Spliting HW meds?

[Maralynn]

I was thinking the other day about ways that I could save on dog expenses and the idea of spliting H/W came to mind. I know there are several people here who split things like Frontline, but does anyone split H/W meds?

 

Missy and Kipp are both on the 25-50# dose of Interceptor. The next size up is for dogs 51-100#. So I'm wondering if I can just buy that size and split it between the two dogs. I need to buy some more this month, so I'm going to be asking my vet about it and see what he says. Does anyone here do that? Do you see any reason why it wouldn't work?

[Lenajo]

you can only safely split scored tablets (those with the manufactur indent down the middle for breaking). unscored tabs are not intended to be split as the medication may be unevenly distributed through the pill.

 

You could give one dog all the medication, and the other none.

 

Intraceptor tabs and Heartguard are not scored - you can't split them.

[bcnewe2]

I talked to the vet that designed heartguard (he worked for Merial alnog with DH and my father) he said that the ivermec and any other ingredients were mixed well into the chewy and I could split it. I use ivermec instead. But I've never fogotten that conservation.

 

I've gotten ok's from several vets on using ivermec for heartworm treatment. I've gotten several different doses from several different vets. I did lots of research and have come up with what I think is the correct dosage for us.

 

You could talk to your vet about doing the same thing. Yo have to do some smooth talking or they won't get on board. What worked for me was saying no matter what they told me, I was going to do it anyway. I know it was a bit underhanded but so is what they charge for heartguard!

[in2adventure]

Lucia is on Interceptor. I split her pills every month and they aren't scored. The vet recommended the higher dose and splitting it to save money. Maybe he felt bad because of how high his office visits are

 

If you use a pill splitter, they will cut evenly. People pills are split all the time without scores in them. I would think pet pills would be fine too.

[juliepoudrier]

I've always understood that HW pills were as Wendy said--no guarantees the active ingredient is mixed evenly throughout the pill. If you go the pill-splitting route, then I think it would be wise to get regular HW tests to be safe.

 

Like Kristen, I use the ivermectin straight (sheep drench)--it's extremely cost-effective that way, especially for multiple dogs.

 

J.

[Lenajo]

look guys, I don't care what your vet (who is playing with fire professionally here) tells you, splitting unscored tablets in this regard is *dangerous*. You can talk to any pharmacist about it and they understand cost cutting, but they will also tell you that you are playing with your dog's health on this one.

 

Mixed evenly in the chewy or tablet? guuys, really. Take enough cookie dough to make one cookie, then put 1/2 cc of cooking oil in it. Mixed it around. Now tell me - is the oil all through the cookie? are your sure? Not more oil on one part of the other? some part without oil at all? Hmmm...is that oil or not on that side?

 

If your life depended on the right amount of that oil being in your half of that cookie would you be willing to change it?

 

If you want to cheapen your heartworm preventative costs there are safer ways to do it. Giving the drug every 45 days for example - that's saving 4 pills a year - and the dog is still getting a safe amount of medication at a proven safe interval

 

If suitable for your dogs you can also switch to a (very splitable) liquid heartworm medication like ivomec also.

[Riley-dog]

You can also buy generics at PetDrugs.com. Bonus is no Rx needed. I don't think the oil/cookie comparison is all that reasonable. They aren't mixing each individual chewie, it's mixed in a huge batch and extruded and cut. So what's the difference in cutting it again? The drug dispersion through the chewie should be uniform to begin with.

 

Liquid ivermectin is available for livestock and the volume you need can be calculated and drawn out by a syringe (administered orally). Equine paste wormers are not recommended since they can settle and are more difficult to measure in small doses.

[Lenajo]

PLEASE do not by heartworm meds without a script from some fly by night internet company. You will have no recourse if the medication is wrong in any way. In the US the purchase of heartworm medications is limited to script for a reason.

 

Riley-dog, you've been to the plant that makes Heartguard then? You have absolute knowledge that these are batch mixed, not individual injected or mixed? You have clear information from the company or their representative that the medication is equal through the pill?

 

I would be keen to have that. Please share!

 

Equine paste wormer are manufacturer split by large weight intervals and not recommended (sheesh, that sounds familiar) to be split beyond the manufacturer recommendation because (hmmm...again) they cannot guarantee the proper amount of medication in the portions. Now if you have a 100 or 250 lb dog...well, it might work then.

 

Again, there are legitamete, safe, ways to safe money that have already been suggested.

 

 

 

 

You can also buy generics at PetDrugs.com. Bonus is no Rx needed. I don't think the oil/cookie comparison is all that reasonable. They aren't mixing each individual chewie, it's mixed in a huge batch and extruded and cut. So what's the difference in cutting it again? The drug dispersion through the chewie should be uniform to begin with.

