As well as all the animals, our dogs are natural field for a stock of tiny pests, that poison life of our beloved pets. Insects and worms are disgusting creatures, but we should be aware of more dangerous parasites, that may cause damage to your dog and annoy it. It is going about fleas, mites and a whole stock of disgusting and annoying creatures, that bother most of fur pets.
Parasites review
Parasite is an organism, that lives in or on other organism and feeds for its cost. Some of these tiny beasts travel from one animal to another and even to people ( we should always remember that we are under a definite risk as well as we contact with our pets by touches, air and the same living space).
Remember, that the majority of pests attack our pets regularly, especially in warm weather conditions. It would be silly to consider that dogs may get pests only out of the city. City loans, streets are a huge field for different insects and worms, a great source of pests that are concentrated in dog and cat feces.
Hookworms take approximately 90% of all inner pests types. Nematodes are the most common pests of dogs and cats. They transfer from lungs to bronchia and then migrate to intestines where they may live for a long time, even forever. They pest at many organs: intestines, liver, lungs, heart and muscles. The most common are toxocara and toxocaria, that provoke diseases with the same name toxocariasis and toxocaridosis. A serious infection will show the following sighs: paunchy belly, dull fur, bad weight. It may seriously weaken or even kill a young puppy. Sometimes it is possible to see the worms in dog feces and vomiting. They are from 6 to 20 cm long and they struggle for consuming of dog's food, taking its nutrition and important elements for dog's health and activity. As the result, a dog is hungry, though it eats a lot of food.
Hookworms infect people also. They can easy get into human organism in bad sanitarian conditions, after contact with feces, especially if a person cleans hands not good enough after cleaning of feces. The greatest danger they are for kids under 3 years old, who tend to take everything to their mouth to taste all the objects around.
Majority of pets are born with worms (toxocara canis). Though majority of adult feminine dogs have no active worms, they may transfer "sleepy" pests to their offspring while being in the womb. Puppies product tiny worm eggs with the feces and a mother-dog eats it, and the circle repeats. many dog breeders get rid of puppy's worms in the first 2-4 weeks after birth and repeat the cure more 3 times with interval of 2 weeks each. The veterinary will give you a safe remedy for the puppy worms depending on its type found in the feces.
Though toxocara and toxocariases are alike by look, toxocartiases are much more dangerous. Eggs of both these worms are excreted to the outer space with dog feces. Then only after a fortnight they can infect the new animal to live in. The eggs ripen in the circumstances of enough wet and warmth. The peak of of infection is the period from spring to autumn.
A dog swallows ripe warm eggs with ground. Rodents and small animals may gather warm eggs and serve just as their sources. This way the cycle of warms in the nature.
And then there appear warm larvae in a dog intestines. Toxocariases involve themselves into the intestines epithelium and ripen there. In the process of growing they cause damage to the intestines epithelium and cause dog diarrhea with blood. These worm type is usually found with dogs above 6 month. The disease usually flows invisibly and or shows by bad or strange appetite, constipation, that changes with diarrhea. That's why it is so important to take the analysis for warm eggs after dog eats from the ground, grass, strange appetite to different unusual food. Toxocaria do not involve them into the intestines epithelium but try to flow into blood vessels. At first they get into the liver and damage it. The more eggs simultaneously get into the intestines the more damage will be caused. They may count more hundred. But their finish point are lungs. They flow here to proceed their cycle of developing. Larvae are ripe and proceed to get involved into capillary walls getting into bronchia. At this stage there may appear cough and pneumonia sometimes even with blood. Then the ripe worms go to the intestines again to proceed their developing cycle. A dog cannot cough all the wet out and swallows it. And this way the toxocaria go again to the intestines. There they are ready to produce new eggs. The greatest damage they cause to puppies, whose immunity is weak yet and they may cover all the intestines of a poor animal. They may break the intestines with their activity and cause death of a puppy. All worms cause great damage to all the dog organism, weaken digestive processes and nutrition. Then follow intoxication and lack of vitamins. All these factors of course will affect the look and feeling of your pet.
The symptoms of light and serious infection include the following stages: dull and dry fur and skin, bloated belly, loose stools, great appetite, dry cough, cry of belly pain.
Cure is taking a remedy in. At a serious infection the procedure is repeated several times with the interval of 2 weeks, as well as all the remedies kill only the adult worms but cannot eliminate eggs and larvae that will grow into adult after 2 weeks.
Prevention: twice a year analysis for worm eggs, following of
hygiene rules, keeping of clean surrounding, taking worming remedies
once a quarter, and once a three months for puppies.
Uncinariosis (Uncinaria stenocephala) is the number two among the pests, but the most dangerous among the dog parasites, especially for puppies. As well as hookworms they can transfer from mother dog to puppies through feces contacts or involve through not protected dog skin. They are located in the intestines sticking to its epithelium and suck blood that causes anemia and even death of a puppy. The mouth of these worms has special gland that produces a substance, that causes lack of erythrocytes and hemoglobin in puppy blood. Symptoms: bloody diarrhea, dull and dry fur, loss of weight, weakness, enormous appetite, abdominal distention. Adult dogs may show no symptoms.
