Swimming-duck

So I have a question - not really specific to bassets, but I do need some answers. I got an odd email today from Wally's breeder (our Corgi that we returned). She was asking when he was started on ivermectin (looking it up I found that to be Heartgard) and if we remember that being when the aggression started. She says she's not going to be guaranteeing any of her future puppies if the adopters choose to use ivermectin. I'm so confused. I only ever tried to do what was best for him. She didn't come right out and say it, but I guess she's implying that his aggression issues were caused by the Heartgard.

I'm so confused and worried. We love Mae so much and we're planning to use Heartgard because we of course don't want her to get heartworms and I thought this was the "right" thing to do. I don't want to do anything that could cause her to morph into Kujo?!

I sent an e-mail to the lady from the basset rescue to get her input, but I'd like to hear from you guys as well.

Sorry - I guess I should've put this in the Health subforum. Oops.

dreamons

We had Maggie and Yogi on heartguard for over a year. When we got Daisy I talked to the rescue about putting her on it. They told me they don't use heartguard as there isn't a problem here. So we now aren't using it with any of them. We never had any problems with aggression or bad behavior just your typical Basset stuff.

__________________
Maggie Mae- Basset
Daisy Wiggles- Basset
Yogi Titus- Puggle (He thinks he's a Basset)

houndmomma

This is interesting since I’ve given Heartgard to all my dogs for years and years. So I did a little searching and it appears there are a lot of side effects and one being sudden aggressive behavior.

Since the below list of side effects references Merial (the makers of Heartgard) I did attempt to go directly to their site and see what they had to say – but I received the below error message when I tried to pull up Heartgard –

404 - File or directory not found.

The resource you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.

Side effects listed for Heartgard
Merial, an international pharmacy company, which manufactures Heartgard for dogs and Heartgard Plus for dogs, has listed some adverse reactions to the Heartgard medication to their website. Heartgard for dogs side effects, which may take place within 24 hours after giving the medication, include diarrhea and vomiting in 11 animals among 1000 tested animals. During the test, they also found that longer-lasting Heartgard for dogs side effects include depression, lethargy, prolonged and abnormal dilation of the pupils or mydriasis, staggering, involuntary muscle movements (known as ataxia), excessive salivation and convulsions. Other Heartgard for dogs side effects, which are potentially caused by the Ivermectin, are liver problems, loss of appetite, skin eruptions, tremors, paralysis, thyroid problems, dizziness, fever, auto-immune disorders, nose bleeds, coughing, sudden aggressive behavior, difficulty breathing, irritability, pneumonia, nerve damage, seizures and sudden death.

Jen~

__________________
Momma to Lucy age 12 ~ Basset Hound
Momma to Rickie age 5 ~ Shi-Poo (don’t tell him though – he thinks he’s a hound dog)
Momma to Mabel age -1 ~ Basset Hound
Momma to Flash – RIP 2000 ~ 2011 – Gone in body but with me in spirit ~ You will live on forever in my heart baby ~ Je t'aime

Soundtrack

Personally I'd say the odds of Ivermectin being the cause are pretty slim. However if you are concerned maybe you might want to look into Interceptor (milbemycin oxime) instead.

Their web page is here
Milbemycin Oxime but I can't open the .pdfs for further information. FWIW, since heartworm is not a big issue were I live I don't give it regularly, but when I'm deworming (2-4 times a year and when I have puppies) Interceptor is what I use and I haven't had any problems with it.

__________________
Rosie-Ch Soundtrack Cracklin' Rose CGN AGN RA Am RN TT
Melody-Ch Soundtrack Unchained Melody TT
Sailor-Ch Soundtrack Expedition Sailor RN TT
Chili-Ch Soundtrack Spice Up Your Life
Curry-Ch Soundtrack Canadian Brass
Pepper-Ch Pennieslogon Living La Vida Loca CGN
Vina-Ch Soundtrack Grand Illusion
Leila-Ch Soundtrack Almost Paradise
Deela-Ch Soundtrack Wink Of An Eye
Hermione - Soundtrack Spellbound
Eowyn - Soundtrack Rain Dance

barneysmom2510

My vet recommends interceptor thats what I give my dogs for the last few years. I too had heard about the issues with heartguard.

__________________
-LISA


Mini daschunds Sadie Lou & Daisy dukes
Chihuahua Lola
Bassett Hound Barney

eclairs mom

Wow, I had never heard that. I have used heartgard for our pooched for the last 16 plus years and never had an issue.

Orion

I have never used Heartguard, but sounds like you're already getting good advice on that front. I can, however, vouch for the Interceptor- its what I've always used with my boy.

bubbad

I have used Heartguard in the past but I don't think my Vet carries it any longer.Maybe that is why.I would ask the breeder of the corgi if she suspected this when you got your boy from her.If she did why didn't she warn you then. I had no problems using the chewables.I was always concerned using anything with chemicals on a pregnant bitch or males used for breeding of course I was always assured there would be no problems HMMMM just like the chemicals for the yard. Always be suspicious when they tell you something won't hurt them.

Mikey T

Ivermectin is a problem is some hearding breed with a known genetic defect

see Multidrug Sensitivity in Dogs

in testing the dose level of ivermectin in heartgard and other hearworm medication is not a problem despite claims of owners etc. in dogs with a problem it was found iverm,ectin for heart worm was adminster and cut buy the owner ie buy it as a cattle wormer etc. There has been problem in dogs eating horse ppo of horse on wormer as well.

FWIW corgis are not on the list of effected breed and there is a genetic test.

it is a bit of a misnomer to call ivermectin or any of the heartworm medication on the market a preventitive. because the really do not stop an infection. Basical they a propholaytical giving a low does of a wormer to kill any infection that migh of happened between doses and befor the worm have a time to grown and become resistant to low doseage.
see Ivermectin
at such a low does ivemectin level in the body from a preventive would be gone in less than a week so any behavioral issue should be very short term and closely related to it use. So for example if agressiveness occured in the winter month and not on a 12 month schedule ivermectin could be ruled out.

Swimming-duck

Wow Mikey - thank you for all of that. Given Wally's history (tendencies towards aggression all the way back to puppyhood on a pretty regular basis) I think it's safe to say ivermectin is not the cause.

I don't know. Breeder says he's been off of it and has been a peach ever since. Funny since she told my rescue lady that Wally had severe crate aggression (a behavior I hadn't seen in him for well over a year or so - we'd done a lot of counter conditioning to help him be okay in a crate. Not sure I trust much of anything that comes out of this woman's mouth.

The general consensus on my general dog forum that I'm on is that she's looking for excuses to not be responsible for her dogs.

So who knows? Oy! I got all worked up because I love Maemae so much and want to protect her from anything that could harm her good disposition!