posted by Tess on Dec 17
Hookworms are one of the most dangerous parasitic worms. Even though the symptoms of worms in dogs are normally elusive, it needs to be known that hookworm infestation can cause life threatening anemia to puppies even before the eggs can be noticed in the stools. Some species of hookworms attach themselves to the small intestines and bite off pieces of the intestinal wall to cause bleeding.
Controlling hookworms properly does not involve only basic de-worming drugs like antihelminthics. If the process has to be completed successfully, then a series of steps needs to be taken to ensure proper eradication. Understanding the characteristics of the hookworm is essential for proper removal.
Hookworm eggs differ from the eggs of other worms in dogs in at least two ways.
1. Unlike roundworm eggs that can bear the vagaries of environmental hazards, hookworm eggs require a typical climate to survive.
2. Whereas dog roundworms and dog tapeworms must necessarily be ingested for infection to occur, hookworms can penetrate through the skin tissue.
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posted by Tess on Nov 20
by Annie Berthold-Bond
I dug deep in my herbal formula books for this recipe out of desperation, given that I live in the epicenter of the tick-generated Lyme disease epidemic. I tested the essential oil that is recommended for ticks, Rose Geranium, by putting a few drops—no more!— on our dogs’ collars, to see if it would repel ticks. Lo and behold, we went from 20 ticks a day on each dog, to none. The second best essential oil for repelling ticks is American Pennyroyal (also called tickweed).
* 2 tablespoons vegetable or nut oil (almond oil contains sulfur, a repellent in its own right)
* 10 to 25 drops Rose Geranium essential oil
Combine the ingredients in a glass jar; shake to blend.
* Makes: 2 tablespoons
* Shelf Life: 6 months
Dab a few drops on your skin or clothing, making sure to avoid eyes.
Caution
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posted by Tess on Nov 1
If your dog shakes his head too often, don’t just shirk it off as a funny habit. Dogs do not shake their heads without reason. If your dog shakes his head too often, you have every reason to suspect an infection in the ears.
Ear infection is common in pets. One of the most prevalent causes of ear infections is allergies. These allergies are caused by wet ears that become damp, hot and humid due to the fact that most dogs have ear flaps that cover the ear canal. Dog ears should be kept dry and should be cleaned regularly to avoid wax build up and excessive hair growth. Ear mites are another major reason for ear infections.
The natural appearance of the cartilaginous structure of the external ear is pink and feels flat when touched. Any thickening indicates presence of an infection. You should be able to see the ear canal clearly. While a small amount of discharge and wax is natural, any abnormal accumulation of debris or a foul odor indicates an infection. A yellow discharge points towards yeast infection and a black debris indicates dog ear mites.
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posted by Tess on Sep 12
Hookworms are relatively more dangerous than other types of worms in dogs. Left untreated, hookworms can lead to death. This is particularly true for young puppies.
Hookworms are ravenous creatures that suck blood by sticking themselves to the intestinal walls of the host. The hookworm larvae can even burrow into the skin of the human foot or leg causing itchy lesions. Hookworms are not so common among the feline parasites that infect cats, but if they do infect a cat, they can be equally problematic for cats, dogs and humans alike.
The most common species of hookworm that infects puppies is Ancylostoma caninum. The natural habitat of this species is warm and humid areas in countryside but they are known to survive almost anywhere. Although the most common mode of transmission to puppies is through mother’s milk, hookworms can also penetrate the skin and get into a puppy’s body. Once inside, they cling to the intestinal walls with their hooks, a characteristic which gives them their name.
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posted by Tess on Sep 10
Hookworms are considered to be the most pathogenic of all canine and feline parasites including roundworms and dog tapeworm.
Hookworms are excessively greedy blood suckers and cause extensive loss of blood. They ‘hook’ on to the walls of the intestines and draw out blood and ingest it directly. Some can bite and cause lacerations which result in blood leaking. To add to the miseries, the esophageal glands of the hookworm secrete an enzyme that inhibits blood coagulation.
