Is Ivermectin heartworm prevention safe for my Old English Sheepdog?

Question

I have heard that Ivermectin is toxic to Old English Sheepdogs. I f so what type of heartworm preventative can be used. Pet's info: Dog | Old English Sheepdog | Female | unspayed | 1 year and 9 months old | 69 lbs

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

It's actually perfectly safe to use Heartgard (which has the active ingredient ivermectin) as a heartworm prevention if you like. It's true that Old English Sheepdogs and other herding breeds can sometimes have a genetic mutation (the mdr1 mutation) that makes them more sensitive to certain drugs, including ivermectin - this means that it might not be safe to use high doses of this drug in these breeds, such as the doses often used to treat scabies or demodectic mange. But at the very low doses used in Heartgard and other heartworm preventatives, these breeds have no issues at all - so it's fine to use this product if you like. If you're still concerned and want to choose a different drug entirely, Sentinel is another very effective heartworm preventative that has a different active ingredient (milbemycin oxime) which should not cause any issues at all.

Is Ivermectin heartworm prevention safe for my Old English Sheepdog?

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