The disease is caught by being bitten by mosquitoes that have already bitten another dog that has heartworm. The risk is therefore higher for dogs that are exposed to mosquitoes,
i.e. dogs in a village, or kept in a garden, or dogs that are exercised outside.
A simple blood test will show if your dog is positive for heartworm.
If positive we will advise treatment to kill the worms.
If negative we recommend preventative treatment to stop your dog catching the disease even if he is bitten by a mosquito carrying the disease.
This preventative treatment is called “Heartguard” and needs to be given every month to prevent your dog catching the disease. It must be given on time. If there is a gap then a blood test should be performed (after 3 months) to check that the dog has not caught the disease while off the tablets. We also advise a second blood test 3 months after the first to make sure that no adult heartworms have developed.
This product can only be bought from a veterinary surgeon, not from pet shops.
If your dog is five months or younger he can start “Heartguard” without a blood test first, as there has not been time for the adult worms to develop.
Heart worms are different from gut worms and a normal “dewormer” does not kill or prevent heart worms.
Cats can catch heartworm but it is much less common than in dogs.
We currently do not recommend prevention for cats.
The costs are as follows: Blood test $250 - $300
Heartguard prevention for 6 months
(according to weight)
Heartguard “Plus” contains dewormers against roundworms but not tapeworms.
We advise deworming with broad spectrum dewormers such as “Lopatol” every 3 months.
If your pets get ill,welcome to our hospital. |
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Tai Wai Small Animal Hospital was set up in the summer of 1997 in Shop B Chik Shun Street by two vets Gail Cochrane and Katriona Bradley (Dr Tiger). They first met while studying veterinary medicine at Glasgow University in 1983, and came to Hong Kong soon after graduation to escape the rains of Scotland. They worked at RSPCA, Kadoorie Farm and a private clinic in Hong Kong before they decided to set up the clinic. Boris Chiao was instrumental in the design, building and management of the clinic at the beginning. Gail has never worked as a vet in the clinic, as she is the Veterinary Director of Animals Asia where she has played a very important role in saving the lives of many bears. Initially there was only one vet and one vet assistant. As the years went by the clinic grew and grew until it was just too small to cope with the numbers of people wanting to bring their pets to the clinic. We then took over shop C & D and expanded sideways into the beautiful hospital we now have, which opened in 2004. We have now been able to employ more staff to help cope with the demand. Currently we have 5 full time vets and 15 support staff. The final phase of the redevelopment finished in October 2005 which added a fourth consulting room and a large reception space which is used for retailing specialist behavioural and husbandry items. It is our hope to also use this area in the future for puppy and kitten parties and for training sessions. |
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Please ring 2687 1030 for appointments |
