Heart worm is a serious and devastating condition that can be treated, but it can also kill. It is just as it sounds. A worm invades the heart and multiplies. The heart becomes the breeding ground and also a source of food for the worms.

How is heart worm acquired?

Mosquitoes are the main transmitter of this disease as they carry the early stages of the larvae. When mosquitoes inject a dog, they expel a chemical that triggers bleeding. Within that chemical is the heart worm larvae. Heart worms grow to between 17 and 27 centimetres in length.

What are the signs my dog might have heart worm?

Affected dogs will show signs of breathing difficulty and include coughing, panting and dullness.

How is heart worm treated?

The best approach to heart worm is prevention. There are drugs available that your vet can prescribe. Ivermectin is a common prescription. Often, the vet will do a blood test to ensure your dog does not have heart worm before beginning treatment. The medication comes in a chewable form that dogs generally take easily. It can also be given by injection.

Treatment should be continued one month before the mosquito season and up to two months after the mosquito season ends to combat any transmission that might already have taken place.

Once your dog has heart worm, it requires immediate treatment if recovery is to be expected. If the condition goes on too long, severe and life-threatening damage to the heart will occur. Until recently, there was no cure for this illness and any dog affected died a horrible death.

Which dogs are at risk?

Heart worm occurs throughout the world where mosquitoes breed. It affects wildlife as well as domesticated animals but it is not transmittable from one animal to another. Fortunately, the disease is less prominent during cold seasons when mosquitoes die off. The disease will remain dormant until the next warm season and mosquito breeding restarts.

What can I do?

Apart from putting your dog on heart worm medication each season, you can take steps around your house to help stop the disease. Because mosquitoes breed in any standing water, you can help prevent your dog acquiring the condition by making sure any standing water is removed immediately. It doesn't take much water. A few tablespoons is sufficient as a breeding ground.

Make sure your eaves troughs drain properly. Empty water from pots and planters after rainfalls. If you have a decorative pond in your garden, treat it regularly (about every few days) with specially formulated chlorine to deter mosquitoes. Change the water frequently. Fill any holes on your property that hold water.

Spraying with an insecticide is not recommended for a number of reasons. 1) You also kill off good bugs that help to keep mosquitoes under control, 2) You endanger your own pets and 3) Spraying is a short-lived solution as it loses its strength within a few hours. If you have a bad mosquito population in a log pile or other moist area, spraying occasionally when you see clouds of mosquitoes is a good idea.

Consider using mosquito repellent in your garden. They come in various forms including lamp oil and candles. Citronella plant is a natural mosquito deterrent. You can buy them from your local garden nursery and place them around your yard. They do not survive cold climates, however, so you will need to replace them every year.