I was wondering what everybody uses. My Lab is 92# and 6 years old. I use Heartgard Plus chewables for 51-100#. Today I paid $50.99 for six months. Your opinions on a better/cheaper preventative. Thanks upfront.

My son is a Vet Tech and the clinic he works at recommends INTERCEPTOR. It is a once a month pill also. We used to use Heartgard, but he said this is a better product. It also controls / kills hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms.
Don't know about retail cost- we get meds at his price.
"Better" and "Cheaper" are not two words used together. Just as the old adage goes: "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR".

We give cattle grade ivermectin. We use Noromectin which is basically the same as Ivomec (I think that's the name of it.)

Me too. It cost about the same as you guys are paying for a three year supply.

ivermectin only kills that babys "microfilariae" if there are adults it will not treat them.. And they will comtinue to do there damage

If the preventive is given according to directions you should never have adult heart worms.

Interceptor.

Long before any heartworm pills w/ivermec were even thought of, we were worming our coon dogs and kennels full w/the injectible
cattle wormer...1/2 cc for dogs up to 50 to 60lbs...large dogs
around 85 or more 1 cc..NO COLLIES...you can give it orally or
inject it under the skin...no muscle..I've used it many yrs..runs
me about $36 for 50cc btl...and it lasts about a yr...It will not
get Tape Worms..those are a pill all unto themselves...The Pham.
Industry used us as a test facilty w/our hounds prior to putting
it in heart wormer...My wife spends over $100 a month for the pills to worm her 4 Eng Mastiffs...Don

Ivermectin once a month is what I use on my pointers and labradors. Ole' Tess is 16, and it hasn't killed her. PeeWee is almost 9, and for the last four years, he was being given 1 CC per day most of that time to keep red mange at bay. Recently I cut back to 1 CC every other day. Hasn't killed him either. I've taken him off the megadosing until his red mange shows up again, and his coat has really improved in luster.
In this part of the world, you either prevent heartworms or deal with them, because without the preventative, the dogs will have 'em. As Don said, don't try this on Collies or shepard type dogs. I give .1 cc per 10 pounds of dog orally. So, a 50 lb. dog gets .5 cc of INJECTABLE cattle ivermectin squirted in their mouth each month.

..not true at all...ask any vet...

Why even give it if that is so?

ivermectin is what I use. Get the paste for horses...no shots needed.

The only time I have heard of a dog getting heart-worms on a preventive is because of the owners skipping doses or they were buying a preventive from the vet and their dogs weight was close to the limit of the dose. Meaning dose was for a dog weighing 20- 40 lbs and the dog weighed 39 lbs. In that case its best to move up to the next size dose.

Not true. Had a dog get heart worms once. Little under a half cc orally every three days for a week then a week later another half cc and they were gone.

So your saying even with preventative given as recommended by a vet, all dogs still have adult heartworms? That makes no sense, or maybe I am not understanding what you mean. My vet recommends Ivermectin/Noromectin. 1/10 c.c. per 10 lbs - once a month. a $35 bottle last me two years treating 8 dogs. Just shoot it on the back of their tongue.

Mine are on a preventive and they are tested yearly for heart worms. Every year the test shows they are heart worm free.

I guess I don't understand your statement either.

Why would you treat them for heart worms if they are heart worm free?

Because it's a preventative, keeps the dog from getting them and seems to be working.

Hey CC and the rest of you that use a syringe to squirt the Ivomec: Just a word of caution:
If you do it with a needle still attached, be sure the needle screws into the syringe, or is other than the slip-on variety. As I said in my former post, I have given PeeWee daily doses for years, as well as the monthly doses for my other six to eight dogs....The needle has shot off the end of the syringe, and I have had to quickly dig it out of their mouth/throat before they could swallow the needle on more than one occasion.

I just squeeze mine on a piece of buttered bread and give it to Cracker.

One thing I did not mention, is if you dose your dog w/ivermec
and he walks around like he's dizzy..He most likely needs to see
the vet, because there's a better than average chance the dog already is infected...and then get ready to spend some bucks..DD

OOPS! I was watching the Astros and looking at my wife's iPad. I misread tested once a year as treated once a year.

lol... I read that about three times and figured that's what you did. Watch out - some folks get testy if you misread the post and respond out of context! ;-)

Cream cheese for ours.

Over the years, we have taken in many a stray. We're in deep SE Texas, in the Big Thicket. You best believe the strays have heartworm. Years ago, the vet suggested we just treat with ivomec (what did the dog have to lose?) and over time, the adults would die off and there would be no NEW heartworms to form. We did this. That dadgum dog is STILL here and heartworm free, now. We'll be stuck with her forever, now. We tried this on other strays afterward and it's worked repeatedly.

If you kill off the microfilaria (babies) you aren't going to get adults. They develop in the bloodstream, so how would that happen? Now, STATISTICALLY they may have to say that adults exist despite preventative treatment. You can't discount all the people who are not diligent, then claim they treated their dogs when they tested positive. Those folks show up in the statistics whether what they claim is true or not.