WHAT CAUSES HEARTWORMS IN DOGS (exotic pets) INFORMATION AND PREVENTION
No commentsBy Maral Heggemeier
Most all of us have heard about heartworms but many of us are unsure about what causes heartworms in dogs. We will discuss this issue and preventative treatment options that you can use to help your pet and save a few bucks in the process. You are smart enough to know that prevention is a lot cheaper than vet treatment after the fact.
Ill get straight to the point about what causes heartworms in dogs.
WHAT CAUSES HEARTWORMS IN DOGS
Heartworms are caused in our pets when our pets are bitten by mosquitoes which have become infected with heartworms from biting other infected animals. A number of animals can be host to heartworms. They include dogs, cats, wolves, coyotes, foxes, ferrets, sea lions and even humans. When the infected mosquito bites our pets the mosquito deposits larvae into the skin of our pets. The larvae are from the parasitic roundworm known as dirofilaria immitis. The larvae migrate to the heart and within 6 months they hatch or transform into worms that look like pieces of thread. The heartworms can be found in the chambers of the heart and in the two main arteries leading to the heart (Pulmonary artery and vena cava). From there they move to other parts of the body including the lungs and liver.
HEARTWORM SEASON
Heartworm season runs from one month before mosquito season until one month following mosquito season.
Many pet owners use a traditional veterinarian medicine to prevent and treat heartworms. Most of the common medications contain insecticides which kill off the larvae that are in our dogs bloodstream before they can become adult heartworms that really do the damage to our dogs.
SIDE EFFECTS FROM HEARTWORM PREVENTATIVE MEDICATIONS
Side effects from use of heartworm preventative medications include diarrhea, convulsions, vomiting and general tiredness or weakness. Your pets body recognizes the chemicals in the heartworm pills as poison and uses their immune systems to try and fight off what they see as foreign bodies. Therefore, when on these medications your pets will have weakened immune systems which allow your pet to get sick easier.
ALTERNATIVE PREVENTION FOR HEARTWORMS
Because many veterinarians now recognize that long term use of preventative medications can cause side effects in our pets many people are turning to alternative methods to prevent heartworms. The methods will help overall but you should discuss using them with your vet.
Provide a healthy diet. Many people are now avoiding commercial pet food and feeding their pets natural vegetables, fruits, and raw meat
Boost your pets immune system
Strengthen your pets heart and circulatory system
In areas where heartworms are prevalent think about regular de-worming
Black walnut extract and garlic are also being used as preventatives
Prevention is much cheaper than treatment at the vets office
In this economy nobody can afford to waste money on vet bills. Click on the links in the last paragraph and discover great home remedies to use for your pets that will allow you to save a bundle.
Are you making any of the classic pet treatment mistakes which will cause you to improperly treat dog heartworms? I hate to admit it but I have made most if not all of them myself. Find out what they are and how to avoid them by visiting http://www.catanddogcures.com right now before you do any serious harm to your pet. They are a member of the family also.
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Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 7:15 pm and is filed under pets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
