First off, heartworms live just about all over North America, so if you and your pet live, or visit North America, there is a chance your pet could contract heartworm disease. In the past, the disease was confined only to the southern most parts of the United States of America. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case as the disease as rapidly spread across the entire continent and even into the southern parts of Canada. Heartworm is transmitted via mosquitoes, so this parasite can travel rapidly and easily across large stretches of land. It’s even gaining a foothold in South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. So even if there isn’t a high incidence of heartworm disease in your country yet, because of the nature of technology and travel today you could be seeing the disease in your area very soon. So you might want to speak to a vet soon about getting your dog heartworm medicine, because the disease is so prevalent across the globe.

Let’s say you haven’t given your dog heartworm medicine, is he in danger of contracting the disease? Anywhere there are mosquitoes, there is the potential for this parasite to spread. If your dog gets bitten by a mosquito carrying heartworm disease, the larvae are transferred into your pet’s bloodstream where they begin to incubate. At this point, it’s difficult to tell if a dog has been infected with heartworm disease, as symptoms don’t become visible for at least 6-7 months (this is known as the “prepatent period”). Once the disease has firmly gained a foothold into your pet’s body, your doggy’s health is now in danger. That’s why it’s important to prevent the disease, rather than treat it, and giving your dog heartworm medicine is the best way to prevent this deadly disease.

If your dog is diagnosed with the disease, your vet will most likely indicate that treatment is needed. If the disease has been allowed to progress to this point, there may be heart, liver, or kidney damage and your vet will have to evaluate their health to see if there are any risks to treating the disease at this point. After your dog has been treated, the worms will be dead but still present in your pet’s heart. Your dog will need to rest for several weeks, because the worms could potentially break loose if your dog is physically active. This can be extremely dangerous, especially if the worm travels to a critical part of their body (such as the lungs).

This disease is so difficult to detect because of the 6 month long prepatent period while the worms mature. Speak to your vet about giving your dog heartworm medicine, because the risks are so great. A little bit of preventative medicine could save you thousands of dollars in vet bills treating the disease, or even worse, your pet could die.

Linda is an experienced veterinarian who recommends that every owner give their dog Heartworm Medicine.

Runny nose and itchy eyes, most people have experienced allergies in their lives, whether it is to pollen, house dust mites or cat hair. But did you know that, just like you, your dog can also suffer from allergies? As a matter of fact, dogs can even have similar allergies to humans.

Canine allergies will mostly make your dog is scratching like crazy, leading to open sores. If the allergy stays and the dog keeps scratching, those open sores can become infected, causing bad odors and lots of pain. Allergy symptoms also include vomiting, diarrhea and ear infections. While some breeds are more prone to developing allergies, all dogs are susceptible and it is important to look out for allergy symptoms before they develop into infections.

There are several allergens that can cause dogs allergies, which include fleas, pollen, dust mites and even dog food.

CANINE ALLERGIES TO FLEAS

One of the most common cause of canine allergies is flea allergy dermatitis, where the dog becomes allergic to the saliva of the flea. When the dog has flea allergies, it takes as little as one flea bite to send to the dog to a sudden burst of itchiness, and the dog starts frantically scratching and chewing its skin. This scratching and chewing can lead to open sores and more severe skin infections.

If you suspect your dog of having flea allergy, take some steps to determine and make sure that it is canine allergies to fleas. Look for fleas, severe itching symptoms, biting or chewing around the tail, the legs and the rump and oozing skin sores caused by scratching, biting and chewing.

Of course, preventive care is the best way to prevent canine allergies to fleas. But if your dog has fleas, you will need to treat your dog for fleas, using either flea collars, pills, vaccines, shampoos, sprays and a wide range of other products your vet can tell you about. Remember that the war to fleas also extends to the dog’s environment, including where your dog sleeps, any cracks in floors, the car seats, etc.

Then if the scratching and biting have caused open lesions, you will need to treat the secondary skin infections, using products such as antibiotics or antifungals as determined by the gravity of the open sores and infections.

Then, you need to stop the itching. You can use topical steroidal creams to help reduce or stop the itching, and give time to the skin to heal.

DOG FOOD ALLERGIES

Unlike canine allergies to fleas, dog allergies to food is not as common and can start at any age. Canine allergies to food are more difficult to ascertain and it is believed that food allergies can happen with a brand or type of food the dog has been fed for a long time. Beef, chicken, eggs, fish and milk are the most common causes of food allergy in dogs.

If you suspect your dog of having food allergies, look out for symptoms such as foul skin odors, lots of scratching around the face, ears infections, open lesions caused by severe scratching, biting the chewing, and, sometimes, onsets of diarrhea or vomiting.

