Heartworm
One of the dreaded dog diseases his heartworms which are worms that can live in your dog’s heart seriously affecting its ability to keep your pet alive. Heartworm was discovered in 1856 and can kill your dog.
This common disease seriously impairs the functioning of the heart clogging up blood vessels and resulting in many symptoms including chronic cough, shortness of breath, heart failure and death. in addition most dogs only show symptoms once the disease has progressed very far. If caught early it can be treated and maybe even cured - here’s some symptoms to look for:
- Dog gasping for breath
- Dog seems to be tired a lot easier
- Persistent cough
- Rarely problems with vision or convulsions
of course these can also be symptoms of other problems so if you notice any of this going on you should get your dog to a vet right away.
How does your dog get infected?
Infection happens through mosquitoes which bite your dog and transmit the worms or worm lava into the bloodstream. Every dog is just as susceptible as any other dog for heartworm.
Heartworm Treatments
if discovered early enough, heartworm can be treated to chemicals which killed the worms over a period of time. It’s best to have this gradually as if they were all killed at once they did worms could cause other problems. The chemicals used can be dangerous to your dog so the best treatment is actually prevention. In some cases surgery can be done.
Heartworm Prevention
The best way to save your dog from heartworm is to prevent it from happening in the first place and there are medicines you can give your dog that attacked the parasite in the earliest stages which prevents the worms from growing up to be adults. Your vet will probably offer you a few options including a daily pill or monthly shot to prevent heartworms. although some people prefer to keep their dog on this medicine year-round as a matter of convenience, it really is not necessary when there are no mosquitoes present like in winter.
Be aware, however that these medicines can cause serious problems to your dog if he already has heartworm. Therefore your dog should be tested first every year before being put on the drug.
You might also want to try protecting your dog from mosquitoes, don’t leave him out at dawn or dusk when they are more active and keep your dog away from swampy areas where mosquitoes tend to congregate.
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