Hello Mr. Davis,
I appreciate you taking the time to write to me. Guess your
question
is basically "Am I giving the right amount and mixing Ivomec correctly?"
First off, let me say I'm not a vet and I hope I never give the
impression that I am or want to be. I only express and write about
things that I personally have used and tried on my own dogs. And at
this time, I have 17 I take care of daily. But, if i
was guessing, I
would say your gyp had heartworms when you gave her the treatment.
If
a dog has heartworms already and a person gives them ivomec..it will
either kill them or cure them. When the ivomec is given, it kills the
heartworms and the dead worms clog the heart is my understanding of how
it happens. Its pretty much that simple. If the ivomec
had killed
your dog, your dog would most likely have turned a yellow skin tone. If
the dogs mouth and inside of ears weren't yellow, I would think it had
the heart worms already. When I purchase a dog, besides asking what
the dog will do, I will ask the seller if he has been treating it for
heart worms and will he guarantee it doesn't have them. Of course
no
seller can guarantee it doesn't have heart worms. But a $15 test can
tell within minutes. I usually ask the seller if he will have it
tested and give me the written results from the vet or I will have it
done myself and deduct it from the selling price of the dog. It just
seems like common sense to not buy or sell a healthy dog. If the
dog
has heart worms already, at that time, I have to decide on if I am
willing to chance the dog or not. If ivomec kills a
dog, its my
understanding that it does it thru the liver which would make the dog
turn yellow. I also have been told and have read many times
never
ever to give it to a dog that has collie in its genes. Collies and
Ivomec are a deadly mixture from what I understand. When I start
treating a new dog I've acquired, I usually don't give them a full dose
the first time, I give them a reduced dose and watch the dog for any
signs of weakness or sickness for the first month. If I get
a dog
that I know has heart worms. I do the same. I give very
little the
first time or two of treatment. You've probably heard the statement
"as sick as a dog", well, if a dog has heartworms and you treat him
with
ivomec, he's most definitely going to be realllllllll sick if he lives
thru it.
I've written several times about giving Ivomec and worming.
I've
seen Ivomec subjects brought up several times on the net message boards
or in chats, and just plain ole sitting around talking hunting with the
guys. It seems to be a very controversial subject.
My friend Orval,
swears I'm giving twice to much, another friend swears im giving to
often. And another friend gives all his dogs 3 ccs every three
months. Others give their dogs the amount I do, but only give it every
ninety days. Others wouldn't dare give their dogs a drop.
Its just a
big subject. But I can only say, I've talked to other dog owners and to
more than one vet about the subject and have given several bottles of
the stuff to my dogs over the years, and I live in the mosquito capitol
of texas as far as im concerned, and to my knowledge I've never had a
dog die from the medicine and never have had one test positive to
heartworms. I even heard today from my uncle that his vet this last
week said there was a new worming treatment that is coming out that can
only be purchased/given by vets that covers it all, Heartworms, round
worms, hook worms, tape worms, worm worms, and even fleas and ticks with
a simple squirt of the medicine between the shoulder blades once a
month. I can only imagine what it will cost per dog.
People make a lot out of the amount of ivomec and what to mix it with
and how much and what to mix it with etc.... what and if and how much of
anything you mix it with makes no difference as far as im concerned.
Just as long as you get the correct amount of ivomec in the dog is all
that counts. I just ivomeced ALL my dogs 4 days ago.
The mosquitos
that are outside at this very moment is absolutely unbelievable.
They
are so bad I'm having to fog out at the dog kennels and here at the
house daily to just try and give the dogs some relief. .
I have
dogs from 8 years old to as young as 6 months. I gave all them the
same. But if I had a pregnant gyp, I wouldn't give it to her until the
pups come. I give one tenth of a cc per ten pounds body weight.
that's half a cc (5/10ths off a cc) for a 50 lb dog.
I take the
ivomeced serenge and suck in a little water out of their water bucket
and squirt it in their mouth. I don't measure at all the amount
of
water that I get in the serenge. It makes no difference.
And I
don't even have to do that, but some dogs don't like the taste of
ivomec. I've also used soda pop... it still makes no difference....
as long as the right amount of the medicine gets in their belly that's
all that counts. I have had friends of mine talk about mixing glycol
or something with the ivomec. I have no idea why they do this, guess
someone suggested they do it. But the way I look at it, its
like
this, If I had 4 oz. of pure drinking alcohol and drank it straight
it
would probably get me drunk. If I had four oz. of alcohol
and mixed
it with a gallon of coke and still drank it all down, I would be just as
drunk when I finished because the alcohol amount would be the same and
that's what makes me drunk, not the coke. The dilution doesn't do a
thing the way I see it.
Other folks use different amounts of ivomec, some people don't
give
it to them monthly as I do, some give it every two or three months.
Some give half as much as I do...some more. I just know the amount
i
give
mine works for me.
I also keep the dog off feed for atleast 4 to 8 hours before and after
I give it to them, and I don't worm them for hooks rounds and tapes the
same day. I either do that a couple of days before or a couple of
days
after I give them the ivomec.
Another thing I use ivomec for is if I have a dog that gets an ear
infection. I simply squirt full strength ivomec in their ear rub
it in
and it seems to straighten up their ear problem after a few
treatments. I've also given dogs that are not looking to good or
have
a skin problem a SHOT of 1/2 a cc of ivomec under the skin. And
have
had good results with that.
Hope this helps, but this is how I do it and I've been happy with the
results. . But as I try and say pretty often weither it be training
dogs or taking care of them, "If what your doing now works for you,
don't change a thing".
good hunting,
Jim