Animals, Fleas, Ticks and Worms
Fleas and other parasites need always to be awarded the top priority by dog owners. The very common incidences of flea bite allergy in dogs causes worry to many dog owners every year, especially in the summer. This is because flea bites can induce allergic reactions in the area bitten by the fleas, which is often on the back above the tail. In these cases, the affected skin becomes hairless due to the dog scratching itself very vigorously.
Heavy flea infestations can cause severe dermatitis in dogs, because the dog will scratch and scratch the area until he bleeds and can also introduce infection. If the flea bites produce an allergic reaction or even dermatitis in your dog, he/she really ought to be taken to the veterinary doctor as soon as possible, because usually, the dog will be experiencing severe discomfort by this time.
The vet will provide a salve to ease the itching and powder or a spray to kill the fleas. Therefore, prevention is better and medicated collars are available to treat and prevent an infestation of external parasites like ticks and fleas.
Besides fleas, other parasites like ticks and lice plus internal parasites like hookworm, round worm, whip worms etc. can affect the health of your dog. For example, if hookworms infect a dog, that dog will usually suffer from anaemia. The signs of anaemia become more prominent depending on the degree of infection by the hookworm.
Hookworm larvae can pass directly through the skin and cause problems inside the affected dogs. Such dogs may have cuts due to dermatitis on the paws and on the skin. Frequently, skin rashes are the result in such cases and the affected animal passes loose stools, which are tinged red with blood.
Nearly all dogs and definitely all puppies will have round worms at some time, which is why dogs can sometimes be seen rubbing their bottoms along the floor. However, if round worms are present in very large numbers, infected puppies show a pot belly, which is easily noticeable by the dog’s owners themselves. This can result in malnutrition and even death. A dose of piperazine salts can be given orally for the cure of this condition. However, broad-spectrum anthelmintics like pyrantel pamoate, fenbendazole etc. will also cure this very common condition.
There are many drugs on the market to treat fleas and other parasites these days, although medications including the drug ‘ivermectin’ seem to be preferred by many dog owners to clear up fleas and other parasites in dogs. This drug is available for injection or oral use but is now even available for external application too.
If you are having problems getting rid of fleas on your dogs, please follow the previous link, however if you just want to read more about dogs or training dogs, please go here: Man’ Best Friend – the Dog You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.
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