Protect Your Dog From Heartworm

Author: Marc Entz

Dog heartworm is a common disease among canines in the United States. Discovered in 1856, the worms mainly live in your dog's heart and major blood vessels.

The worms, especially in the worst cases, seriously impair the heart's operations. Even worse, they could also clog your dog's blood vessels. These infections result in body weight losses, chronic cough, dropsy, breath shortness, chronic heart failure, vision disturbances, and ultimately, death.

To help you see early symptoms and to hopefully save your dog, look out for these signs:

- Dogs that would have been otherwise healthy usually gasp for breath.

- Coughing of your dog has suddenly become a common occurrence.

- Dogs bred for hunting can no longer keep up with rapid chases and usually fall from exhaustion.

- In some rare instances, the dog experiences convulsions, jaundice, and problems in the vision.

Can heartworm infection be treated?

Heartworm infection can be treated through chemical therapy if diagnosed early. Most of the chemical treatments kill the worms over some period of time. Killing all the worms in one swoop is not better: If all the heartworms were killed in just one treatment, the dead bodies would deposit in the lungs and kill the dog.

Remember also that the chemicals used in treating the worms are also as dangerous to your dog as the worms. That is why treating the disease using chemical therapy should be used with utmost care and should be handled by a veterinarian.

There are also cases when surgery is needed. In most cases, this could be a feasible option. Consult with the veterinarian if surgical correction or any other method can cure the infection.

There are also drugs that prevent your dog from getting heartworms. These drugs attack the parasite in its early stages and stop the worms from being full-blown adults later. This doesn't mean that your dog would be free from infection. This only means that dogs can still get infected during the season of mosquitoes and yet remain unscathed of heartworms.

Preventative medication using drugs, on the other hand, can cause serious complications if your dog has already heartworm infections in a higher level. That is why the use of drugs should be under the supervision of veterinarians. Taking drugs should be also combined with regular blood tests. This has shown to be very effective in saving many dogs with heartworm infection.

In order for your dog to avoid heartworm infection, protect your pet from mosquito bites if there is a high mosquito population in your area or if it is mosquito season. You might want to screen the sleeping quarters of your dogs to avoid repeated bites. Repellent sprays can also be used, but these only have limited effects.

You might also want to consult your veterinarian for preventive medication. In addition, you might want regular blood tests on your dog to assess early symptoms of infection. This is quite tricky, especially because the symptoms of heartworm infection can not be seen immediately.

In short, your pet dog which looks healthy may be having early symptoms of heartworm infection. It would be best that you have your dog checked on a periodic basis.

About the author: Marc Entz writes for InterMarket Publications.

Dogs have been in the family for many years. Read articles about obedience training and selecting a dog breeder at http://www.dog-training.usdsavers.com