To treat canine allergies to food, give your dog special diets low in allergens, or diets free of the ingredients your dog is intolerant to. Similarly to other allergies, you will need to treat your dog for skin infections as needed, using antibiotics or antifungals.

While some brands have specialized hypoallergenic food, with ingredients such as lamb, rice, fish, potatoes or venison, many veterinarians simply recommend to home cooked food diets. Finding a diet or a new type of brand your dog will not be allergic to can be difficult. It often consists of tries and errors, by giving the dog new food until all the symptoms disappear, which mean you found the perfect diet. Unfortunately, nothing can assure you that, after another few years, the dog will not develop another allergy to the new diet.

ATOPY ALLERGIES

Atopy allergies are also known as canine allergies to inhalants, which are substances found in the air and that the dog inhale everyday. These irritants can be seasonal, such as pollen or ragweed, or all year-round, such as house dust mites. Unlike humans, dogs allergy atopic symptoms manifest through itchy skin, frantic scratching, chewing and biting, which can quickly lead to oozing skin infections.

There are no cure to canine allergies to inhalants, but, fortunately, there are several products available to help relieve some the allergy symptoms. Antihistamines are good to treat atopy symptoms, but the best solution remains avoiding the allergens (vaccuum the house more often, get rid of the carpets, shorten the walks when it is pollen season). Bathing your dog with shampoo containing aloe vera is a healthy option an a good option to help reduce the itchiness until the allergy discomfort diminishes. If you wish to learn more about treatments, read our post Dog Flea Treatment.

For more information, visit Heartworm Medicine.

picture credit musicienne

How do I tell they have fleas?

First sign would be if your dog is scratching and biting itself, especially around their head and tail. They may develop bald spots in their fur due to scratching, as well as their skin getting irritated from the bites. You aren’t immune either, the fleas may spread to the furniture, your clothes, and you. Flea bites often show up as small bumps and an itching rash.

Effective Dog Flea Treatment

As they say, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Keep a close eye on your canine, especially during the summer and early fall, this is flea season. Give your pet a bath on a regular basis, at least once every week to 2 weeks. This should help to wash away any fleas that have gained a foothold and laid eggs.

Consider getting a flea collar as well, they’re one of the oldest, most effective ways to prevent fleas. Additionally, they’re available at just about any pet store. Just be sure to pick the right one for your dog by reading the instructions carefully.

Chemical Dog Flea Treatment

There are a wide range of chemical dog flea treatment options available, which include anything from topical medications, drops and sprays, and creams, to oral medications. Ask your veterinarian about some of the most common brands, such as Frontline, Advantage, and Sentinel. They are all highly effective treatment methods.

Once you begin treating your pet for fleas, remember that the fleas aren’t just hiding on your pet. They’re hiding all around you, in your carpeting, your furniture, your bedding, and your clothes. Effective treatment includes treating all these high rish areas to be sure that you don’t get a resurgence.

Don’t attempt to purchase these dog flea treatments on your own, instead be sure to consult a veterinarian. They will inform you of the different options in treatment available, and make a safe choice based on your dog’s weight, age, and history.

Herbal Treatments

One of the oldest and most effective “natural” ways to prevent fleas  is to add a bit of garlic to your pet’s meals. This is a time tested means. A little sulphur, or black walnut hulls (available in many health food stores) will not only help with fleas, but other pests such as ticks and mosquitos. These are all slow acting solutions that can take a month or 2 to notice any effect. You can also read our post about natural flea repellent to find more information about natural ways to fight fleas.

To learn more about dog flea treatment and other infestations in dogs, visit Heartworm Medicine.

1. Make sure that your dog fur is groomed accordingly to the time of the year. During cold seasons, winter and fall, let the hair grow long, but as soon as warmer seasons arrive, bring your dog to the groomer to trim their fur. Would you like to wear a winter coat all summer long? So doesn’t your dog!

2. Provide your pet with a comfy environment in the house. The dog’s room should not be higher than 77-80 F. If it is too hot for you, then it is too hot for you puppy as well! If it is a very hot summer day, put a little fan near the dog’s sleeping area. You can even use a cool wet cloth in front of the fan to cool down the area by a few degrees.

3. If your dog is spending some day outside on a hot day, make sure that there are cool shaded areas for the dog to rest. Also make to have on hand some cool water for the dog to avoid dehydration.

4. Check you dog’s water bowl. Make sure the bowl is at least half full at all time. Even in the shade, the water in the bowl can become warm, so check the temperature of the water every few hours.

5. Even on hot day, you will still need to give you dog its exercise. However, avoid long walks, exercicing and playing at the park with other dogs in the middle of the day. Opt for early hours, when the temperatures are cooler and the sun less strong. Bring a cool bottle of water and a bowl so the dog can drink after playing.

