concerned about the dog, I would check with another family member and see if you can't get them to take the dog to the vet for a checkup. Good luck.

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RE:

If you live in Southern California, do you give your dogs heartworm medication?

We never did growing up because it wasn't prevalent here and never had a problem. We camp and hike a lot, with an annual summer trip to Oregon and Washington for two weeks. I have NEVER had a dog with heartworm and my vet doesn't like to give preventative unless it's absolutely...

I live in Southern Oregon and we have tons of mosquito's here. Any where that has mosquito's is a danger. If you have them in So Cal I would get him on preventative. My dogs are on heart guard which is actually good for your dog. The pills are only about $6 or so each (depends how much your dog weights) per month. That's a low cost compared to your dog getting it and then all the vet costs after that (if the dog lives). You should at least use it while you are in oregon and washington because we have tons of cases here and tons of mosquito's. Its better to be safe than sorry!

I would give the dog heartworm preventative no matter where I lived. They can get it anywhere that mosquitos are. One infected mosquitoe bites your dog, they get heartworm and the treatment is way more expensive and painful to the dog than a lifetime of preventative.My dogs love the preventative, its like a treat to them.

Yes I live in San Diego County.

You never could be to safe!