Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Family Dog Health: Internal Parasites



Internal parasites are microscopic threat to the health of your family dog​​. It is impossible to protect the dog from exposure to these parasites, but preventive measures can be taken.

newborn puppy is usually a victim of parasite infestation. Puppies can become infected with internal parasites in the gut, but also through breast milk. Therefore, regular worming schedule must be maintained for all newborn pups and pregnant bitches. Mother worming treatments should begin before or 40 days of gestation and 2 days after whelping (birth). Puppies should be wormed every two weeks starting again in five weeks, eight and twelve weeks of age. Young dogs should be wormed monthly until six months and three month intervals to 1 year of age. After 1, worming treatments to discuss with your veterinarian. Treatment will vary depending on your family dog environment, level of activity, time spent outdoors and mosquitoes and flea population in your area.

If you're like me and have saved a puppy from a shelter as a stray, you may not have a history of worming treatments. You should assume, if history is not available, no treatment is started. Take your puppy to the vet along with a stool sample for testing and get treatment.

internal parasites can cause no symptoms at all, or mild discomfort, but can also cause diarrhea, vomiting, blood in fecal matter, blood dehydration, anemia, weight loss, lethargy, cough, breathing problems, heart failure and death .

There are 2 types of internal parasites. Worms and Protozoa . First we'll talk about Worms.

There are three subcategories of worms.
nematodes
Cestodes
Heart Worms

nematodes including roundworms and hookworms and whip worms. are cylindrical worms and cream colors.

Nematoda are the most common worm infection in dogs. Although mostly found in the intestines, can chew through the intestinal wall and live in the lungs, blood, stomach and eyes. During the roundworm infestation are feeding worms to kill your dog nutrients. Symptoms of roundworm infection are mild vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, and poor hair coat, pot belly, and sometimes the smell of garlic dog breath. Your family dog may take a spaghetti-like worms in the vomit and stool. Transfer forms is mainly through the womb or breast milk, but can also be contracted through contaminated soil.

Hookworms feed on blood, and is most commonly found in warm humid climates. They are usually confined to the small intestine. In addition to breast milk, your dog can be infected with hookworms by eating other infected animals and through the pads legs or abdomen. Since that feed on blood, symptoms include dark red or bloody diarrhea, weight loss, anemia, weakness and diarrhea.

whip worms are the hardest to diagnose because the light rarely show symptoms of infection, and these worms do not produce more eggs to be found in fecal matter. Whip worms are transmitted only eat eggs. These eggs are very resilient and can survive in any climate. These worms are reason enough to 'pick up' after your pet and dispose of fecal matter, so that the soil is not contaminated with whip worm eggs. Whip worms and feed on blood, and the symptoms are weight loss and bloody diarrhea.

Cestodes or to have a tapeworm species, but in general infect the same way. Tapeworms feed on the nutrients from your dog's intestines. They grow like creating a chain length. Segments of these chains break and go through the dog's feces. These broken chains can move a lot of eggs. They will appear as grains of rice and can be seen crawling near your dog's anus. Tapeworms can grow to several meters and really more of a nuisance than life threatening. Symptoms may include increased appetite, weight loss, poor coat and diarrhea. Tapeworms are also passed from the host medium. Four types are distinguished by high host from which our dogs can be infected. I will not bore you with the Latin names, but each will tell you how it is contracted. After swallowing flies and lice, rats, mice, rabbits, freshwater fish, sheep, goats, cattle, deer, moose, fox, coyote or. Hunting dogs or cats cleaning most likely to become infected with tapeworms. Are the most deadly of all parasitic worms.

Heart Worms are the most deadly of all parasitic worms. Heart worms are the only worm that can not be ingested by your dog, but is transmitted by mosquito bites. Mosquito bites and feeds on infected psom.Microfilariae or mosquito larvae develop in between 2-3 weeks. When the mosquito bites another dog, the larvae enter the wound and burrow under the skin of the dog. For the next 2-4 months, the larvae develop under the skin of a dog immature worms, which then travel through the bloodstream to the heart. Worms take up the right side of the dog heart and develop into adults osobe.Scary thing is that symptoms may not begin running until 6-7 months after initial infection. After the worms in the heart, they begin to produce more larvae, which means more worms.

is not treated, your dog will die of heart failure. Symptoms include decreased exercise tolerance, a soft cough, weight loss, visible pulsation of blood in the veins of the neck, fainting, sudden collapse and death. Treatments for heart worms are expensive, dangerous and full of side effects. The risks verses the benefits must be weighed. That being said, it is the best way to protect your dog to protect him through preventive medicine.

heart worm medication, prescribed by your veterinarian can give all year round and is the preferred plan of action. These chewable tablets or receive per month, not to prevent the transmission of heart worms than to kill immature worms before they have time to mature to adulthood. If not medicated during the year, the treatments have to start one month before the mosquito season and continued until a month after the first winter frost. Also, keep cats indoors, especially at dusk during the mosquito season. If the home is not an option, treat your dog's coat with a natural mosquito repellent.

pest matter of the heart worm medication that also kills most other worms parazita.Odličan argument for maintaining a heart worm medication plan year.

Another type of internal parasite is protozoal parasites . Protozoa are microscopic single cell animals. We know of at least 7 different types of protozoa. Since most of them cause little to no obvious signs of disease and treatment with antibiotics will only give a brief synopsis of each.

coccidiosis
Transmitted through animal droppings
infects the intestine
Symptoms include watery diarrhea, mucus, which can be covered and tinged with blood, loss of appetite and dehydration
Treated with antibiotics and drugs antiprotozoal

giardiasis
Transmitted through water that is polluted by game
Usually there are no obvious signs of illness
The symptoms are persistent bulky, smelly stools
Treated with antibiotics and drugs antiprotozoal

toxoplasmosis
Transmitted through undercooked or raw meat
Symptoms include fever, loss of appetite, difficulty breathing, and swollen belly
Treated with antibiotics

caninum
It is known to spread from mother to pup in the womb through the placenta
This is an emerging disease that is not understood. The life cycle is in progress.
Symptoms appear in 3-6 month old puppies. They include muscle and nerve conditions ranging from lameness and aching muscles, muscle paralysis.
Drugs are being developed for the treatment of this disease in the making.

Leishmaniasis
Transfer from sand fly bites
The most serious infection caused by a protozoan that causes a disease called Kala-Azar.
There are 2 types of protozoa, non-fatal form of skin that causes crusty, dandruff y areas that may become discolored or ulcerated. I almost always fatal visceral form that causes loss of strength, exhausted muscles and liver and spleen. Even when treated, the outlook is not good for dogs. This is usually the cause of death.

babesiosis
Transmitted by ticks
Symptoms include hearing loss due to anemia and passing dark colored urine
The infection affects the red blood cells
Treated with antibiotics

American trypanosomiasis
Narrated by bloodsucking insect called 'kissing bugs'. 'Kissing Bug' defecates while feeding, resulting in scabies. The host gets a scratch and feces into the wound.
Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, loss of coordination, can also affect the heart muscle.
There are currently no treatments for these infections.

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