Heartworm is one of the most serious diseases your bird dog can face and quite often is fatal. The good news is that heartworm can easily be prevented by giving your dog a prescription that you will get from your vet. This pill is given once a month and should be given all year long to gun dogs.
Heartworm is a parasite infection that is transmitted to dogs in various different ways. The primary carrier of this type of infestation are mosquitoes. However, dogs can get heartworm from foxes, coyotes and even other dogs. Heartworm is difficult to detect in early stages and is often fatal in dogs.
How To Protect Your Dog From Heartworm
You can protect your dog from heartworm by taking him to the vet and making sure that he gets yearly heartworm protection. This is usually administered orally and is taken once a month. Pets usually get this preventative treatment in the warm months when they are most likely to get bitten by mosquitoes, but gun dogs come into contact with other animals more often and spend more time outdoors, so it is imperative that you protect your dog from this parasite. Prior to giving your dog preventative treatment for heartworm, the vet may require a blood test to make sure that your dog does not already have the condition. Any type of dog is susceptible to heartworm. Prevention is the best option as this parasite is very difficult to treat.
Symptoms of Heartworm
Loss of weight is one of the earliest symptoms of heartworm that you can notice in your dog. You may also notice that he is coughing after exercise. This usually occurs because the parasite has infected his lungs. Heartworm stays in the system for six months before becoming active, at which time the worms begin to manifest and work their way into his organs. If your dog has not been protected against heartworm, you should not wait for symptoms to appear. Take him to the vet, get a blood test and begin protection.
Diagnosis of Heartworm
Heartworm is diagnosed with a blood test. However, this test is not always accurate. If the heartworm is a male infection, then it is more difficult to diagnose in a blood test. As is the case if the count of worms is low or just beginning. This is why it is so important to prevent the infection from occurring.
Treating Heartworm
Heartworm is a very serious condition that can be spread from one dog to another. Treatment depends on the stage of the infection and how much damage the parasites have done to his organs. Your pet has to be entirely healthy to be treated for heartworm. If you have other dogs, they should be tested for heartworm as it easily spreads from dog to dog.
In order to treat heartworm in dogs, all of the organs should be well functioning and healthy. The vet will check his heart, liver and kidney to make sure that they are healthy. If there is any damage to these organs, it must be rectified before the treatment can begin.
The substance that is used to treat heartworm is arsenic based. This can make your dog tired and cause him to lose energy. He will have to rest for several weeks and expel the heartworms in his stool. Follow up treatment is necessary, once your dog is strong enough, to insure that there are no remaining worms.
Heartworm is a deadly parasite that can be prevented with proper maintenance. Make sure you talk to your vet about obtaining heartworm prevention medicine.
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