Yes, they should get one once a year for a couple of reasons. One is to make sure that prevention is working. Two, just in case something failed, whether it was that your dog spits out the pill you were giving or to make sure there's no lapse. If it does become positive, a lot of times those companies do help it if you are giving prevention.

Yes. If your dog tests positive, we will usually send out a confirmation on a test at the lab, which is a little different test. So yes, they do.

Once a year.

Your dog should be tested anywhere between six months and a year, depending on the hospital's preference, and then every year after that.

It's a very simple blood test. We just take a small sample of blood. About three drops of blood are all we need, and then it is run on an in-house test.

In this area, heartworm disease is very significant. One mosquito bite can transmit heartworm disease.

Most dogs are actually potentially affected by heartworm disease. There's definitely a higher risk in dogs who spend a lot of time outside hiking, but even indoor dogs can get heartworm disease.

Heartworms are transmitted via the mosquito. A mosquito first bites an infected dog, then the heartworm actually gets in the mosquito's body and reproduces, and then it is put back into another dog through injection.

Dog heartworm is caused by a parasite that lives in their blood and migrates to their heart.