I've been a big fan of Fort Dodge products for a while.  I find their vaccines to be competitively priced and I've used ProHeart for years, until the falling dollar made it no longer affordable to import from abroad...

We currently use Iverheart Plus for worming.

They have a new flea and tick medication that we will be using called ProMeris.  The clinical trials have proven it to be very safe.  The tick killer in this formula is the same active ingredient as in the expensive tick collars we use in the sumer in addition to Advantix.  Advantix is a good product, I just like this one a little better.  The flea formula is brand new as far as I can tell.  So far the only thing I don't like is no stickers for the calender.  I like the stickers.  You will only find ProMeris at your veterinarian.



OK, back to ProHeart.  I've use the tablets for heartworm prevention (actually you don't prevent heartworms with pills, you kill them before they attach) in the past because I believe the active ingredient is safer than a lot of other wormers.  Moxidectin is a very safe wormer and is used for just about every animal except dogs right now.  It's even safe for Collies!



I also bought it because it was cheap and easy to get from Australia.  Now products like Iverheart Plus are cheaper and easier to get.  If you have multiple dogs, you have probably tried everything to save money from the unsafe to the ineffective.  (I won't mention them because someone will try.)  Best to stick to inexpensive alternatives where they are available.

Iverheart is a "branded" generic of the tried and true ingredients in Heartgard.  It's about 2/3 the cost and chemically identical.  If your veterinarian doesn't carry it, get a scrip (when you're at the office not a week later) and get it from KV Vet.  But I digress.

Proheart6 was an injectable form of Moxidectin that provided protection for six months.  It was really a terrific product because most of the dogs who get heartworm and are actually seeing a veterinarian are the result of folks forgetting to give the medication.  You can't forget this, it lasts six months.  People forgetting or refusing to do what their vet told them is the weak link in veterinary medicine.

It got a bad rap on the internet and yanked off the market in 2004.  A few dogs died.  That's horrible, but there's a tiny chance of death any time your dog (or you) gets stuck with a needle.  In the internet age, this thing took on a life of it's own.  Soon every dog who died and had ProHeart6 was claiming a direct link, and those hundreds of people seemed like they were in the vast majority because they were the ones on the web with sites and in on forums.

The best database on the product came from the Banfield hospitals (Petsmart's veterinarian).  I've looked at the data and can tell you that I don't think there is statistical basis for the claim of increased risk.  The risk of liver problems in their sample was 0.297% for ProHeart6, 0.272% for another wormer and 0.274% for a third wormer.  Folks, this is likely within the margin of error of the study.  The death rate was actually lower for ProHeart6 when given alone than the oral medications given alone or vaccines given without heartworm meds.  Click here for the JVMA take on the Banfield data.

And, the real risk is heartworm.  Which was never considered in the study.  (Maybe it is reflected in the lower death rates.)  This is like saying you have an increased risk of drowning in your car if you wear your seatbelt, so we are recalling seat belts. 

I feel bad for the folks who might have lost their dogs to problems associated with this drug, but it needs to be on the market.  I think folks should have the option of choosing.  Do you have a 0.297% chance of forgetting your heartworm meds?  I suggest ProHeart6 is a better product for you and worth the risk.

The good news is I hear the voluntary recall is just about over and the FDA is about to give the OK for the drug to be back on the market.  When it is, we will use it.