Dose of interceptor?

Dr. Marie replied:

Thanks for a great question.

These days, heartworm medications are extremely safe. I will often get asked questions by people who are worried because their pet ate several tablets of heartworm medication. In almost every case, the safety margin is HUGE, meaning that even if several tablets were eaten at once, no harm would be done.

Where I practice, we use a lot of Interceptor. It is our main dewormer and we give it to puppies, every two weeks for 3 treatments and then continue monthly. I will commonly give the 0-10 lb (i.e. Interceptor Brown) dose to tiny 2 pound chihuahuas. It is very safe.

I don't personally sell Iverhart Max. (It's possible that it is not available in Canada where I practice). However, if the label says that it is safe to use in 8 week old puppies (which I'm sure it is), then you can be comfortable using that instead.

Regarding the size to buy, this is a tough call. What I usually do in my practice is dispense it one month at a time when the dog is getting their puppy vaccinations. Then, by the time the puppy is getting the third vaccination, I usually have a good idea as to what size they are going to be into. When in doubt, I will go with the higher dosage because again, the medicine is very safe.

Hopefully that helps answer your question, but let me know if you have more concerns!

Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

I was going to mention that! I actually wrote an article about the Novartis shortage: Interceptor shortage. It was expected to be very short term, but is still affecting some vets.

So far in my practice we have not had to deal with a lack of interceptor or Sentinel so far, but this is because we had a big stock.

If we do have a shortage then, if I am using a drug for a general dewormer I'll likely use Pyran (which is good for roundworms and hookworms) and if they want an oral heartworm prevention I'll use Heartgard, but you're right, there is no whipworm prevention with that.

If Iverhart is labelled as safe for 0-25 pounds then you have nothing to worry about there.