Would you like to learn more about Golden Retrievers? Concerned about your dog’s health and well being? We frequently receive questions regarding health, temperament and training from families that are raising a Golden or looking to adopt through our organization. We will be adding basic information about the breed along with links to articles that cover everything from seasonal safety tips to fun games you can play with your dog.
Make sure to check out the new health information provided by one of our volunteers and veterinarian approved!
If you want to adopt a dog from GRRIN, go to our Quick Facts page to decide if a Golden is the right breed for your family.
Disclaimer: GRRIN provides information without warranty, expressed or implied, of any kind.
For Top Health, Use Heartworm Preventative Year Round
Heartworm is a serious and often fatal disease that can be avoided with a simple monthly pill. GRRIN urges every dog owner to dispense a monthly heartworm preventative pill, January through December.
If heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes, and Nebraska is in a deep freeze from Thanksgiving through Easter, why bother with year-round medication?
- You can’t predict the weather, and therefore you can’t predict when the danger of mosquitoes is actually gone. Even if it’s cold in Nebraska, you might visit an indoor site with your dog, like a dog show, where kennels have traveled from other states carrying insects.
- In recent years we’ve seen a critical national shortage of the medicines used to treat heartworm. In 2012 GRRIN took in a Golden that was heartworm positive because a local shelter simply had no medicine available to treat the dog. In addition, treatment is expensive and carries risk. It’s far safer and more cost-effective to give your dog an inexpensive monthly preventative versus gambling that you’ll be able to find the costly medicine needed to treat the disease once it’s established.
- Finally, most folks find it easier to give the pill each month on a consistent schedule. That way they won’t forget to restart the pills as the weather warms up in springtime.
Help your dog stay happy and healthy with year round heartworm prevention. For more information, visit the American Heartworm Society.