6. Summer is bugs season. Protect your dog against fleas, ticks and worms by vaccinating them or using specialized anti-bugs products. Remember that fleas and worm infestation can be dangerous for your dog, but the worms or the disease they carry can often also be transmissible to their owner. Heartworm disease is also a pest that affects canines. It is spread through mosquito bites and can be prevented using preventive medication.

7. We will never say it often enough. Do not leave your dog in the car on a hot day during long period of times. If you have to run a quick 5 minutes errand at the pharmacy, make sure to leave the window slightly open and to park the car in a shaded area.

8. Do not attach your dog to a pole, with no or insufficient protection against the sun. If you are going to have lunch or a coffee, make sure that the dog will have a shaded area where to hide from the sun. And remember that sun will move in the sky, so a shaded area could potentially become a dangerously exposed area in the hot summer sun.

Dogs, just like humans, can suffer from heat exhaustion and heat strokes. So take the all the necessary protection for your dogs during summer.

For more information, visit Heartworm Medicine.

First, make sure to wash puppy’s blanket every week and to keep it’s immediate environment clean. Avoid using a reed basket or a thick cloth mattress that can’t be easily washed. Just like rugs and carpets, they are cozy little nests for bugs, and nightmares for the owners and their little companion.

Second, when “fleas hunting”, make sure to put a lot of emphasis of the carpets, the cracks in the floor, the bottom of the curtains, the covering of fabric couches and the bottom of furniture, which are all favorite fleas hiding spots. During spring or summer time, steam clean your carpeting to kill and destroy any hidden parasites.

Third, use special products to treat your dog’s environment. We suggest you can make you own natural flea repellent mixture with 15 drops of tea tree oil, 5 drops of lavandin super oil, 5 drops of cannelier de Ceylan oil, 10 drops of vervain oil, and spray it in the dog’s basket, on the ground, where the dog likes to lie down, on cushions and on the bottom of curtains.

Moreover, you can also use some natural flee repellent such as lavender or cedar potpourri near the dog’s bedding, or under the dog’s blanket. This will keep the bugs away and smell good! You can also use add some neem oil in the dog’s shampoo to kill the fleas.

Fleas also enjoy a nice garden or big yard with grass. If you have a garden, make sure to keep the grass short and to trip the bushes as often as possible. This will allow the sun to burn off the flea larvae. Keep your garden clean as heaps of grass, dead leafs and branches can also attract ticks.

In case of a flea problem, ants in your garden can be an asset. Those ants will feed on the flea larvea and eggs. Where you dog likes to lie down, clean off the dead branches and leafs, and put a dark plastic cover. The heat will kill off any flea larvea. You can also spread some diatomaceous earth, also known as diatomite or kieselgur a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that can be used as natural flea repellent.

For more information, visit Heartworm Medicine.

While ticks and fleas season used to happen in summer, this is now a recurrent problem for most of the year, making flea and tick control for dogs more difficult.

Fleas
It is very important to treat your dog if he has fleas. Untreated dogs can suffer from dermatological problems linked to flea bites and allergies to the saliva of the fleas, causing the dog to scratch, and even, in bad cases, infected injuries in weaker animals. Also, some dog worms can be transmitted through flea bites. This is why it is best to also use an anti-worm treatment when your dog is infested with fleas.

But getting rid of the fleas on your dog alone does always solve the overall flea problem. Not only treating your dog is essential, but it is also important to treat the dog’s environment as well, including the house, the dog’s bed, the garage, the cars. Bear in mind that fleas can lay up to 25 eggs, and that the offspring will start laying eggs within 20 days. Moreover, some stages of the flea reproductive cycle can survive many years in a non treated house.

When treating your animal against fleas, give them and the house a first full anti-fleas treatment. To avoid recurrence, it would be wise to treat your dog every month for a full year.

Ticks
Ticks pose a threat to both dogs and humans. Usually found in the forests, ticks can be dangerous because they can transmit Lyme disease, a disease which can infect both humans and dogs. Fortunately, Lyme disease is a very uncommon disease.

Prevention is the key
An effective and popular flea and tick control for dogs is usually external, such as sprays or spot-on. More and more, people opt to use spot-on because they are easy to use and some products can be used against a wider range of parasites, such as mosquitoes. Those spot-on are effective and non messy, making them a number choice among many dog owners. However, if you dog has long hair, a spot-on may fully protect the dog and it is then recommended to also use sprays.

Vaccination is also a good way to protect you dog against piroplasmosis and Lyme disease. If you decide to venture in the woods with your dog, use insects repellers.

Remember the importance of protection your dog against bugs and diseases. By doing so, you will keep your dog healthier, cut back on vet bills and of course, add a few more precious year to its life.

