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Parasite Protection

Maltese Parasite Protection

Heartworms, Worms, Fleas, and Ticks

Overview

No doubt you know that it’s important to protect your Maltese puppy or dog from parasites and insects including heartworms, fleas, and ticks. However, choosing safe products can seem daunting.

Because insecticides and pesticides can contain very strong chemicals, dogs can suffer from adverse reactions. And toy breeds like the Maltese can be more sensitive than their larger counterparts. So, the goal will be to protect your Maltese with products least likely to cause problems and to use effective all-natural products when you can.

Here, we will take a look at the best preventative heartworm medications and flea and tick repellents for your Maltese. 
Want to jump ahead? 
Go straight to Heartworm Protection – Learn why year-round protection is needed, products to keep away from, and recommendations. 
Or, jump down to Safe Flea and Tick Prevention – In many cases, you can use an all-natural product to keep your little one free from these pests. 

What a Maltese Needs to be Protected From

Heartworms. Heartworms are transmitted via mosquitoes that are infected with heartworm larvae. There is no easy way to know if mosquito is infected and infected mosquitoes are in every US state. Issues in Canada are seen most often in areas around the southern Great Lakes. 

Once a dog is bitten by an infected mosquito, the larvae invades the heart, lungs, and surrounding blood vessels where they grow and multiply. 

Heartworm prevention medications do not prevent the larvae from being transferred from a mosquito. But, importantly, they do kill that larvae before they can develop into exceedingly dangerous adult worms which in turn prevents an active heartworm infection. 

Without preventive treatment to stop the process, a dog can have 200+ adult heartworms in his body which eventually clog the heart and major blood vessels to such a degree that body organs shut down. 

During the first few months or even years after infection, there are typically no symptoms. This is why this parasite is often dubbed ‘the silent killer’. When signs do become apparent, there may be breathing issues, vomiting, weight loss, lethargy, and coughing. 

Treatment of an adult heartworm infestation is tricky. Very strong arsenic-based drugs can be given or surgery may be performed, though both have risks and are not always successful. In some cases, a dog needs to be euthanized.  
Other parasitic worms. It is not just puppies that need to be protected from whipworms, roundworms, tapeworms, pinworms, and hookworms. Without regular protection, adult Maltese can catch these worms as well which can be transmitted via the feces of other dogs, drinking from contaminated water sources, eating contaminated grass, and by other means. 
Mosquitoes. Not only do some mosquitoes carry heartworm larvae, there are other diseases that can be spread by this notoriously pesky pest. This includes West Nile virus (puppies and seniors are most at risk), eastern equine encephalitis virus (a disease that mostly affects horses, but has now been known to infect dogs; this causes severe sleepiness, fever, diarrhea, and possible seizures which can be fatal), and tularemia (a bacterial disease that can lead to fatal organ failure). 

Not to mention, a Maltese can be allergic to mosquito bites which can result in localized swelling and intense itching. 
Fleas. It’s a common misperception that a dog needs to live in an unclean area to catch fleas. Any dog can catch fleas easily if they are near another dog that has them (they can leap about 6 feet) or from wild animals (fleas that drop off from a squirrel, raccoon, or other small rodents can can live up to 4 days without a blood host and be picked up by a Maltese that’s out in the yard). 

Fleas can be a year-round issue since they can live indoors and also can go dormant for up to a year while waiting for a host to come by. 
Ticks. Ticks can cause a host of issues. Just some of the diseases that they carry are anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. For most tick-borne diseases, there is a 24-hour window of time to find and remove a feeding tick before it transmits a disease; however, it’s not always easy to spot a tick as soon as it latches on.

Ticks are found in every state in the US (though are most prevalent in 14 of them) and are found throughout Canada and the UK. 
To summarize: With heartworms, whipworms, roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms, pinworms, fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes all a danger to your Maltese, protecting your puppy or dog is vitally important. 

Heartworm Protection for Maltese

When choosing a heartworm prevention method for your Maltese, there are a few elements to keep in mind. 

1. The two risk factors to be aware of when choosing heartworm medication for a Maltese are adverse reactions and allergic reactions. 

Adverse reactions are a body’s negative reaction to a drug. It can be sudden or develop over time. Signs include: 
  • Breathing issues
  • Lethargy
  • Depression
  • Drooling
  • Vomiting
  • Dilated pupils
  • Loss of appetite
  • Disorientation
  • Tremors/Seizures
  • Vision issues
  • Decreased motor skills
  • Loss of muscle control
  • Irregular heartbeat
  • Coma
  • Death, in serious cases
An allergic reaction is when a body’s immune system overreactions to a certain substance. Signs include: 
  • Runny nose
  • Watery eyes 
  • Breathing issues
  • Skin reactions (hive, rash)
  • Itchiness
  • Coat loss
2. Warnings and recommendations. 

There are no medications that are without risk. And holistic heartworm prevention methods are unproven (and some are dangerous). 

This said, there are some that are much more likely to cause adverse and even deadly side effects than others.

When looking for a heartworm medication for a Maltese, it’s recommended to keep away from those containing ivermectin and pyrantel. This combination has a high rate of adverse reactions with dogs and 'death' is the 11th most reported reaction. 
Products that contain these drugs include Heartguard Plus, Iverhart Plus, and TriHeart Plus.

Those containing milbemycin and lufenuron are also more likely to cause problems including vomiting, lethargy, diarrhea, and seizures. Products that contain this combination include Sentinel. And Interceptor contains just milbemycin, which is almost just as risky, with 'death' ranking at #13 on the adverse reaction list.

