How To Tell If Your Dog Has Heartworms

You may realize something is wrong with your dog s behavior before you even suspect.

How to tell if your dog has heartworms. Because the treatment regimen for heartworm is both expensive and complex your veterinarian will want to be absolutely sure that treatment is necessary. An owner sometimes can see that his animal has symptoms such as labored breathing fatigue and joint pain but in many cases pets exhibit no symptoms until it is too late. That s why prevention is so important. Once a dog tests positive on an antigen test the diagnosis should be confirmed with an additional and different test.

Only a blood test can positively determine if heartworms are present inside your dog. Recognizing symptoms of heartworm 1. Your dog develops a cough or a preexisting cough becomes worse your dog has difficulty breathing or pants excessively your dog becomes weak or lethargic or collapses your dog s appetite significantly decreases your dog begins to. Listen for a cough.

Your pet suddenly seems tired more often doesn t want to go outside or avoids all physical. Monitor your dog s energy level. This occurs when there are so many worms that they block the blood flow back to your dog s heart and it requires immediate surgery. A soft dry cough.

Pay attention to your. You may also notice some trouble breathing with a class 3 diagnosis. Of course you can t give your dog a blood test every week. Knowing if your dog has heartworms is easier than you might think.

And there s no way to tell if a mosquito is infected. At first you might hear your dog softly cough and assume that he s just under the weather. Your dog will also tire after just light activity. Only by the bite of an infected mosquito.

There s no other way dogs get heartworms. At home after considering whether preventative care has been applied in the past basic observation is the best way to tell if a dog has heartworms. Finally there s class 4 also known as caval syndrome. Weight loss or.

Call your veterinarian immediately if you notice any of the following. Heartworm signs in dogs tend to show up when the worm reaches maturity typically around 6 months post implantation. That s why heartworm prevention is so important. Fatigue weight loss decreased appetite these could be signs of a general ailment in your dog or something worse.