Dog with Heartworms....least toxic option?

She's at least 14, basset hound, developed a persistent cough and occassional hack, tested positive or heartworms.

I assumed the problem was mold, because I had a mold problem at home, and It was making me cough, but I evacuated her(and myself) to another home, and it didn't get better.

The vet wasn't very optomistic about the allopathic treatments, due to the dog's advanced age and the likelyhood of a bad infestation,

So I looked around online found some people who claim guinness draught beer made in Ireland works, but also found lots of debunkers.

The proponants claim some metabolyte  in the Irish hops is the active ingredient, but hops are generally toxic to dogs and so is alcohol.

Mixed discussion:

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/forums/topic/guinness-beer-for-heartworm-prevention/

Skeptic:(My browser acted weird a little and redirected me so click at your own risk)
http://blog.yassysgdk.com/2015/10/05/guinness-draught-beer-for-heartworms-in-dogs/

Whether or not the dog-toxic compound in the hops are destroyed in the brewing process is not settled, and there's no scientific study to back up this internet cure.

The claim is something in the hops in guiness draught beer(not the extra-stout???) sterilizes the heartworms so they can't reproduce and also shortens the life of the adults.

Does anybody have first hand experience with this or any other herbal remedy?

If I gave the dog the allopathic meds, my understanding is she'd have to be kept from exercising, is that true?

If you kill the adult heart worms too fast is it's going to cause a leaky heart?

She's in good spirits, and the odd thing is she doesn't cough at all when we walk a bout 3/4 mile.

She slows down towards the end of some walks and if that happens I shorten the next one a little.

I got the impression from the vet (she didn't come out and say it) that because of her age the best thing to do was not treat it and when suffering is apparant put her down.

She didn't say that explicitedly, but that's what I think she thinks, considering the pills she has might kill her  outright.

Any ideas?

I'd be willing to try the beer if it's safe.

I'd be willing to try other remedies.

But I fear to make it worse.

What can I do that will do no harm.

And I've put dogs to sleep before when I thought they were suffering more than enjoying life, but she's still obviously enjoying it.

LOL

I know even if I kill the heartworms her heart isn't going to heal well, so sterilizing so they can't reproduce seems safer than trying to kill them all off at once.

Ideas?

I'm sorry to hear about your dog's heartworm diagnosis.

Keeping a dog calm during heartworm treatment is important. The site linked to below explains why and also talks about natural remedies that may help your dog, if you opt to treat her.

https://www.earthclinic.com/pets/heartworm.html

I wish you the best with her.

This site has been very helpful to me, in their natural approach to animal health: https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/dog-heartworm-treatment/

What pills are you talking about?

I’m  retired from veterinary medicine and now do some volunteer work for the local spay/neuter clinics, When heartworm treatment became unavailable, the one organization that also offers medical help, switched to treating the dogs with doxycycline. If all went well, the dog was then put on heartworm preventative at the end of the doxy course.  

This is a treatment approach you may wish to discuss with your veterinarian.

As you are most likely aware, elderly dogs with heartworm are at greater risk. They have higher risk whether or not you choose to treat them or not.  Basset Hounds are also at higher risk for certain cardiac problems, which may or may not come into play with the heartworm issue,

I wish you and your dog the best.

Other than the other suggestions this might be of interest:

They can be controlled naturally with citrus oils, cedar oils, and diatomaceous earth. Dogs needing conventional treatment may benefit from herbs such as milk thistle and homeopathics such as berberis; these minimize toxicity from the medications and dying heartworms.

https://pawsandclawsanimalhospital.com/treating-heartworm-in-dogs-naturally/