For more information about dog diseases and more, visit Heartworm Medicine.

Pets are often considered as a member of the family. A dog or a cat can bring a lot of joy in anyone’s life. And as for any member of our family, we wish to keep out pets healthy and away from fleas, ticks, hookworms and roundworms and of course, heartworms.

Heartworms are worms that mostly infect dogs and, at a lesser extent, cats. Heartworm larvae is spread through mosquito bites, from dogs to dogs. The symptoms of heartworms on your dog can vary a lot between dogs. While some dogs will show no symptoms, other dogs will show significant health deterioration, that can lead to heart failure due to to a large number heartworms in the heart and arteries of the dog. Number of veterinary drugs can prevent heartworm infection.

How can heartworm medicine help

Heartworm medicine such as ivermectin are extremely effective and when regularly administered, they will protect more than 99 percent of dogs and cats from heartworm. You can talk to your veterinarian to learn more about heartworms.

Keep your dog healthy, prevent fleas, roundworms, hookworms, dog ticks and heartworms in dogs using heartworm medicine.

Heartworm medicine, are successful at 99%. The medication will kill adult worms with the help of an adulticide and larvae (microfilariae) with the help of a microfilaricide.  At your dog next visit to the vetenerian, don’t forget to ask about heartworms.

Heartworm medicationhave to be effective in killing heatworms (adults and larvae) with minimal side effects to the dog.  Treatments against the parasite tend to be more successful in dogs showing low to moderate symptoms. This is why the use of heartworm medicine such as ivermectin or selamectin is usually recommended.

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Show you dog love, treat your dog with heartworm medicine.

]]> http://www.heartwormmedicine.org/heartworm-medicine-and-medication/feed/ 0 http://www.heartwormmedicine.org/heartworm-medicine/ http://www.heartwormmedicine.org/heartworm-medicine/#comments Tue, 05 May 2009 16:17:50 +0000 healthy-dog http://www.heartwormmedicine.org/?p=353 It is very important to care about the health of your pet. Remember that your pet is like a member of your family.

Show you dog love, treat your dog with heartworm medicine.

The company developing Heartgard For Dogs and Heartgard Plus For Dogs is Merial, a world leading animal health company based in the United Kingdom. Merial was founded in 1997, from the merge of two world-wild known animal health businesses – Merck and Co., Inc. and Rhone Merieux, a predecessor to sanofi-aventis. To this date, this heartworm medication is among the most prescribed heartworm preventative oral medication.
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How Heartgard For Dogs and Heartgard Plus For Dogs works.
The active ingredient in Heartgard acting as a heartworm medicine against Dirofilaria immitis is “ivermectin”. This heartworm medication works in two steps. First, it prevents as much as possible the presence of the parasite in the host animal. Then it eliminates the tissue stage of the parasite, blocking later development of more damaging and harmful stages.
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Heartgard Plus For Dogs includes an additional ingredient called pyrantel pamaote, which is an anthelmintic, a drug that control roundworms and hookworms by expelling the parasites of the host animal body by killing them.
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Heartgard For Dogs and Heartgard Plus For Dogs both come in beef flavor chewable or monthly tablets. This heartworm medicine is approved for all dogs over the age of six weeks. Heartgard For Dogs and Heartgard Plus For Dogs come in different doses for different size of dogs, so make sure you check the label when purchasing this heartworm medicine, to ensure giving your dog the right dosage. Collies and some other breeds that are sensitive to ivermectin can also use this product, as the heartworm medication comes in doses much lower than the dose needed to cause side effects to the host animal.
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It is important that, before treating your dog with Heartgard For Dogs or Heartgard Plus For Dogs, you get your animal tested for preexisting heartworm infection conditions, as Heartgard For Dogs and Heartgard Plus For Dogs should not be used on infected dogs. It is highly recommended to treat infected dogs with other means, and to use Heartgard For Dogs and Heartgard Plus For Dogs only as a preventative program.
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Heartgard For Cats
Heartgard for cats is also available in chewable tablets. Heartgard for cats will help remove and control heartworms, but also hookworms. The drug is recommended for use in all cats over 6 weeks of age. Heartgard for cats can be safely given to cats already infected with heartworms.
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IMPORTANT: The dosage of Heartgard For Dogs and Heartgard Plus For Dogs
Heartgard For Dogs and Heartgard Plus For Dogs (and for cats) must be given proportionnally to the weight of the animal. It is important not to go beyond the recommended dosage, as this can lead to important adverse reactions, including blindness or even death. Heartgard is available through liscensed veterinary only and is approved by the U.S. FDA as well as the Environmental Protection Agency.
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Treat your dog with heartworm medicine.