Dog Parasites
Parasitic diseases from which our pets suffer are real diseases, often tragic in their consequences. Have you ever thought of lice infestations as a disease, hookworms, or management? Fortunately, these are the easiest diseases to manage, and the cure is only half of the job; the important part is to prevent re-infestation. For this reason, every pet owner should know, in a general way, the life history of all of the common parasites.
There are so many misconceptions about parasites the damage they do and the symptoms indicating their presence that it is perhaps best to begin by pointing out a few of the things they do not cause. The facts should make you suspicious of the suggestions of uninformed neighbors and friends who will almost invariably insist that your dog if it is out of sorts for any reason whatever, needs deworming or “worm-in,” as they usually put it. Perhaps it does. And then again, perhaps it doesn’t. A well-meaning neighbor’s diagnosis is rarely conclusive. A simple test will shed light on the question. Intestinal worms, external parasites, or heartworms do not cause the temperature to rise. Don’t your dog simply because it shows signs of not feeling well, especially if it has a fever. Find out first what is wrong. It will only complicate matters to dose your dog with something it doesn’t need just because a friend’s dog benefited from deworming.
If your dog rides around on its hind quarters, pulling its body with the front legs, don’t accept some volunteer adviser’s word that this is a sure sign of worms. It is not. The chances are good that your dog is trying to express the accumulations in the anal glands or that they are aitches.
When your dog has a cough, that in itself is not necessarily a sign that there are worms. Nor when it scratches or becomes bald, or cats odd foods, even sticks and stones, or has a bad disposition, or whines, or produced a toxic chemical. But now that the cause is known, manufacturers use flour that will not produce suds troubles. It is still true, however, that dog biscuits, if fed in too large amounts, are constipating especially when they are supplemented only with meat and bones. The claim is often made that dog biscuits are essential for good teeth. This is not true. Teeth are made from the inside, not by rubbing the outside, although chewing hard foods may remove a certain amount of tartar. We have had several very old dogs with beautiful good teeth though they have never eaten anything but mushy food. Frequently dogs are made overweight by the constant feeding of dog biscuits between meals. These pathetic creatures canine “five-by-fives” are the victims of their owners’ indulgence or ignorance or lack of willpower. They can’t say no when a dog begs, and the easiest thing is to hand their pet a dog biscuit.
Biscuits have their place but should be used sparingly, as treats. Because FIFO begs for it is no more indication that she needs a biscuit than a child’s teasing for a lollipop are indication he or she should have one. Both biscuits and lollipops, when givers more than occasionally, spoil the appetite for more complete foods essential for health.
Dry Foods. During World War II some manufacturers dehydrated mixtures of wet dog foods because tin cans were not available and sold the new product in cardboard containers. When water was mixed with this food the resulting mixture was much like the canned dog foods, except that it contained less meat and more cereals. Many dogs thrive on these truly dehydrated foods.
But before, during, and since World War II, other dog foods, made by mixing separately dehydrated ingredients, have been available. These have come to be known as dry foods. They usually consist of approximately half cereal ingredients and half foods of dog origin. The cereals may be corn flakes, wheat flakes, bread meal, soybeans meal, or peanut meal. Such mixtures often include raw cereal products, such as middling’s and cheap flour, and some manufacturers who make dog biscuits include the crumbs of brokers’ biscuits in the mix. The products of dog origin may be meat scrap, fish m.1, liver meal, mixtures of organs dehydrated, skim milk powder, and other such items. Vitamins and minerals are added to make doubly sure that every known dietary essential is included in the food mixture.
Dry dog foods are usually called “complete foods.” All they require is the addition of water. Even though dogs will thrive on them, most are low in fat content, seldom having over 4 percent. As we have seen, a balanced diet requires approximately zoo percent fat. The wise dog owner buys dry food, melts any wholesome edible fat used lard, margarine, chicken fat, roasting fat, bacon drippings, or fat skimmed from the soup kettle, and mixes it with the dry food. Housedogs should not be fed a richer mixture than one part fat to four parts of dry food. In the average household, there is usually enough fat leftover from cooking to furnish all the dog’s needs and relishes. It is not essential to the digestion of dry dog foods to add this fat, but it makes for good nutrition, economy, and palatability. if you are feeding a new dry dog food, add fat to it and mix it with milk and water. Then you can be sure that the dog had every essential.
Semi-moist Foods. In recent years the semi-moist chewy foods pre-pared to resemble hamburgers or chunks of meat have gained justified prominence in the dog food world. They are palatable, nourishing, and convenient. No cans, can openers, or containers to mix food with water are necessary. Just open a package and give the ingredients to the dog. This type of food has been unjustifiably criticized, however, for the high amounts of sugar used as a preservative.
Since the advent of semi-moist foods, many dogs have been fed this exclusively with no ill effects, even when raising litters of puppies. They are more expensive than dehydrated foods but are a satisfactory solution for feeding smaller pets.
Do hugs in dog food cause worms? Are they poisonous to dogs? These are frequently asked questions. The answer to both is no. Inquiry into the natural food of foxes, coyotes, and other doglike dog indicates that bugs are often eaten from preference. All the meal bugs and larvae are harmless.
Custodies are the fiat worms, such as the tapeworm, and are common in dogs. The flea is the intermediate host of the most common member of this group, followed by the rabbit tapeworm. Fish, pork, and beef all may infect dogs with tapeworms common to each. The telltale segments of the worms may be observed on stools or clinging to the hair around the anus.
Protozoa are one-celled organisms that, among other diseases, cause amoebic dysentery in humans and dogs, and another dog. Amoebas are passed around to other dogs in stools. Coccidia and Guardia arc additional examples.
Nematodes include parasites such as roundworms, hookworms, and Gandhi. Nematodes, too, are spread through stool – a dog ingests eggs found in the feces of another infected dog.
Arthropods are minute parasites spread by close surface contact. An example is narcotic mange, which can affect the pet owner as well as the pet. Arthropods are microscopic and are diagnosed by identifying the parasite under the microscope from a skin scraping.
See more: Dog Parvivoral Gastroenteritis
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