Parasites On Dogs

Heart worm, fleas and other parasites in dogs need to be destroyed by using the appropriate medication on them. Loads of products have come onto the market to protect dogs from heart worms, fleas and other parasites like hook worms, whip worms, round worms, lice, ticks etc.

Out of the heart worms, fleas and other parasites, fleas can produce a super-sensitive over-reaction in the infected dog. Animals infested with fleas scratch their skin very vigorously. Frequently the scratching becomes so severe that the skin becomes super-sensitive and dermatitis is the result in the scratched patches of skin.

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, your dog looks as if has some severe skin disease. If the the animal is not properly attended to for these flea bites, there will often be secondary bacterial invasions in these sites and there may even be a bad smell emanating from your dog’s affected skin.

You ought to observe your dog closely in order prevent a serious outbreak. It is essential to prevent such a serious outbreak as they are extremely distressing to your dog. Similarly, the skin of the animal needs to be checked regularly for the presence of ticks and lice. In order to do this effectively, you must look at the dog’s skin by separating the dog’s hairs. The easiest way to achieve this is by slowly back-combing or ruffling the pet’s hair.

Often, if your dog is anaemic, and he is not infested with fleas, you have to rule out 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 have a routine health examination at the vet’s involving faecal and hematological tests.

There are many commercial products on the market. Some of which are useful for dealing with all these conditions by a single dose. Drugs like ivermectin are highly effective and are available in injection, oral and solution forms. The latter should be applied directly to the skin. These drugs can lead to the prevention of these conditions too.

So, the best strategy to follow is to keep a keen eye on your dog. This could most easily be done at bath time and when you are grooming him. You can use an anti-flea and anti-tick shampoo, which will keep these nuisances under control, if used as stated on the bottle. Couple this with regular grooming with a lice comb and the use of a flea collar should keep your pet tick, lice, and flea free.

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