Is it safe to give heartworm meds after missing doses without a test?

Question

Due to financial reasons, I had missed a couple months of heartworm prevention for Phoenix. He has been on it since he was 11 weeks old. I've had him tested a few times due to switching vets, and this last time I had just switched. Then Covid-19 hit and i cant get back in. My question is, would it do harm if i used the heartworm preventative without him being tested? Hes shown no signs of being infected and hes always come back negative. Pet's info: Dog | Multi-Colored Standard Poodle | Male | unneutered | 2 years and 2 months old | 53 lbs

Dr. Strydom, DVM · Accepted Answer

If he has always been on it and hasn't missed any doses, then he should be fine to continue with the prevention. Now, that being said, no prevention is 100% effective so the reason we test every year is to check and make sure there was no break-though issues with the product. If a dog has heartworm disease there is a chance the prevention could cause a medical problem. In this case, I think the benefit of him taking the heartworm prevention outweighs the very tiny risk that he could be positive and have a reaction to the medication. Hope this helps. If you have more questions you can always opt for a private consultation where we can chat back and forth. That way you can ask as many questions as you'd like. Best wishes!

Is it safe to give heartworm meds after missing doses without a test?

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