Natural Pet Health

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.

Depending upon the species, an adult hookworm can lay up to thirty thousand eggs in a day. A moist loamy soil and warm temperatures are most conducive to hookworm survival. But these hardy parasites have been known to survive in tougher climatic conditions also.

Unlike other worms in dogs hookworms develop in feces only when the feces are broken up naturally by earthworms or rain. Larvae in their infective stage move out from the feces and wait in the soil or vegetation for a host to pass by.

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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.

A typical phenomenon goes on in the female dogs when they are pregnant. During their lifecycle within the body of a dog, all roundworms do not get to reach the small intestines. Some larvae get embedded in the tissue and remain dormant for long periods that can extend up to many years.

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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.

Symptoms of worms in dogs are mostly general in nature but hookworms being voracious blood suckers can drain energy in puppies to a much larger extent than in adult dogs. Symptoms of hookworms in puppies depend upon the severity of the infection.

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Lyme Disease, Infections and Serious Skin Problems

As temperatures quickly rise, so does your pet’s chances of becoming infested with fleas and ticks. Summer is the season when these little pests become a real problem for both pets and pet owners.

Although it is crucial that you take the proper steps to protect your cat or dog from fleas and ticks, it is just as important to keep a watchful eye on your pet. Otherwise, you could be facing more than just a nuisance this summer – your pet could be facing a serious health issue!

Fleas can be extremely bothersome for both your canine and feline pets. These tiny bugs can be picked up just about anywhere during the warmer months, but they pose the biggest problem for pet owners who live in rural areas, where pets may spend a lot of time outside or in wooded areas.

Although fleas are small in size, their sheer numbers make up for it. In a very short time span, your pet can go from having one or two fleas, to dozens, to hundreds!

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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.

* Larvae present in female dogs can be passed on to puppies in vivo and through mother’s milk.
* Larvae in the tissues of an intermediate host can be indirectly ingested when the animal is eaten.
* Eggs in the environment can be directly consumed by dogs.

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Being aware of the possibility of worms in dogs is an essential part of owning a dog. You need to be aware of the symptoms of worm infestation right from the day you bring a dog into your home.

Tapeworms are one of the intestinal parasites that require keen observation for diagnosis. For dog owners to know whether their pet is infested with tapeworms it is important for them to know about their appearance, lifecycle and symptoms.

APPEARANCE

Dog tapeworm gets its name from the tape-like appearance that it has. A tapeworm is flat and has segments. It has a head and a neck and the remaining part of the tapeworm is broken into segments. The tapeworm uses muscular grooves present in the head to attach itself to the intestines of the host. New segments are continually formed in the neck region. The ones at the end mature and are shed periodically.

Each segment has its own reproductive organs and contains a large number of eggs that are grouped in packets. Once mature, these segments are detached from the main body and are excreted. Mobile segments can be seen near the anus of the dog or on top of fresh feces. Once the tapeworm segments dry up they look like uncooked rice or cucumber seeds.

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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.

A dog can get infected by consuming roundworm eggs that stick to the fur or feet. Once inside the stomach the shell is digested. Roundworms have a complex migratory life that involves expulsion once again through vomiting. Dogs consume the discharged larva along with the vomit during the third stage.

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Canine or feline parasites are a potential source of danger for pets and humans alike. A single female Toxocara canis, commonly known as roundworms, can shed up to a hundred thousand eggs in a single day.

Humans, especially children, are exposed to these eggs when they are excreted in stools or vomit. On entering the skin they can cause visceral larva migrans leading to red, intense itching eruptions in humans. Ocular larva migrans can even lead to blindness.

Worms in dogs and cats are a common phenomon with most of the transmission of the contagion taking place through the fecal or nursing route. Intestinal parasites do not spread through contact but the eggs that are excreted in the stool are capable of infesting other pets and humans.

Roundworms and tapeworms are two of the four most common intestinal parasites that are visible with the naked eye. A close observation of the stool of the animal is enough to determine whether it is infested with parasites or not.

Roundworms change color from white(when fresh) to tan (later). They assume different sizes and shapes during their lifecycle and the whole worm can be seen externally in the cat’s stool. Tiny larvae of roundworms can transmit to tissues in kittens while they are in the mother’s uterus or through the mother’s milk while they are nursing.

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Worms are parasites that derive nourishment from the host and thrive. In turn parasites do not provide any benefit to the host but they do not kill the host also. Worms in dogs normally find shelter in intestines.

If your pet has worms, these can be transferred to humans as well. Spread to humans does not necessarily involve close contact. Humans get infected when the egg infected excreta is ingested in some form or another. Children are at very high risks of getting affected since they tend to play in the dirt and this could include feces infected areas as well.

There are four major types of worms in dogs.

* Roundworms
* Hookworms
* Tapeworms
* Whipworms

The two to four inches long roundworm is the most common type. Tan or white in color, these spaghetti shaped worms are detrimental to your dog’s general health and overall appearance. Dogs that are highly infested with roundworms may vomit them out or pass the whole worms in stools. Roundworms can multiply at a fast speed and can even block the intestines making normal bowel movement impossible.

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