Ivermectin for Dogs

Ivermectin is one drug that you will have to encounter as a dog owner at one time if your dog is severely affected by parasitism. It’s important that you understand what Ivermectin in dogs is used for to avoid the numerous misconceptions about dogs and Ivermectin. I choose to write about this topic since many dog owners have asked me about the role of Ivermectin in treating dogs affected by severe parasitism. The same was the case of people who asked me about the role and side effects of using Phenobarbital in treatment of Dogs Seizures. I hope you will learn something here.

Ivermectin use in dogs was not the initial intention when it was developed. Ivermectin was an anti parasite drug that was developed to help get rid of parasites in Cattle. The drug has been successfully used to treat parasitism in cattle and was later adopted for treating parasitism in dogs. Ivermectin was observed to be very proficient in treatment of some stubborn worms in dogs like the dog heart worm and the notorious Toxocara Canis. It’s however cautionable that Ivermectin use in dogs is done with extreme care since carelessness could lead to disastrous accidents like Ivermectin poisoning in dogs

Ivermectin is a drug that is useful for eliminating parasites in dogs and also providing reliable prophylaxis treatment of dogs. (Prophylaxis treatment is preventive treatment). Ivermectin use in dogs has a proven track record for treatment of both external and internal parasites that may include:

• ·External Parasites : Ticks, Lice, Mites
• ·Internal Parasites : Helmithes (Hook worms, Toxoacara Canis, Tape worms, Heart Worms and all other kinds of dog worms)

Ivermectin use in dogs for treatment of other worms other than the dog heart worm evokes a serious debate on the safety of this drug use. Ivermectin is only approved for use in prophylaxis treatment of the notorious dog heart worm. It may be as well used for treatment of other worm’s infestation but this is debatable. In this case we leave the decision to your vet on whether the parasitism case requires the use of Ivermectin. Personally I would only consider using Ivermectin in a severe case of dog parasitism as characterized by both severe external and internal parasites infestation.

Ivermectin is approved by the Food and Drug Administration and it’s often indicated for use in dogs that are diagnosed with mild to severe dog mange. There are certain dog breeds that have hypersensitivity to Ivermectin and may suffer severe side effects of Ivermectin use. It’s important you note the following side effects of Ivermectin for you to be cautious when your dog is treated with Ivermectin.

• · Vomiting and Diarrhea
• · Anorexia and General body weakness (leathery )
• · Body Incordination and Seizures
• · Increase salivation

These signs could indicate a genetic predisposition to Ivermectin poisoning in the dog or a high dose poisoning. The drug could also react when used together with other drugs like sedatives and other anti parasite drugs like amitraz dipping.

It’s generally known that collies react severally with Ivermectin and therefore Ivermectin should never be used on collies or dog breeds that have collie’s genetics in their breeding tree. Use of Ivermectin in collies has been reported to be a disaster since they react adversely to Ivermectin.

Ivermectin administration in dogs is done via injection bit in the recent past there have been development of other forms of Ivermectin that make its administration easy. There are oral Ivermectin liquids and paste that are available in this form for administration. In the advanced developed of use of Ivermectin for treatment of heartworms in dogs Ivermectin have been incorporated in dog products like the Heartguard Plus.

I hope you will take time to participate in the poll for us to know your opinion on whether Ivermectin is safe for use in elimination of other parasites in dogs besides the Heartworms.

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