Cured by special remedies.
Prevention: analysis for worm eggs twice a year, strict sanitation of living space, taking preventing worming medicines.
Tape worms. A dog is infected by tape worms through fleas. A dog may get one of the six types of tape worms by eating an infected flea or several fleas with a rodent, the media of fleas. Tape worms look like moving rice seeds. Many handlers get to know about dog infection with tape worms by their appear in dog feces. Tape worms may also infect carpets, furniture, dog underlay.
The most widely spread is a dipilidium or a cucumber tapeworm. Its head with suckers is so small, that it may be distinguished only under a microscope. It can grow to 2 m long. Ripe segments have size of a cucumber seed, white-yellow color. They are well seen at dog feces. They have self-activity and proceed to move for some time. Though segments are full of eggs, they are not dangerous themselves for a dog and a human.
Dipilidium has a complicated life cycle. In the order to proceed it, its eggs should be eaten by a fleas. These pest is a common parasite of uncared dogs. Worm eggs are eaten by flea larvae. They alvays live not on the animal but beside, at the living space of a dog, on the carpet, underlay and is fed by organic leavings. Riping as fleas they keep worm eggs in their organism then a dog is infected by the warm chewing and biting fleas in its fur. here is the chain: fleas jump, bite, provoke itching, a dog bites and gets infected.
Symptoms: growing appetite and loss of weight, diarrhea and constipation, biting of the rectum area. Healthy dogs may have just a slight diarrhea.
Cured by medicines.
Prevention: strict control against fleas, attention to feces and sanitary of people and animals, surrounding living space. As much as possible do not a dog eat possibly infected prey.
All the worming medicines contain praziquantel. This substance destroys protective abilities of worm epithelium and paralyses its muscular system. Worm body is covered with strong epithelium firm against ferments and gastric juice. Besides of these element worming contains many other components. The right analysis and veterinary will advice you the right remedy for a definite type of worm.
Other tape worms are different types of taenia such as beef tapeworm and pork tapeworm. Infection is caused usually by feeding a dog with raw meat or inner organs of beef and pork. A human can also get infected by these worms by eating raw or not well-done meat. A small tapeworm echinococcus is especially dangerous for people. Its length is so small, that it can be hardly visible by human sight. It causes a dangerous liver illness that is cured only at the hospital.
Heartworm
It may kill a dog if not admitted and without cure. A dog gets infected by an infected mosquito and the eggs go into the blood flow. Larvae go into muscles where they ripen for 3-4 month growing into small worms.
Then they flow into veins moving forward to the heart and base at the right part of it, ready for reproduction. A female may produce about 5000 eggs a day. This colony will stay and wait until another mosquito will bite a dog and they will proceed the life cycle spreading in another dog.
Adult worms get 10-30 cm of length and spread in heart and lungs. The result is as follows: low blood flow and heart stop.
The symptoms of this disease may not show for a year after infection. The most frequent sigh is a soft deep cough that becomes gradually stronger. A dog becomes apathetic, easy gets tired, loses weight. Fur becomes dull and dry. A dog may cough with bloody wet.
Cure of it is expensive and risky but without it a dog dies. It needs a serious analysis. If there is a large colony of worms in heart already if they die they will block up heart and lungs of a dog.
Dog handlers who live in warm weather conditions should keep the cure constantly. For example, according to the recent data, the heartworm exists in all 50 states of the North America that's why all puppies in the area of risk are injected each month.
Lamblia (Giardia) is the infection of gastrointestinal tract caused by Giardia canis.
Nowadays this infection has epidemic features among pets and children.
Giardia is a one-cell parasite that gets to organism through feces (eating of infected feces) or through infected water in public places. It sticks to the intestines walls and may be especially dangerous for young pets. It may transfer from large domestic animals to dogs, to people etc. For puppy it may be deadly.
Symptoms are strong diarrhea and dehydration.
Cure takes a long term. A repeated infection is possible. It is difficult to make a diagnosis, as it shrinks in feces and can be hardly visible. The best prevention is a strict sanitary of dog living space. It is important to avoid contacts with water in wild lakes, ponds where wild animals frequently appear. it is especially important for puppies.
Coccidia is a parasite disease of a small intestine. These are one-cell organisms. They are especially dangerous for small puppies who may at once get a yellow diarrhea. Then comes dehydration and without fast actions you can lose them. Coccidia are spread through infected food and water, and from mother dog to puppies. They spread quickly at the intestines. For the diagnosis they need fresh feces and special method of analysis for detection of this very parasite type.
Symptoms: weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss.
Cure: internal medicine. Cure is fast and urgent. But you can hope for a quick recovery. For prevention: strict hygiene of dog living space (dry, clean, aired and with lot of sunlight).
As you see, internal and outer parasites are bound and in the next article we will tell you about the outer pests of dogs, their symptoms, prevention and cure.