Hookworms can penetrate skin and infect humans as well. Barefoot humans and children who play in areas where dogs defecate are at a high risk of infection. A study of the lifecycle of hookworms can go along way in achieving the goal of treating hookworm infection and eradication of hookworms from the environment.
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posted by Tess on Sep 7
There are five types of intestinal worms in dogs that infect dogs of all ages.
* Roundworm.
* Dog Tapeworm.
* Hookworms.
* Whipworm.
* Heartworm.
Roundworms mainly affect puppies. Out of the two species of roundworms, Toxocara canis and Toxascaris leonine, the former is more prevalent in dogs than the latter. They are about 2cm long when they enter the intestines of a dog. But within a matter of ten days they grow to a length of 6cm. The adult roundworm lives in the small intestines of a dog. There are different paths that the roundworm can take to finally reach there. In the case of puppies, the infection is passed to the young puppy while he is still in the uterus.
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posted by Tess on Aug 24
There were times when it was believed that the only way worms in dogs passed on to puppies, was through the mother’s system while they were still in the uterus. Whereas this contention still holds good for some types of worms, it has now been established that worms can infest puppies through other means also.
Worms like dog tapeworm, and dog roundworms and even some feline parasites have a typical lifecycle and can enter a pet’s body through various means.
Worms are intestinal parasites that reside mostly in the small intestines. Worms like tapeworms and roundworms are extremely migratory within a dog’s body and they are expelled and ingested during different stages of their lifecycle. Infestation can be through ingestion of larvae or eggs of worms or through ingestion of infected intermediate hosts like rodents and mice. Worms are passed through feces and puppies ingest worms directly from the environment as well. Sometimes the infection can be passed on by contact with the coat of the infected mother.
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posted by Tess on Aug 21
Out of the two common species of dog tapeworms (Dipylidium caninum, the flea tapeworm and Echinococcus granulosus, the hydatid tapeworm), the flea tapeworm is the most common type of canine and feline parasites that reside in a pet’s intestines.
Like all parasitic worms, dog tapeworm too requires an intermediate host. In the case of flea tapeworm, fleas act as the intermediate host. Fleas ingest tapeworm eggs from the feces of the infected dogs and transform them into cysts. When the dog ingests an infected flea by mistake while licking his coat, the cysts hatch into tapeworms and mature inside the body of the dog.
Once ingested, the eggs develop into adult tapeworms. An adult tapeworm is made up of grain-sized segments. These segments are attached together and a grown tapeworm can measure up to 28 inches in length. The head segment clings to the intestinal wall and the remaining segments hangs in the inner enclosed area of the gut.
In most tapeworms, the rear segments of a tapeworm break away from the others intermittently. These pass into the environment through stools.
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posted by Tess on Jul 17
It is extremely essential to control canine and feline parasites since they inhabit the intestines and can cause problems if not eliminated in time. Roundworms can block the intestinal passage by the sheer numbers that they exist in. Hookworm infection causes severe anemia followed by loss of iron and protein in the stomach.
A proper understanding of symptoms of worms in dogs is necessary for proper treatment of worms in dogs . However, it is imperative that a thorough understanding of the worm’s life cycle be understood to be able to control it better.
ROUNDWORMS
One female roundworm can lay up to two hundred thousand eggs in a single day. Most of the eggs pass out of the body through feces but some eggs stay inside the body. A larva develops inside the egg shell and cannot infect the dog till it reaches the second stage. This takes about a week.
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posted by Tess on Jul 11
It is not easy to break the life cycle of intestinal parasites like roundworms and dog tapeworm.
The main hurdles are the encysted larvae that can remain in a dog’s body for years. Since the worm eggs have a huge appetite of bearing vagaries in their environment, they can remain dormant for a long time before becoming active.
Looking for an appropriate treatment at the first visible signs of worms in dogs is the first thing that should be done. Noticing the symptoms of worms in dogs depends on the amount of time that you spend with your dog and the level of care that you provide for your pet. Keeping your eyes open for such symptoms should be a priority as these parasites can pass on to humans too. Preventive measures become equally important so that you can ensure that your pet does not get infected again.
Prevention
There are three broad ways by which roundworms get into dogs.
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