How much do I need to restrict my dog's activity in his heartworm treatment?

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gutergirl3

My dog has been diagnosed with heartworm and started the first steps of his treatment yesterday. His case appears to be very mild. He just turned 1, and I gave him Heartgard from when I got him at 11 weeks last August through January (we don't have mosquitos in the winter) so he must have contracted it as a puppy before I rescued him. He has been tested 4 times with two different tests for the adult worms, so he definitely has some. But his lungs and heart appear normal and they did not find any microfilariae in his blood. Yesterday he had a dose of heartgard along with antihistamine and steroid and spent the day at the vet. It is my understanding that this protocol is to kill any microfilariae. My vet told me that he must remain calm and not get his heart rate up now. I understand why this is necessary after the dog gets the immiticide, but why/does he really need to be kept calm now? Can dead microfillariae cause an embollism or is it just the dead adult worms? I don't want to keep my rambunctious little guy from playing if I don't really have to...
The vet's words were "don't throw the ball a hundred times in a row" Not very helpful in actually understanding what he can and can't do. Also, I understand that they have to take the cautious side on these things for liability reasons. What I am looking for is what people who have had experience treating heartworm have done in this first step before the immiticide is given. Because I have heard from some that didn't calm their dogs at all and others that confined them completely.

Also, no need for snarky responses. It just makes you sound pretentious.

Answer
I don't have direct experience treating heartworm, but we were very close to adopting a dog with heartworm a couple of years ago, but decided on a different dog from the same shelter. However, while we were deciding between the two dogs, the shelter manager wanted to give us as honest a view of the dog with heartworm as possible and not be surprised if we chose her. He did say that she would need to be kept as calm as possible throughout treatment. He told us no playing, limit guests if it got her excited, keep barking to a minimum, no strenuous walks, etc. In the end, we decided on the other dog because, although the shelter would treat the heartworm, it was almost three hours away from home and we couldn't keep making the drive back and forth.

I also had a friend who fostered a heartworm dog and they kept the dog crated most of the time to keep her calm. That dog had many other problems than just heartworm though.

Do airlines provide traveling crates for large dogs?

Avocado

I sold her crate because it's made of bars and I'm afraid of things falling on her. She needs to travel in one of those big plastic crates.

Answer
when i traveled via airplane the airline directed me to a website to buy the crate ... they had crates for the littlest to biggest dog ... but if you are asking if the airline will lend you a crate, no, you buy your own crate ... if you are looking for a cheaper crate and don't need brand new, check out craigslist or even post an ad for the crate size you are looking for ... so often people buy the crates and then they sit in the garage and people are often happy to sell them ...

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Title Post: How much do I need to restrict my dog's activity in his heartworm treatment?
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