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Heartworm is a disgusting, dangerous, inconvenient, and expensive health problem that you can help your greyhound avoid entirely. Please read on to learn more about the disease. Once you understand the disease, annual testing and monthly prevention makes a lot of sense.
Mosquitos carrying the larvae of the heartworm parasite, dirofilaria immitis, spread the disease when
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| | Scout, Heartworm Positive. |
they bite a dog. Because greyhounds tend to have thin coats and are prone to greyhound pattern baldness, they can be more susceptible to mosquitos biting them than thick coated breeds. Additionally, humans often keep several greyhounds in close proximity in racing kennels, farms and forever homes. Mosquitos have an easy time moving from greyhound to greyhound feeding and spreading the larvae.
According to PetMD.com, unprotected dogs in regions where heartworm is endemic "are almost 100 percent likely to suffer from heartworm infestation." Endemic areas include the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, and the Ohio and Mississippi river basins. However, no place is heartworm safe. Vets have now diagnosed heartworm in dogs in all 50 states. The disease's geographic reach continues to grow due to the migration of infected wild animals and human factors such as the well intended distribution of displaced dogs after Hurricane Katrina. Click here to see a map reflecting the rate of heartworm occurrence in your area.
When an infested mosquito bites a dog, the larvae are transmitted to the dog at the bite wound. The larvae quickly travel from the bite wound to the dog's heart and lungs. After about six months, the larval heartworms grow into adults that can be up to 12 inches long. These adults produce more larvae, which are sucked up by more mosquitos and then infect more dogs. Adult worms can live up to seven years and dogs who have been infested for a while can carry hundreds of adult worms. As you might guess, that's really bad for the dog.
In the early stages of heartworm disease, a dog might not exhibit any symptoms
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Lou Lou,
Heartworm positive.
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at all. The only way to detect the disease before it progresses is to have a veterinarian test the dog's blood for the presence of antigens. If the disease progresses, the dog will likely start to cough, exhibit intolerance to exercise, fatigue easily and lose weight. Dogs with severe infestations develop blood flow blockages within the heart (because of all the worms - yes, it is horribly gross) leading to a potentially fatal cardiovascular collapse, called "caval syndrome." At this stage, dogs require prompt surgical removal of the worms to have any chance of survival. Please test annually so that your vet can diagnose a heartworm infestation before your dog reaches this stage.
If diagnosed early, heartworm is usually treated with injectable drugs once every 30 days until the dog tests negative. VCA Animal Hospitals stresses: "Complete rest is essential after treatment." The treatment kills the worms, they decompose and are carried to the dog's lungs for reabsorption. Absolutely no exercise can be permitted for one month after injection to avoid complications caused by the fragments of the dead worms. Greyhounds undergoing treatment are usually kept sedentary in a crate, no zoomies, no long walkies, no destruction of stuffies. It's not fun for human or hound - Please be sure to never miss a monthly preventive treatment so that your dog doesn't have to completely rest during treatment.
Heartworm is a common ailment among GALT's Injured Reserve hounds and the average cost of
treatment is $2,800. Scout and Lou Lou are both currently undergoing treatment. GALT's Wick underwent treatment from September 2014 until June 2015 when he finally tested negative. That was a very long time for this young boy to rest quietly. GALT's Arrow also underwent several months of treatment and is now finally heartworm negative.
For more information about heartworm, visit the American Heartworm Society's webpage. If you need a little more encouragement to get your dog tested and on a monthly preventative, google "heartworm images." We have spared you the truly horrific pictures.
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