Anyone use Amber Naturalz HWF?

[DanielleDL]

Bobby's current anti-heartworm/mosquito regimen is:

- Raw diet: SFRAW brand (we're doing Grinds [just whole animal grinds, nothing else] for a while to see how he reacts to each protein, then we will move to Formulas [Grinds + whole food supplements to make them nutritionally balanced]) - Bobby's been full raw for probably a month and a half.

- Springtime BugOff Garlic Chewables (double dose for pest season)

- Cedarcide before going to the park/grasslands (Bobby hates essential oils, but tolerates Cedarcide because it's not as strong a smell). Wondercide or EO Away on myself (I love the smells).

- InsectShield bandana

- Easy Defense pet tag

- Wondercide yard spraying. Window screens, thanking the spiders, etc.

- Lots of play, love, exercise, sniff walks to keep him and his immune system happy

- HW test every 6 months (just had his second on May 15th and he was negative. yay!)

- And just for fun, I eat a sugary dessert before bed in the hopes that mosquitos will be more attracted to me than boring old raw-fed, no carb Bobby during the night (yay, science!)

Luckily I've maybe only seen one or two mosquitos--one outside the house and possibly one inside the house (but they're small, so I may have missed others.)

I also wanted to add Amber Naturalz HWF Clean Heart on a maintenance dose. Anyone use this as a preventative? Anyone have an opinion on it in general? The only thing I really worry about is that his last conventional flea/tick/HW med dose (Simparica Trio) was March 3rd and I know you're not supposed to give HWF in combination with conventional pesticides, so is it safe to assume that the Simparica Trio is completely out of Bobby's system by now almost 3 months later?

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[Dr. Jeff]

I know you're not supposed to give HWF in combination with conventional pesticides, so is it safe to assume that the Simparica Trio is completely out of Bobby's system by now almost 3 months later?

Probably (based on this info):

PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
Pharmacotherapeutic group: Ectoparasiticides for systemic use.
ATC vet code: QP53BE03.
5.1 Pharmacodynamic properties
Sarolaner is an acaricide and insecticide belonging to the isoxazoline family. The primary target of
action of sarolaner in insects and acarines is functional blockade of ligand-gated chloride channels
(GABA-receptors and glutamate-receptors). Sarolaner blocks GABA- and glutamate-gated chloride
channels in the central nervous system of insects and acarines. Disruption of these receptors by
sarolaner prevents the uptake of chloride ions by GABA and glutamate gated ion channels, thus
resulting in increased nerve stimulation and death of the target parasite. Sarolaner exhibits higher
functional potency to block insect/acarine receptors compared to mammalian receptors. Sarolaner
does not interact with known insecticidal binding sites of nicotinic or other GABAergic insecticides
such as neonicotinoids, fiproles, milbemycins, avermectins, and cyclodienes. Sarolaner is active
against adult fleas (Ctenocephalides felis and Ctenocephalides canis) as well as several tick species
such as Dermacentor reticulatus, Ixodes hexagonus, Ixodes ricinus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus and the
mites Demodex canis, Otodectes cynotis and Sarcoptes scabiei.
For fleas, the onset of efficacy is within 8 hours of attachment during the 28 day period after product
administration. For ticks (I. ricinus), the onset of efficacy is within 12 hours of attachment during the
28 day period after product administration. Ticks on the animal prior to administration are killed
within 24 hours.
The veterinary medicinal product kills newly emerged fleas on the dog before they can lay eggs and
therefore it prevents environmental flea contamination in areas to which the dog has access.
5.2 Pharmacokinetic particulars
The bioavailability of sarolaner following oral dosing was high at >85%. Sarolaner was dose
proportional in Beagle dogs when dosed from the intended use dose of 2–4 mg/kg, to 20 mg/kg. The
prandial state of the dog does not significantly affect the extent of its absorption.
Sarolaner was determined to have low clearance (0.12 ml/min/kg) and a moderate volume of
distribution (2.81 l/kg). Half-life was comparable for the intravenous and oral routes at 12 and 11 days,
respectively. Plasma protein binding was determined in vitro and calculated at ≥99.9%.
A distribution study determined that 14
C-sarolaner-related residues were widely distributed to the
tissues. The depletion from tissues was consistent with the plasma half-life.
6
The primary route of elimination is biliary excretion of parent molecule, with elimination through the
faeces.

From:

https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/product-information/simparica-epar-product-information_en.pdf

 

[GinnyW]

I believe that where you are is a very low HW risk area. You can check state records, I believe, for reported HW cases by county. I raised a pup from birth to 12 years old - when we moved to another state - without HW meds, and never had a positive or any symptoms - across the Bay, but in hills and wetlands similar to your location. The healthier you both get, the less likely you are to be bitten, and of course that much less to be bitten by HW positive mosquitos. Hrad to believe how absolutely horrid mosquitos can be in other parts of the country, but even then the stats for healthy, unimpaired dogs are astonishingly low. Most of the HW stuff is hype...

 

[DanielleDL]

@GinnyW - Great info! I can't remember the last time I got bit by a mosquito (during a trip to Yosemite years back, my husband and his father got feasted on, but I got nothing). And, yeah, I've looked at the numbers and our incidences of HW are very low in our area (which, yes, is the SF Bay Area which I forgot to mention, but I know you know SFRAW and I'm sure I've mentioned where I live before). The more I read, the more I see that healthy dogs rarely get HW, which is great, I just don't have my confidence yet. I was just curious if HWF was a product that was worth using anyway. Every so often I just get paranoid about HW, especially now that it's warming, so I'm back in the forum asking this or that. And, yeah, I've read other forums about people's experience with mosquitos in other states, and it sounds really bad. My husband had the opportunity to take a job in North Carolina a while back, and at first I was drooling over the affordable housing, but stopped in my tracks when I read about the humidity and bugs. I am a Bay Area native; the only natural adversity I'm used to is earthquakes.