Heartworm test without symptoms? What pre-spay exams does my dog need?

Question

Dr. Melanie.. What if she doesn't show any of the symptoms? Does it mean that she's heartworm negative? Another question,what exams should we have done before spaying? What kind of lab work for what and others? She might be spayed this spring! You too!^^. Pet's info: Dog | Maltese | Female | unspayed | 3 years and 8 months old | 4 lbs

Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS · Accepted Answer

If heartworm is a problem in your area, which is may be considering the mosquitos that carry it have been found in your country according to the paper I gave you earlier, she should be protected against it regardless if she is showing signs or not. A dog can have heartworm without showing signs, and the only way to know for sure if to have a blood test done on her. Even if it's negative, you can't prevent mosquitos from biting her, so she should be protected against it. Heartworm is fatal without treatment, and it can still be fatal even with treatment if the infection is severe enough. I'm glad to hear Bella may be getting spayed this spring! I remember from earlier questions you were debating having it done. Before getting spayed, you can have routine blood tests and a urinalysis done on her. That tells the vet who her organs are functioning, and gives an anesthetic risk assessment for the surgery. An anesthetic risk assessment lets the vet know how she will likely handle being under anesthesia. As with any surgery, as we've talked about before, there is always a risk, but as long as Bella is healthy, that risk is quite small :-)

Heartworm test without symptoms? What pre-spay exams does my dog need?

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