Infestations

 

The warm weather brings out undesirable pests such as fleas, ticks and mites. Make sure you have a flea and tick procedure, whether you use natural remedies or off-the-shelf drops, collars and sprays.

Ticks are bloodsuckers that bury their mouthparts under a dog's skin. Ticks are tiny - about the size of a pinhead, have eight legs, and can be black, brown, red or tan in colour. Once they attach themselves to your dog, they can swell up to the size of a grape.

Ticks can be removed but you have to be very careful that they don't leave their mouthparts behind in the skin or your dog may suffer a nasty reaction. Ask your vet to show you how to remove them, or use a flea product that works against ticks as well.

Fleas are unpleasant little things, they bite humans as well as dogs

Fleas spend much of their life off the animal, and are happy in a well heated and carpeted house.
They move quickly throughout a house, and populate it thoroughly. They are an all year round pest, but there are more of them in the summer months.

Black sooty particles in the base of the fur are a symptom of long-standing flea infestation.

Not all dogs are itchy when they have fleas - only the pets that have an allergy to fleas will scratch.
If your pet is sore, itchy, and fed up with fleas, take it to the vet. Under these circumstances, your pet is showing an allergy to fleas.

And it will probably need short term treatment with steroids and perhaps antibiotics to relieve the acute symptoms, while you attack the long-term problem with proper flea control.

Treating your animals alone will not solve the problem. There are usually around 10 times as many fleas in the house as there are on the pets.

Unless you deal with household problem too, your pets will quickly become reinfested.

Mites Dogs that scratch or rub their ears may have ear mites. Regularly check the ears by gently wiping with cotton wool on the end of your finger (never use a bud as the inside of a dog's ear is very delicate). Be very careful as it is very easy to damage the eardrum and, if you are at all unsure, get your vet to show you how to do it safely.

If you see a brown discharge, your pet most likely has ear mites.

 

are all symptoms that may be caused by intestinal worms. If you suspect the presence of parasites, consult your vet immediately.

Sometimes healthy, well-fed dogs do not show signs of intestinal parasites.

Cats and dogs are the favourite nesting grounds of four principal groups of worms and a few species of microscopic protozoa. The four worms are roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms, and whipworms.

Treatment begins once the specific parasites are identified. It's important to realize that different parasites will require different medications.

Your vet can advise on the proper treatment for your dog. There are also preventive medicines on the market.

Check with your vet whether these are appropriate for your dog.

(For example, any medication, including wormers, that contains ivomectin 2 should never be used on collies and collie types as up to 50% of collies carry a gene that gives a fatal reaction with this drug. If you have any doubts, ask your vet.)

Tapeworms are of special concern. Tapeworm segments resemble small pieces of rice. They may be seen clinging to the hair near your dog's tail. If you notice these segments, carefully place them in a small container and take them to your vet for positive identification. Several types of worms may be involved, and it is important to identify all of them for proper treatment.

Once identification is made, the proper deworming medication must be administered. With some intestinal worms, treatment of the environment also may be needed.

Most treatments take only a few days. However, periodic checking is necessary to be sure that all intestinal worms have been eliminated.

Once the problem is treated, it makes sense to prevent reinfection.

Under some conditions of poor hygiene, worms can be transmitted to humans.

 

  • "French Heartworm", also known as Lungworm

Up until quite recently the parasite Angiostrongylus vasorum was thought to be limited to certain areas in Cornwall and Wales. Only one case had ever been reported in the south-east of England but that all changed at the end of 1999 and through 2000 as veterinary surgeons were presented with increasing number of these cases.

As of 2006 this parasite is considered endemic in the south of England. Although most cases have occurred in dogs that are known to eat snails there have been a few cases where owners were unaware that their pets had this habit - so do not think that just because you have never seen your dog eat a snail that they actually do not.

It is suggested that the most likely way that this problem has been spread is by the fox population, for which snails and slugs are an important part of their diet.

Foxes in turn pass the parasite back to the slugs and snails in their stools.

Dogs are infected as a result of eating a slug or snail that harbours the immature form of the worm.

 

  • Some dogs may have a low-grade infection for months or years without showing signs.
  • The most common signs of infection are rapid breathing and cough (occasionally blood is brought up).

  • In more severe cases some dogs have heart failure or have collapsed and others show signs of bleeding problems.

There are many reasons why a dog may start coughing. If your dog starts coughing, don't panic! Take it to your vet.
Obviously if you have seen your dog eating slugs or snails remember to mention this to your vet.

If this worm is identified early in the course of the infection it can be treated effectively.

If complications have already occurred then treatment is less likely to be successful.

Prevention is the best way forward - try not to let them eat slugs and snails.

The biggest challenge is puppyhood of course, when everything is there to be eaten!