Maybe you have heard the old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Benjamin Franklin was giving some fire fighting advice but he may as well been speaking to pet owners and the care of their dogs. This runs specifically true in terms of heartworms in dogs. Learning how to prevent heartworms will be much easier on your wallet than spending a ton of cash trying to remove this parasite once it’s infected your beloved pet.

It is essential to be aware that heartworms are only transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquitoes. There has been reported cases of heartworms in dogs reported in all 50 states of America as well as almost every country on earth. Some veterinarians have told pet keepers to not worry as they quite simply are in low risk areas however you should still be wary that there is a chance your furry friend could possibly get this disease.

About seven months after the dog has become infected, the larvae will grow into a full adult worm. This means they get dangerous and begin to move. The worm will take up residence inside the heart, lungs and surrounding blood vessels of the dog. At this point they are going to reproduce in large numbers. Some reported cases have experienced approximately two hundred and fifty worms living inside of of just one animal.

It’s actually not all bad news however. Individuals are at a very low risk to be infected with this worm. Even in cases where a person has got this parasite inside them, the worms are unable to fully mature in humans so they’re not going to get to the stage where they reproduce. What can happen is the development of a tiny lesion inside the lungs of the person infected. This could look like a tumor but it is not.

Finding information about heartworms in dogs on the web

Your first question may be; can one dog within my household infect my other pets? The simple answer is no, this could not occur. Infected mosquitoes are the only way an animal will get heartworms. Even though an infected dog is bitten by an uninfected mosquito after which sequentially that mosquito bit another pet the disease would not be transmitted. Your second pet isn’t in peril as the newly infected mosquito will not be a carrier of the disease until after an incubation period of the parasite.

Heartworms in dogs is not something that you should ignore. If you don’t treat the animal which has been infected, that animal can die. And prevention can be quite economical with a years supply of medicine costing around 35 to 80 dollars based on the size of your pet dog.

Curing heartworms is not simple

The treatment of heartworms in dogs is crazy. You will spend a ton of money doing away with the parasite when by spending a little in the way of prevention could save all of that hassle. Also, with all the new medicines to fight this disease, in addition, they alleviate problems with roundworms, whipworms, and/or tapeworms. Overall you can be better off and also have the companionship of one’s dog for quite some time in the future.

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Filed under: Pets Advice

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