Teresa (Mccomb, Mississippi) on 01/29/2009
I have 11 beautiful dogs. Needless to say I am an animal lover and live well below poverty level, but I try very hard to take care of my dogs. I have been giving my dogs ad diluted mixture of Ivermectin for years for all worms, including heart worms.
The mixture was given to me from a kennel in Louisiana. BEWARE, Ivermectin is very strong in small doses and is very hard to give to a small dog, but at this time my dogs are doing well on it and it IS NOT recommended for COLLIE BREEDS.
FOR ANOTHER NOTE.... my full blooded Siberian Husky had a toxic reaction to it as well. She started walking like she was drunk and weak, had shallow breathing and at one point she quit breathing. I researched and found that this was a definite side effect from Ivermectin. I took her off it immediately and put her back on a monthly pill from the vet. The pill still has Ivermectin, it says so on the packet, but the dosage is so miniscule compared to my personal mixture. I do believe however in my personal opinion only, that her hyperactivity had some cause in her having a reaction. My other 10 dogs are doing well and haven't had any side effects and none have never tested positive for worms of any kind.
Lisa (Lilburn, GA) on 01/21/2009
Side Effects to Pet's Medication: The day after giving my 43 lb Shepherd mix her Heartguard heartworm medication containing ivermectin, her face and upper lip swelled up. She looked as if she had been stung by a bee, but it's Winter here and she had no sign of insect bites. There are no other possible explanations. The vet thoroughly checked her out and couldn't find the source of the problem. He did not suggest an allergic reaction to Ivermectin. However, after researching the drug I found out that facial swelling can be a side effect. Benadryl has helped a little, and we placed her on antibiotics just in case there is a local infection.