Yes, it's crucial to continue with the yearly heartworm test even if your dog is on prevention. This is because some heartworms are resistant to certain medications, and we need to ensure any potential infestation is dealt with promptly.

Yes, additional testing may be recommended in case of positive results, as there can be some false positives. To confirm the diagnosis, we usually send an extra sample to the lab.

We advise testing your dog for heartworm disease once a year to ensure everything is working correctly.

We recommend testing your dog for heartworms as soon as you foster or adopt them. However, if they're puppies, we usually don't test them until they're at least a year of age.

Yes, definitely. Even in places like Florida where we have mosquitoes indoors, dogs can still be affected by heartworms even if they stay inside all the time.

Heartworms have multiple life stages. They start as larvae, known as microfilaria, which live in the bloodstream and then move to the heart. These larvae are usually picked up by mosquitoes and then transmitted to another dog. This larva that circulates through the bloodstream goes into the heart and takes about six months to develop into a fully mature adult heartworm.

Heartworm treatment normally cures most dogs the first time around. However, sometimes a second round of treatment may be necessary if the first one doesn't kill all of the adult heartworms. Usually, we retest in six months to see if we need to retreat or if we can just continue with heartworm prevention.

Typically, we administer three heartworm treatments. We start with one injection and then a month later we give two injections.

If your dog tests positive for heartworms, the veterinarian will discuss doing chest x-rays and putting the dog on medications. They will also talk about heartworm treatment options. In some cases, they may recommend you to see a cardiologist before starting the heartworm treatment.