I've found my Vet is the cheapest place to buy flea control. By the time you pay for shipping online, the internet isn't any cheaper. And I've heard of people buying cheap stuff online made for australia, that isn't as effective for the fleas and ticks that we have in the US.

My Vet will also match any price... so if you find it cheaper let your Vet know... often times they will match...

Do you have mosquitoes? If so, you should continue the heartworm. Its easier to prevent, than to treat, especially for an older dog.

i would be concerned that you were getting a fake if the price was much lower than the norm. If you think about it, it works out to less than $10 a month....not bad for no fleas

I second continuing the heartworm pills. I'm pretty sure the dog only needs to be tested the very first time it goes on the medication and then as long as the dog stays on the meds there is no need for additional test. Or is it because your dog is old that he has to have the test everytime you purchase the pills? My vets office also matches the price of anything we find online so we decided to purchase through them....mainly because any money they make off the pills is offset by their rescue and pro bono efforts.

Your vet should be doing the heartworm blood test once a year, even with prevention.

They need to make sure the meds aren't creating a resistant strain of worm that might become immune.

And its another excuse for the Vet to gig you for a more bucks. ;-)

HMMM I really should pay more attention to what I am getting billed for.

There is no age at which heartworms won't kill your dog, so yes, every dog of every age needs to be on heartworm prevention, starting at 8 weeks of age. In fact, older dogs are more likely to go into heart failure because of heartworms, since their heart is already weakened with age or disease. If you have real winters, you can probably not give HWP during that time; your vet is the best person to answer that question. We're on the every month year round schedule here.

The manufacturers of heartworm preventatives will NOT guarantee their product unless there is an annual heartworm test. They also will not guarantee their product if bought from non-veterinary sources. By "guarantee" I mean that if your dog turns up with heartworms, they will pay for treatment which can easily run $500-1000 with OUT complications. But if you don't have annual heartworm tests or cannot prove you bought the product from a veterinary source, you're on your own.

I have only been a vet for less than 1 year, and already I have seen 1 dog turn up positive even though the owners were giving HWP every month year round. They didn't have heartworm tests done every year, and they bought the product online from non-veterinary sources. The dog went into heart failure and died before the owners could scrape the money together to get him treated. None of the manufacturers would even consider helping them.

Have you considered Advantage Multi? It has heartworm prevention plus flea control, usually for less than the cost of a monthly pill plus Advantage regular. I've switched my non-fluffy dogs to Advantage Multi; the Huskies are still on Frontline and once monthly pills because I don't think I can get the entire product on their skin and not on their fur, and I definitely want them not to get heartworms.

As far as where to buy cheaper, unfortunately I work at a hospital where we are MUCH cheaper than any reputable online pharmacy and PetMeds. I've proven it again and again with every product we sell.

I have gotten the meds on line because I THOUGHT they were cheaper....Bad mistake! They did indeed come from Australia or New Zealand and when it was time to use, there wasn't anything in the vial or just a drop....When I put it on our cats, I couldn't even find the little wet spot where I had used it.....So from now on, local or vets office for me.....