Heartgard Plus Plus general information
What is Heartgard Plus used for?
Heartgard Plus is used to protect dogs against heartworm, which is a parasite transmitted by mosquitoes that can cause serious health problems that can result in heart failure and eventually death. Heartgard Plus is also used to treat and control roundworm and hookworm, which are both intestinal parasites that are transmitted when a dog ingests its eggs from the environment such as the soil, or transmitted to puppies while still in the womb, or to nursing puppies through infected milk. Both infections can cause serious health problems for your dog; roundworm deprives dogs of essential nutrients and may cause intestinal obstruction and hookworm feeds on the intestinal wall, causing significant blood loss. Heartgard Plus kills these parasites breaking the parasitic lifecycle and protecting your dog from serious and life-threatening illness.
How does Heartgard Plus work?
Heartgard Plus contains two active ingredients; ivermectin an antiparasitic drug and pyrantel, a deworming agent. The larval stage of the heartworm is transferred into the blood of the host dog when an infected mosquito bites the dog; the larvae then enter the tissues and migrate to the heart and lungs where they mature into adult worms causing tissue damage which can be fatal. Ivermectin in Heartgard Plus acts of the nervous system of the larval stage of the parasitic heartworm and causes paralysis and death before it reaches the heart or lungs of your dog. Pyrantel in Heartgard Plus is a neuromuscular blocker that paralyses roundworm and hookworm while they are feeding in the dogs’s intestine, so that the parasitic worms lose their grip on the intestinal wall and pass out in the dog’s stools.
What does Heartgard Plus contain?
Heartgard Plus contains the active ingredients ivermectin an antiparasitic drug and pyrantel pamoate, a deworming agent, in a chewable form.
What Heartgard Plus for Dogs doses are available?
Heartgard Plus is available in packs containing chewables in different doses depending on the weight of your dog:
- Chewables for small dogs up to 11kg or 25lbs, containing Invermectin 68mcg and Pyrantel 57mg
- Chewables for medium dogs up to 12-22kg or 26-50lbs, containing Invermectin 136mcg and Pyrantel 114mg
- Chewables for large dogs up to 24-45kg or 49-100lbs, containing Invermectin 272mcg and Pyrantel 227mg
For dogs over 45kg or 100lbs, the appropriate combination of chewables should be used.
Treating canine heartworm with Heartgard Plus
Heartgard Plus contains ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug that is used to protect dogs against heartworm, which is a parasite that can cause serious health problems that can result in heart failure and eventually death. Heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes and the larval stage is transferred into the blood of the host dog when an infected mosquito bites the dog; the larvae then enter the tissues and migrate to the heart and lungs where they mature into adult worms causing tissue damage which can be fatal. Ivermectin in Heartgard Plus acts of the nervous system of the larval stage of the parasitic heartworm and causes paralysis and death before it reaches the heart or lungs of your dog, breaking the parasitic lifecycle and protecting your dog from serious and life-threatening illness.
Treating canine roundworm and hookworm with Heartgard Plus
Heartgard Plus contains pyrantel, a deworming agent that is used to protect dogs against roundworm and hookworm, both of which are intestinal parasites transmitted when a dog ingests its eggs from the environment, such as from the soil, or transmitted to puppies while still in the womb, or to nursing puppies through infected milk. Pyrantel in Heartgard Plus is a neuromuscular blocker that paralyses roundworm and hookworm while they are feeding in the dogs’s intestine, so that the parasitic worms lose their grip on the intestinal wall and pass out in the dog’s stools. Heartgard Plus kills these parasites breaking the parasitic lifecycle and protects your dog from serious and life-threatening illness.
What are the side effects of Heartgard Plus?
Following the use of Heartgard Plus, digestive and neurological side effects have rarely been reported, including: vomiting, diarrhea, hypersalivation, excessive dilation of the pupil (mydriasis), staggering, convulsions, lethargy, loss of muscle coordination (ataxia).
How should Heartgard Plus for Dogs be given?
You should give one Heartgard Plus chewable to your dog either offered by hand or in your dog’s food. The chewable should be chewed and not swallowed whole and to ensure a complete dose your dog should eat the entire chewable. Ivermectin in Heartgard Plus is effective against the tissue stage of heartworm larvae for a month and therefore you should give Heartgard Plus to your dog once a month (every 30 days), one month before the start of the mosquito season to one month after the last exposure to mosquitoes. Heartgard Plus chewables can be given to pregnant or breeding bitches, stud dogs and puppies form age 6 weeks.
How long should you give Heartgard Plus to your dog?
Ivermectin in Heartgard Plus is effective against the tissue stage of heartworm larvae for a month and therefore you should give Heartgard Plus to your dog once a month (every 30 days), one month before the start of the mosquito season to one month after the last exposure to mosquitoes.
Missed dose of Heartgard Plus
If you miss a dose of Heartgard Plus and forget to give your dog their monthjly chewable, you should give one as soon as you remember, as the effectiveness of Heartgard Plus begins to wear off after 30 days and your dog may be at risk of reinfection.
How should Heartgard Plus be stored?
You should store your dog’s Heartgard Plus in a cool dry place below 25°C and protect from direct light.
