Do Dogs Need Heartworm Preventive in Winter?
Understanding How Mosquitoes Infect Dogs with Heartworm Disease
Dec 26, 2008
When dog owners ask the question, ‘Does my dog really need heartworm preventive in winter?’ it’s important they understand how heartworm disease is transmitted.
How Mosquitoes Infect Dogs
Heartworm disease is spread by mosquitoes. When a mosquito bites an infected dog, it ingests the microfiliaria in the blood which is passed on to the next victim it bites. Just one bite from one infected mosquito is all it takes. Over a period of 3 to 6 months, the microfiliaria mature into adult heartworms which in turn produce more microfiliaria, and a deadly cycle begins.
How Heartworm Preventive Works
Heartworm preventive kills these microfiliaria that are already circulating in the bloodstream before they can develop into adult heartworms and cause damage or reproduce. Adult heartworms can grow to a foot or more in length and live in the right side of the dog’s heart, impeding blood circulation which can cause serious damage to internal organs before symptoms ever show.
Heartworm disease is serious. Treatment is costly, not always successful, or without side effects meaning that the best treatment is prevention. There are various heartworm preventives available and your veterinarian can help you determine which one is best for your dog.
Why Dogs Need Heartworm Preventative in Winter
It is the belief of some that dogs can not get heartworm disease in winter due to the absence of mosquitoes in cold weather. However, it is recommended that heartworm preventive be given year round no matter where the dog lives because:
- Even in colder climates, a single infected mosquito can survive in the warmth of a home.
- A dog who lives in a cold climate may visit in a warmer climate and therefore be susceptible to infected mosquitoes.
- If the dog is an inside dog exclusively, he must still go outside for short periods of potty break and an infected mosquito needs only a few seconds to bite.
- Even if the dog is an inside dog exclusively, mosquitoes can still come inside when doors are opened. They also like to ride in on the back of a human or pet.
- Staying on a regular schedule makes you less likely to forget to give the preventive.
- Most heartworm preventives also help prevent other intestinal parasites such as hookworms and roundworms, which can be contracted any time of year.
Heartworm preventive is an easy, cost effective way to keep your dog from the suffering of heartworm disease. The few dollars saved by stopping heartworm preventive for a couple of winter months are not worth the risk of costly and possibly deadly heartworm disease.
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