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HEARTWORM MEDS ARE INSECTICIDES!

February 20th, 2009

Heartworm medication is a slow-release insecticide!

Heartworm can only be transmitted by mosquito, so if you live in a climate where mosquitoes are inactive in the winter, you do not need heartworm protection during those winter months, no matter what your vet may recommend!

According to Dr. Pitcairn’s Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats, 65% of all drug reactions reported and 48% of all reported deaths caused by drug reactions were from heartworm preventative medicine.

Dr. Pitcairn’s recommendations for natural prevention of heartworm:

“Feed a completely natural, preferably organic,
raw food diet fortified with raw garlic and liberal amounts of yeast.

Keep your dog indoors in the evenings and at night.

Use a natural insect repellant when outside.

Keep in mind that well-nourished animals will have their own
natural resistance to fleas, ticks and mosquitoes,” as Dr. Pitcairn further explains:

“..wild animals are quite resistant to the parasite. That is, they get very light infestations and then become immune. Another factor is that an estimated 25 to 50% of dogs in high-heartworm areas become immune to the microfilaria after being infested and cannot pass heartworms to other dogs via mosquitoes. Finally, after being infested by a few heartworms, most dogs do not get more of them, even though they are continually bitten by mosquitoes carrying the parasite. In other words, they are able to limit the extent of infestation.”

“All this points to the importance of the health and resistance mounted by the dog itself. If we care for our pets so as to maximize their health, their resistance to parasites and disease will be much higher.”

“Wild animals like coyotes thrive in the very same conditions, even without preventive drugs. The major difference is lifestyle – fresh, raw foods, plenty of exercise, no drugs, and no toxic flea products.”

The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care tells us:

“Heartworms thrive in America’s canine population because our dogs’ depleted health makes them good hosts. However, if your dog sleeps indoors or on a screened porch during mosquito season, does not take prescription drugs or receive annual vaccinations, eats a well-balanced, raw diet supplemented with vermifuge herbs (which repel insects as well as internal parasites) and wears natural insect repellents outdoors, he or she is at low risk even if you live in a area with a high incidence of heartworm disease. In North America, the highest rates of infection are in the southeastern Atlantic and Gulf Coast states.”

“Natural heartworm prevention consists of two parts: (1) protecting your dog with nutrition and vermifuge herbs on the inside so the heartworms that enter her bloodstream can’t thrive, and (2) repelling mosquitoes on the outside so the dog isn’t infected in the first place. All of the strategies described for the prevention of internal parasites are appropriate for dogs who live in heartworm areas, especially the use of black walnut hulls and wormwood.”

And from The Nature of Animal Healing (Martin Goldstein, D.V.M):

“Only a small percentage of dogs who get heartworm die of it, especially if they’re routinely tested twice yearly for early detection. Even in untreated dogs, after a period of uncomfortable symptoms, the adult worms die. The microfilaria do NOT grow into adult worms on their own. To reach the next stage in their life cycle, they have to be sucked back out of the body by another mosquito, and go through the other stages of their maturation process within the mosquito. Only when that mosquito alights again on a dog and bites it can the microfilaria reenter the bloodstream with the ability to grow into adults. The chances of a microfilaria-infected mosquito biting your dog the first time are slim. Of it happening to the same dog twice? Very slim. And after two decades of pervasive administration of heartworm pills in the U.S., the chances of your dog contracting heartworm in most parts of this country even a first time are slimmer still. Early in my career, I saw and treated hundreds of cases of heartworm disease, most with routine medication, yet witnessed only three deaths (the last was in 1979). By comparison, we’re seeing cancer kill dogs on a daily basis. To my mind, the likelihood that toxicity from heartworm pills is contributing to the tremendous amount of immune suppression now occurring, especially in the cases of liver disease and cancer, is far greater and more immediate than the threat of the disease they’re meant to prevent.”

Products to consider instead of traditional heartworm meds: The Anibio Tic Clip, Only Natural Pet HW Protect (herbal preventative – vermifuge herbs), Only Natural Pet Herbal Defense Spray and Shampoo (essential oil base repellants). All available at www.onlynaturalpet.com. I’m sure there are other products out there. These are the ones I am most familiar with, and that I know to be effective.

Entry Filed under: Heartworm, Longevity, Toxins