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 Ticks in the Spring
Everyone who has fought fleas on their pets knows how annoying they are. They are hard to get rid of, they cause allergic skin disease in dogs and cats, and they usually leave your pet with a case of tapeworms. Ticks, though, are even worse. These nasty little bloodsuckers aren’t just hard to kill, they also carry some really horrible diseases. Tick-borne diseases include Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease, both of which affect pets and people. They also carry ehrlichiosis, an extremely dangerous disease. The canine form of Ehrlichia has become common with the increase in the tick population the past few years. Many dogs who contract it have lasting health problems even after treatment, and others die. The only way to prevent these diseases is to prevent your pet from being infested with fleas and ticks. Luckily, there are a number of effective products to keep your pet parasite-free, just ask your vet. The choice of product often depends on your unique circumstances. There are over-the-counter products available too, but be aware that these are generally not as effective and can be more toxic to your pet. Whatever product you use, be sure to follow label instructions carefully. Remember, the key to defeating these parasites is to start treating your pet before you find fleas or ticks. An ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure! |
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Canine Heartworm Disease
Microfilaremia is relatively common in dogs. Not all heartworm infections result in circulating microfilariae that can be found upon examination of the dog's blood, however. These are known as occult heartworm infections and can be the result of a number of factors. Single sex heartworm infections, host immune responses affecting the presence of circulating microfilariae, and the administration of heartworm preventives can be factors which produce occult infections in dogs. The onset and severity of disease in the dog is in part a reflection of the number of adult heartworms present. Dogs with higher numbers of worms are generally found to have more severe cardiac and pulmonary disease changes. Until the number of heartworms exceeds 50 in a 25-kg dog, nearly all of the heartworms reside in the caudal pulmonary arteries. Higher numbers of heartworms will result in their presence in the right ventricle, and possibly the right atrium, of the dog's heart. The most common pathological changes created by heartworms are due to inflammatory processes that occur in and around the caudal pulmonary arteries in response to the presence of heartworms. Clinical Signs D. immitis infection may cause multiple
system dysfunction affecting the pulmonary circulation, heart, liver and
kidneys. Heartworm disease may have an acute onset, but it is usually
insidious, resulting from a chronic infection with a combination of
underlying pathophysiologic responses. Dogs with low worm burdens that
receive little cardiopulmonary exercise may never have overt signs of
heartworm disease. The heart and lungs are the major organs affected by
heartworms in dogs, and they can have no clinical signs, or can present
with mild, moderate or severe clinical signs.
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| Smoking and Your Pet Recent research has also demonstrated
that cigarette smoke is related to other health-related illnesses in
pets, such as asthma. Studies have found that exposure to environmental
tobacco smoke is also linked to nasal and sinus cancer in pets.
Constant exposure to cigarette smoke is certainly not going to make your
pet healthier or happier. In a perfect environment, an animal
should not come into contact with any cigarette smoke, so why not go
outside to have a cigarette. Better still, for the sake of you and your
pet's health, give up altogether! |
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Spring is here!
Unfortunately, so are those old pests, fleas and ticks. The cold weather
this winter doesn’t seem to have slowed these dangerous parasites.
They are back, right on schedule.
Dogs are considered the definitive hosts for
heartworm infections. In experimental infections of D. immitis,
the percentage of infective larvae developing to adult D. immitis
in dogs is 40% to 90%. However, the percentage of
experimentally-infected dogs from which adult worms are recovered is
virtually 100%. The worm burden in dogs is usually high-
ranging from 1 to 250 worms. The life span of the worms in dogs appears
to be about 5 to 7 years. The average prepatent period (the time elapsed
from when the larvae enter the host until the adult female worms begin
to produce microfilariae) in dogs is about 6-7 months.
As pet
owners, we spend a lot of time trying to keep our pets fit and healthy.
However, while we constantly worry about the food we are giving our
pets or the amount of exercise they are getting, how often do we
consider that they may suffer from a fatal disease by our own hand, if
it contains a cigarette.
Although there is
skepticism about the
research, it makes sense that if your pet is subjected to smoke fumes in
the house, their respiratory system could feel the repercussions. Some
vets have suggested that smoke becomes quite concentrated at a lower
level and have highlighted these figures when arguing for the plight of
our pets. Only 15 per cent of cigarette smoke is actually inhaled by the
smoker. The rest is dispersed into the atmosphere exposing pets to over
400 toxins. This smoke includes over 40 known cancer-causing substances,
as well as carbon monoxide.
