Parasites on Dogs
04 Oct 2009
You really need to destroy heart worm, fleas and other parasites in dogs whenever it becomes obvious that your dog is infected by using the appropriate medication against them. Loads of products are available to defend our dogs from heart worms, fleas and other parasites such as hook worms, whip worms, round worms, lice, ticks etc.
Of the heart worms, fleas and other parasites, fleas can produce a hyper sensitive reaction in the infected animal. Animals infested with fleas scratch their skin very vigorously. Frequently the scratching becomes so bad that the skin becomes super-sensitive and dermatitis is the result in the scratched areas.
The result is often that your dog can not lie down for long or sleep comfortably due to the constant bites by the fleas. So, the animal looks as if has some severe skin disease. If the your dog is not properly attended to for these flea bites, there will often be secondary bacterial invasions in these areas and there may even be a bad smell emanating from the animal's affected skin.
You need to inspect your pet closely in order prevent a serious infestation. It is essential to prevent such an outbreak as they are extremely distressing to dogs. Similarly, the skin of the animal needs to be checked regularly for the presence of ticks and lice. In order to do this properly, you need to look at the dog's skin by separating the dog's hairs. The easiest way to do this is by slowly back-combing or ruffling the dog's hair.
Often, if your pet is anaemic, and he is not infested with fleas, you need to check for hookworm. Symptoms of hookworm are anaemia, loose stools and a pot belly. The dog's owner may recognize these symptoms themselves, however, to be honest, the dog needs to undergo a routine health examination at the vet's involving faecal and hematological examinations.
There are many commercial products available on the market, some of which are effective for dealing with all these conditions by a single dose. Drugs like ivermectin are highly efficacious and are obtainable in injection, oral and solution forms. The latter should be applied directly on the dog's skin. These drugs can lead to the prevention of the above conditions too.
So, the best strategy to follow is to keep a keen eye on your dog. This could easily be carried out at bath time or / and when you are grooming him. You can use an anti-flea and anti-tick shampoo, which will keep these pests under control, if used regularly. Couple this with a regular grooming with a lice comb and a flea collar should keep your pet lice, tick and flea free.