What are the possible signs that my dog has heartworms?

The signs can vary pretty significantly. It varies from mild to moderate to severe to worst cases, even death. Some dogs go asymptomatic at the beginning, meaning they're not showing any clinical signs or symptoms, which solely could progress into a cough or just more exercise intolerance, getting tired easily. As it progresses into the more moderate, severe signs, you see breathing issues, bulging rib cage, trying to catch their breath, a persistent potential cough. In some dogs, we can hear a heart murmur because remember this is a heartworm, it goes through the blood and lives inside the heart. So it affects the heart which can back up and eventually lead to fluid in the abdomen, fluid in the chest, and it can lead to enlarged hearts and enlarged livers as well. So as far as clinical signs, exercise intolerance, coughing, panting, difficulty breathing, losing weight, not eating as much. These are some typical signs you could watch for.

In a dog, typically, you're going to see coughing. And that's the most common sign. Sometimes, weight loss, you'll see that as well. Those are the two most common signs. Labored breathing, sometimes, as well. And then, as it advances, you can get heart failure and some other things, but those are the big signs. Anytime we have a dog coming in, coughing, gagging, and that's not on heartworm preventative, we highly recommend a test.

Coughing, exercise intolerance, and even a heart murmur can be signs of heartworm disease.

Common symptoms include a mild persistent cough, reluctance to exercise, and fatigue after moderate exercise. Dogs may also appear lethargic. These are the initial signs of heartworm disease.

The possible signs that your dog has heartworm disease include coughing, exercise intolerance, lethargy, and weight loss.