Another parasite protection to be wary of is Trifexis (spinosad + milbemycin). Spinosad itself is responsible for over 200 deaths and the list of its possible adverse side effects is a whopping 17 pages. Top problems seen include vomiting, lethargy, decreased appetite, itchy skin, diarrhea, and/or seizures.

Selamectin is another drug with a long list of side effects and is responsible for 236 deaths. Almost as shocking is the fact that there are over 6,000 cases of it being ineffective in preventing heartworms. This drug is found in Revolution. 

It is recommended to stay away from injections like ProHeart 6 that are given every 6 months; if your Maltese does have a bad reaction, the drug will be in your dog’s system and is impossible to flush out. 
The heartworm prevention that is recommended and one that toy breeds like the Maltese tend to tolerate better than others is Advantage Multi; adverse reactions are seen less often than with many of the other products. The two active topical ingredients are moxidectin and imidacloprid. This is applied between the shoulder blades once every 30 days.  
3. If your Maltese seems to be tolerating the current heartworm protection that you are using, you do not necessarily need to make a change. However, do monitor your puppy or dog. 

4. Overdosing or accidental ingestion are two preventable high-risk dangers associated with severe reactions. Know (do not guess) your Maltese’s weight since dosing is dependent on this figure. Take care when applying or giving a dose to offer the correct amount. Keep the medication out of reach in a high cabinet or other area that it would be impossible for your Maltese to reach. 
5. Offer heartworm protection year-round. Many owners wonder if they have to give their Maltese heartworm prevention medications in the winter. In most cases, the answer is yes. It is near impossible to know when mosquito season ends and begins. In many areas, warm bursts of weather can occur late into autumn in which mosquitoes can briefly awaken. Though you can technically stop in the dead of winter, by the time you spot a mosquito in the spring, you can be sure that the one you see was not the first to come out of hibernation. 

6. If you are just now going to start your Maltese on heartworm prevention, for dogs age 7 months and up, testing should be done first to ensure that there is not a current infection since prevention products do not kill adult worms. 

7. Yearly testing should be done as part of your dog’s annual wellness check. Heartworm prevention is usually very effective but is not 100% guaranteed, so a blood test that checks for the presence of heartworm proteins is typically done during routine exams. 

Other Parasitic Worm Prevention 

Puppies: Many puppies are born with a roundworm infection because roundworm larvae that is dormant in the dam’s tissue is passed to the puppy at which time they reawaken and migrate to the lungs.  

For this reason, puppies are dewormed at a very young age, with the veterinarian being in charge of this. The first round is at 2 weeks of age and then at 4, 6, and 8 weeks old. Dewormer is also then given at the 6-month mark. 

Maltese age 6 months and up: Just about all heartworm prevention meds also prevent roundworms (but do not cure an infestation, thus the need for deworming young pups) as well as hookworms, whipworms, and tapeworms (with these last 3 most commonly transmitted via infected soil). Therefore, do read the labeling on the packaging to ensure that your Maltese is protected. 

Additionally, testing for worms is part of routine yearly wellness checks and is done via a stool sample. 

Safe Flea and Tick Prevention for Maltese

As discussed earlier, fleas and ticks can be problematic. So, you will want to ensure that your Maltese has effective prevention methods in place.

First, check the heartworm medication that you are giving. Some of them protect against fleas and/or ticks (to varying degrees) as well. There is no need to double-up on prevention unless you see that despite the labeling, fleas and ticks are still an issue.  

Then, if you do need this sort of protection for your puppy or dog, the safest flea and tick treatment to give to Maltese, even the tiny ones, is an all-natural product. 
There are a couple of great choices:
1. Curealia Pure Natural Insect Repellent for Dogs.This is a great organic balm that works to repel mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, and even lice. There are no chemicals, deet, or pesticides at all. It works with a blend of organic extra virgin olive oil, organic shea butter, lavender, cedarwood, rosewood, and patchouli. 
To apply this, you just take a pea-sized amount, rub it lightly between your hands to melt the balm, then part the hair, applying close to the skin, against the direction of hair growth. For some Maltese, just an application on the back of the neck works just fine. For others, additional dabs applied to the belly, back, legs, and tail will be needed. 

An added plus is that this smell fantastic. You’ll know to reapply this when the fragrance fades away, which is typically after one week.

Note that if you are taking your Maltese out hiking or to an area with long grass, this should be applied again before the outing. Since this is all-natural, it’s perfectly safe to use as often as needed, though, if you put too much on your puppy or dog, the coat can look a bit oily. 
2. Dr. GreenPet All Natural Flea and Tick Prevention. This is another safe flea and tick repellent for Maltese that works via a blend of therapeutic-grade peppermint oil, clove, cedar oil, and cinnamon essential oils. You simply give your dog a light spray (all over, other than directly on the face). It should be applied about once every two weeks. 
3. Vet's Best Flea and Tick Home Spray is incredible for both prevention and for treating active infestations. This one product works both on dogs and around the home (carpeting, bedding, etc.). It kills fleas, flea eggs, and ticks. In fact, with active fleas, a full-body spray can kill them almost instantly. Yet, this is a non-chemical product that works via a surprisingly powerful plant-based blend of peppermint and clove extract. 

To use this, you just shake the bottle, and do a full-body spray (other than the face and genital area) until the coat is slightly damp (not soaked). It should be applied every 7 days or so. And, as a bonus, it has a nice, pleasant scent. 
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