Heartworm Prevention: Creating a Habit

Learn more about conversation starters to help veterinary customers increase heartworm prevention compliance.

As the number of heartworm positive animals has increased from 2013 to 2015, one thing is clear – although we have made great strides in heartworm prevention, the veterinary profession still has yet to control its spread.

So how can you help your veterinary customers ensure each client goes out the door with enough preventative for a whole year?

Clients have not been properly educated to the risk of heartworm disease, and sometimes feel they are just having another product pushed on them that their pet really doesn’t need. This presents an uphill battle for the veterinarian to overcome when Fluffy and Fido visit for their yearly check-up and vaccine appointment. You as a sales representative can remind the veterinarian on how to start the conversation:

“Heartworms are a real danger and are a serious threat to both dog and cat health. This can be revealed by reviewing the lifecycle with the pet owner,” and then explain:

• Heartworms are transmitted by mosquitoes.
• Infected mosquitoes can come inside the home, both outdoor and indoor pets are at risk. 
• Mosquitos become infected with microfilariae while taking a blood meal from an infected animal.
• When the mosquito bites an animal, the infective larvae are discharged onto the surface of the animal’s skin. After the mosquito withdraws its proboscis, the infective larvae enter the animal through the bite wound.
• Once inside a new host, it takes approximately 6 months for the larvae to mature into adult heartworms. Once mature, heartworms can live for 5 to 7 years in dogs and up to 2 or 3 years in cats. Because of the longevity of these worms, each heartworm positive pet becomes a reservoir for microfilariae to infect other pets.

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