Heartgard-Best price?

[beth119]

KVAL---

Usually the prices ARE cheaper online, but find out if your vet will price match, or at least come close.
Trust me, you want a record at the vet!

[kval07]

Originally Posted by beth119 KVAL--- Usually the prices ARE cheaper online, but find out if your vet will price match, or at least come close. Trust me, you want a record at the vet!

Ah, yes, I have realized that since keeping tabs on Pooches!

[beth119]

Originally Posted by kval07 Ah, yes, I have realized that since keeping tabs on Pooches!

Awwww....

Here is something else a friend of mine told me...

If your vet won't price match, or even try to, check with other vets.

Most states require the vet to give you a prescription if you ask. You can then take it to someone else.

[TBEventer2002]

To the poster who said, "how can they get heartworms if they are on HWP?" It's if you are not buying a legit product. The online med places DO NOT get their products directly from the manufacturer -- call the MANUFACTURERs and ask. So who the heck knows what's in those pills you're giving!

Also, heartworm prevention is VERY reliable these days, but not 100%. That is why the manufacturers will pay for HW treatment if you can prove you bought the product from a vet. That is also why your dog should still be tested annually (some areas will let you test every other year).

It IS dangerous to give HWP to a heartworm-positive dog. The prevention, it's true, does kill off that month's worth of parasites. The chemicals do not stay in your dog's system. But if your dog has not been on HWP reliably, regularly, it is dangerous to give it. Reason being that if you kill off the little teeny baby heartworms monthly, they don't cause issues. But if you mass-kill off a whole heart-full of adults, then you risk the dead parasites clogging arteries and impeding bloodflow, essentially putting your dog into heart-attack, heart failure, etc. and killing them.

You can ask your vet if they price-match, but I doubt many do. I know that my boss checks the online pharmacies regularly to keep competitive. And I don't know which states "require" the vet to write you a script, last I checked each office is it's own business. I wouldn't want to be in one of those states!

Things that may not ensure protection:
- not giving the medicine
- not giving the medicine YEAR ROUND. It takes about 6 months for them to develop. So if you give the last pill on November 1st, and you get a warm spell with a mosquito bite on November 30th, then don't give any until April or May, you have a problem.
- pet routinely pukes the pill back up within an hour of getting it (can be solved by giving immediately after eating a meal)
- not giving the correct dose. Interceptor and Sentinel have been tested and shown to have no adverse reactions if your pet were to eat an entire 6 pack at one time, so if the pet is on the edge, go with the next size up.

HTH someone!

[kval07]

TB, you said you aren't a vet. What kind of training or schooling do you have in this area?

[beth119]

Originally Posted by TBEventer2002 You can ask your vet if they price-match, but I doubt many do. I know that my boss checks the online pharmacies regularly to keep competitive. And I don't know which states "require" the vet to write you a script, last I checked each office is it's own business. I wouldn't want to be in one of those states! !

I think that it might have something to do with consumer protection.

Think about this...

Your dog gets sick...needs a medication... ask your vet and they charge $50 for something that someone else only charges $20. You already paid for the exam, and know they need it. If you go to vet down the road, I doubt you can just walk in there and say "I need this medication, give it to me".
Just like people. Your DR gives you a script, and then check pharmacies for prices. WHen you only have one option, it's easy to get gauged.

I am glad that your place (and my vet) are competitive about prices. But there are some out there that aren't.

[TBEventer2002]

kval, I am only an assistant. I learn by listening, asking questions, seeing things into practice, talking to the vets, talking to the techs, talking to the reps from the drug companies, doing my own research using legitimate sources (not just random Google search, actual vet medicine journals). I am but a human sponge. :) I used to be very against any chemicals and whatnot going into my pets. But once I learned about these medicines, asked questions, heard answers (the best education I ever get is when a client asks a question and I hear the response from the vet), saw how much they helped and/or hindered, got an inside look at what exactly any medicine does to the actual body and its systems/organs...a whole new understanding! :)

And as I said in another thread, people should always check with their individual vet because they all do things differently (not necessarily BETTER, just different). There are certain things that *I* have researched that I don't think are right to do at my own work, but I can't say anything, just make as informed decisions as possible. That's all I seek out, knowledge. LOL.

[TBEventer2002]

Great clarification, beth! Thank you for that, that makes sense now. :) We have given clients written scripts for medications that might cost $10-20 from our own pharmacy that they can get filled at Kroger's for $4, lol. Good point!

[kval07]

Originally Posted by TBEventer2002 Things that may not ensure protection: - not giving the medicine - not giving the medicine YEAR ROUND. It takes about 6 months for them to develop. So if you give the last pill on November 1st, and you get a warm spell with a mosquito bite on November 30th, then don't give any until April or May, you have a problem. - pet routinely pukes the pill back up within an hour of getting it (can be solved by giving immediately after eating a meal) - not giving the correct dose. Interceptor and Sentinel have been tested and shown to have no adverse reactions if your pet were to eat an entire 6 pack at one time, so if the pet is on the edge, go with the next size up. HTH someone!

My vet told me I didn't need to give Chester hearworm meds during the winter months here.

[TBEventer2002]

That may be the case in your area. But it certainly doesn't hurt to do it year round anyway. There have been people here in Ohio who only do 6mos of HWP and their dog comes up positive the following spring. Not necessarily wrong for your vet to suggest that, just different, like I said before. :)