Fleas, Ticks and Internal Parasites
Fleas
Fleas pose a serious risk to dogs, other animals as well as humans. Fleas are parasites that feed themselves with blood of mammals. Their bites can cause significant health problems. Each dog owner should know how to prevent and treat fleas. Fleas live in dog's coat and suck blood from their host. The most common species of flea is Ctenocephalides felis which usually affects dogs and cats. The life cycle of fleas goes from egg, larva, pupa and adult flea, which can live for about 4-6 weeks. Why are fleas dangerous for your dog?
See more about Flea Treatment and Flea Prevention ... Ticks Dog ticks are important and not negligible problem and can cause serious health problems to your dog. Dog ticks are external parasites that suck blood from their host attaching themselves on host’s skin. They are usually dark or brown. When they suck blood from dog’s or human body they grew larger. One can find ticks in the open fields, in the bushes, in the woods where they wait for appropriate host to come by. If you take your dog often for a walk in the woods or in areas where grass is high, you risk your dog being exposed to ticks. Some species of ticks prefer dogs and cats as hosts. Ticks carry number of diseases and can easily infect your dog if they bite him and suck his blood. One such disease is Ehrlichiosis, a disease which causes fever, lethargy or even bleeding problems to your dog. Some other very dangerous diseases carried by ticks are Lyme disease, Babesiosis and Analpasmosis. Symptoms of tick diseases are similar, displaying in fever, lethargy, weakness, joint swelling, anemia or even tick paralysis. In order to minimize the risk of these diseases, use tick prevention treatments regularly. Tick prevention products can be found at any veterinarian. But unfortunately none of these prevention producs is 100% sure.Check your dog every day for ticks, when you come from a walk. If your dog already has a tick, remove it as soon as possible from your dog as the sooner the tick is removed the lower the risk of disease. A tick has to be embedded to a dog for at least 24 hours in order to spread the disease. When removing the tick do it correctly (ask your veterinarian how to do it) so that a piece of tick will not stay embedded in dog's skin. Related Articles: A tick-free dog is a healthier dog on Dogsandticks.com Dog Ticks on www.dogsticks.org All about Ticks and Dogs on Dogs.About.com Heart worms Heart worms are specific parasites that infect dogs and cats and are passed on by mosquitoes. Prevention of heart worms is easy but when dog is already infected, treatment is more expensive and complicated. Related Articles: Heart worms in Dogs: Facts and Myths What are heart worms, and can I catch them from my dog? Dog Intestinal Parasites Intestinal parasites are one of the most common problems dogs have. Very often these parasites are found in young dogs and puppies. Especially exposed are dogs that live in poor standard conditions, outdoors or dogs who have health problems. It is usually difficult to find out that your dog has parasites as they usually do not cause any obvious health problems. But when parasites become too numerous then you dog’s health can be seriously affected. The most common signs of intestinal parasites in puppies are: dull coat, slow growth, diarrhea, lack of energy, big tummies, many are anemic. The most common signs in older dogs are: brittle hair coat, diarrhea, boniness, and listlessness, loss of appetite or even increased appetite. Dogs that have parasites often have loose stools. Some parasites can be seen in dog’s stool and veterinarian can easily identify them (for example tapeworms and roundworms). Other parasites are small and cannot be seen with your eye. The most affected by intestinal parasites are the puppies. The younger the puppies are when they get the parasites, the worse the problem is. Adult dogs are more resistant to intestinal parasites. However, if the parasites multiply and get too many, than the dog’s health can seriously be affected. Most common types of parasitesand prevention Hookworms Adult hookworms are quite small and not visible to the naked eye. Dogs can obtain hookworms through eating hookworm larva hached from the parasite’s eggs which can be found in dog stool. When this stool contaminates soil, the parasite can survive, if the soil is cold and damp. Hookworm eggs can be killed with freezing, drying or very high temperature. Puppies can also get infected though their mother’s milk. Puppies if not medically treated, can even die from hookworm infection. Usual cause of death is this case anemia. Other signs are vomiting, bloody diarrhea and weakness. Worming medications kill only hookworms in the intestine. That is why a single worming is not enough. Worming medication has to be given to puppies at 6, 8 and 12 weeks of age. Roundworms Roundworms and tapeworms are the largest parasites which you are see in your pet’s stool. If your dog is infested, the parasites often appear in your pet’s vomit as well. They are thin spaghetti-shaped critters, 3-18 cm long. Dogs become infected with roundworms by eating roundworm eggs – not larva. Roundworm eggs are not immediately infective, they need about a week in the environment to activate. Roundworm infection is the most common disease of puppies. Signs of roundworms infection are diarrhea, constipation and vomiting. Puppies need several worming treatments to destroy all the parasites, recommended at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks of age and again when they receive their last puppy vaccinations. Adult dogs are more resistant to roundworms but they can be infected without any signs. However it is recommended to periodically worm your dog in order to be sure he has no intestinal parasites of any kind. Tapeworms Tapeworms are a very common intestinal parasite in dogs but they rarely if ever cause health issues. This parasite can be transmitted by fleas. Giardia Besides roundworms, giardia is the most common intestinal parasite. Immunity to this parasite is associated with dog’s age and mature dogs are less likely to be infested, unless their health is at risk or if they are infected with numerous giardia. Giardia can easily be diagnosed in dog stool under microscope if a dog has diarrhea. In firm stool this parasite is more difficult to diagnose. Coccidia Coccidia, like giardia, are single celled organisms that live within the body. Like most of parasites coccidian is most common where there are poor sanitary conditions. Coccidia is species-specific, if your dog is infected your health is not threatened. Coccidia can be transfer from pet to pet through fecal contamination and oral ingestion. Whipworms Whipworms are another common parasite of dogs. They live in the lower intestine and they do not cause the violent diarrhea and illness like parasites of the small intestine. The majority of dogs with this parasite have no signs of illness. Dogs have to be wormed regularly with medical products you can get at your veterinarian. Recommended worming treatment for adult dog is at least every 3 months. For risky group of dogs (those who for example eat other animals’ stool or dirt) worming should be done every month. Some of those parasites can infect you or your children and that is why it is important to treat your dog regularly against the intestinal parasites. In order to prevent your dog being infected again, minimize your dog’s exposure to contaminated areas.
Related Articles and sources: Intestinal Parasites In Your Dog And What To Do About Them Internal parasites (Worms) |
