I didn’t use it because of money grubbing vets, but because I had multiple dogs and it got quite a few other things in addition. I did it with my vet’s knowledge. I have always loved my vets (and when I didn’t I found a new one). Good vets work hard for their money, they have to know about all sorts of different species, their patients can bite, scratch etc them and the owners are no walk in the park either. Did I mention I love my vets? And most of the time they like me too.
And thank you for mentioning about some of the herding breeds (I see I was late on this). I am always loathe to mention Ivermectin to people, since I’m not a vet. It’s a choice *I* made, but I think people should talk to their own vet, and do their own research. It worked well for me. While I was using it we not only never had heartworm, we never had any internal parasites at all.
I recommend ivermectin to many of my clients with multiple big dogs, but only if I think the client is responsible enough to measure out the right dose. If you have more than one greater than 50 pound dog the cost of Heartgard or Intercepter is painful, and for me having to buy them in cartons of 10 (as is required) is crippling. I carry Iverhart in my clinic because it’s the cheapest packaged heartworm prevention I have found.