For a pet owner who is attached to his dog, keeping it healthy and free of any dog disease is the first priority. Dog diseases are of several kinds, some are hereditary and some are due to factors that can be controlled for example environment, diet, cleanliness etc. for diseases that can be controlled it is better to prevent them then have your dog suffer and get it treated. Heart worm disease in dogs is one such disease that can be easily prevented taking precautions; it is a disease in dogs where a special type of parasite invades our dog’s body. The parasite is injected into the dog by mosquito bites, and any place where mosquitoes are present your dog will be at a high risk of contracting this dog disease. Heart worm disease is more common in open areas and rural areas because of presence of mosquitoes in these areas. Heart worm disease is a very dangerous disease in dogs and proper precautions should be taken to avoid your dog from being infected, as soon as a mosquito infects the dog the larvae goes into the blood stream of the dog and incubates for several days, if left untreated this parasite affects your dog’s health in a very adverse manner.
The disease is so named because the parasite travels in the blood and makes the heart of the dog its home, from there it spreads to the different organs of a dog’s body, once the heart begins to get affected the entire system of the dog starts to collapse. Once infected the disease is quite hard to treat. The good news is that it can be prevented quite easily by taking some precautions. Some special measures need to be avoided during mosquito season to keep your dog free of this dog disease.
Symptoms for heart worm disease in dogs
The drawback of heart worm disease in a dog is that it is very hard to diagnose and treat; it is dangerous because if you dog is infected symptoms might not show until it is too late for treatment to be effective. The only clear symptom of this dog disease is that an infected dog will cough; this cough will be a soft dry cough. If you notice your dog showing this particular symptom do not ignore it and contact your veterinary at the earliest. The only other symptom that a dog suffering from heart worm disease manifests is that it becomes intolerant to exercise.
Prevention of heart worm disease in dogs
As stated earlier preventing this dog disease is easy and all precautions must be taken so your loving dog does not get infected. Here are some steps to help you avoid heart worm disease in dogs.
- Keep dog’s environment disinfected
- Keep the area free of mosquitoes
- Vaccinate the dog for heart worm disease
Treatment for Heart worm disease in dogs
If your dog is infected with heart worms and a diagnosis is made only a licensed veterinary is able to treat it, there are drugs available for treating the disease and they are very strong and dangerous to be self administered, the treatment is also very painful for your dog. If your pet has contracted this dog disease it is best to leave its treatment to a qualified and trusted vet, who can help your dog and give it a long and healthy life.
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