 

Liquid ivermectin is available for livestock and the volume you need can be calculated and drawn out by a syringe (administered orally). Equine paste wormers are not recommended since they can settle and are more difficult to measure in small doses.

[Lenajo]

I checked with Merial, and they absolutely will not guarantee that the medication is equally distributed throughout the tabs/chews. They did agree that "likely" it was, and that with the high margin of safety (one pill treating 2-20 lbs for example) you "should" be ok.

 

So there you go. If "likely" and "should" is ok with you, then splitting Heartguard is an option.

[PSmitty]

I'm with Wendy on this one. What she says about having no recourse is absolutely true. The makers of HW preventatives will not stand behind their products if you're not administering it correctly, nor if you buy it online from one of those pet med websites.

 

I'm just not willing to risk it anymore.

[Maralynn]

I guess I'll see if they have a generic. Or go to 45 day intervals.

 

The makers of HW preventatives will not stand behind their products if you're not administering it correctly, nor if you buy it online from one of those pet med websites.

 

According to my vet, HW maufactures only guarentee their product if you give it to your dog year 'round (every 30 days) and the dog gets a HW test each year. If you vary from that, the guarantee is out the window - including 45 day intervals (which is perfectly effective according to the FDA). So even though I get my dogs tested each year and give them meds when there is any chance of mosquitos, it's not guaranteed because I usually only give meds for 8 months out of the years.

[bcnewe2]

Riley-dog, you've been to the plant that makes Heartguard then? You have absolute knowledge that these are batch mixed, not individual injected or mixed? You have clear information from the company or their representative that the medication is equal through the pill?

 

I'm not riley dog but yes I've been to that plant. My DH and my father worked there. I saw that the batches were mixed in a giant mixer and then extruded and cut. Not saying that's a guarantee but that's what I did when I used hg. Just saying, that i did see the plant, and spoke to the vet that was over the lab. It was a personal conservation, I'm sure not one I'd of had if I'd been a consumer over the phone. Now that plant is closed down and I have not been to the new plant but since I don't use HG it's not of interest to me.

The sad thing about when I went to the plant was watching them throw out returns after returns for things like the label not being on correct, or a tear in the box. I mean thousands of pounds of product were just pitched into the trash. Not even out dated product, just stuff that was either flagged at the plant for a packaging mishap or returns from the vendors where the outer packaging was damaged but the inner package was fine as was the product. And we wonder why we pay so much.

I fell the guarantee is more for getting people to treat for HW year round which inturn ups sales across the board. But....JMO.

 

Yes...we need to be careful when medicating our beloved animals, it just a huge shame that the cost is so high we go looking for cheaper ways of med. our pets.

 

JMHO

[PSmitty]

According to my vet, HW maufactures only guarentee their product if you give it to your dog year 'round (every 30 days) and the dog gets a HW test each year. If you vary from that, the guarantee is out the window - including 45 day intervals (which is perfectly effective according to the FDA). So even though I get my dogs tested each year and give them meds when there is any chance of mosquitos, it's not guaranteed because I usually only give meds for 8 months out of the years.

 

Yes, I believe the guarantee is only in effect if administered monthly. Living in mosquito heaven in Florida, I forget there are places where it's not given year round. I am one of the few who had a dog test positive for heart worms after being on preventative. In order for the manufacturer to cover the treatment, my vet had to provide proof of a negative test before starting preventative and proof of purchase of the HW meds. Obviously they only have my word that I administered it properly, but that was good enough, and they covered the treatment entirely.

[Riley-dog]

PLEASE do not by heartworm meds without a script from some fly by night internet company. You will have no recourse if the medication is wrong in any way. In the US the purchase of heartworm medications is limited to script for a reason.

 

You have very little recourse if the medication is wrong with a regular prescription for Heartgard in the US. The internet is littered with horror stories. Most vets in cold regions also don't advocate year round use which in itself violates Heartgard policy. If the animal is going to go into distress after the administration of 136 mcg of ivermectin whether it's HeartGard or generic the result is the same.

 

I choose not to pay $50.00 for the amount of a drug I can buy for $2.00 just to line a company's pockets and fuel their ad campaign. Why spend $10.00 for a 5 pill pack of Claritin when I can buy 150ct bottle of 10mg loratadine for $10.00? Which by the way used to be prescription and now is not.

 

I'm interested to hear how a subsidiary of the largest prescription mail order drug companies in Canada is a "fly by night internet company".

 

Actually if you wanted to completely empty the tube, thoroughly mix the ingredients, computate the volume necessary and exactly extract that amount then by all means buy horse wormer. It just isn't practical when there is a liquid version available and I don't know enough people who could do that accurately enough that I would recommend it on a BB. It's not just about weight, either. You would just have to use a smaller syringe. Obviously the markings on a tube of horse wormer are not going to be very helpful. A solid like a Heartgard chewey doesn't settle and separate like a paste wormer can hence the comparison is not similar.