Here at Sunny Hills Veterinary Hospital, we truly believe in heartworm and parasite prevention. Because of our location, heartworm disease and parasites can be a big problem. Pet owners need to be educated about problems caused by these parasites and their prevention.
Heartworms
Heartworms are a big deal and, due to mosquitoes, they are common in our area. For this reason, our whole staff wants all of our dog owners to understand this often fatal disease and how it can easily be prevented.
Heartworms spend their entire lives in a dog’s heart though they don’t cause any problems until they are adults. At this point, they can be up to twelve inches long, which takes up a lot of space inside a dog’s heart. Sometimes, they have to migrate into the lungs too. Because of this, they cause lung disease and heart failure. When a dog is not treated, the disease is usually fatal.
Unfortunately, heartworm disease can be quite difficult to treat. The treatment is about as bad as the disease. When the adult worms are killed, they travel through a dog’s system. This often causes more problems than the dog had to begin with. Dogs going through treatment need to be watched closely, just in case. It is also possible that a dog may need to be treated more than once to get rid of all of the heartworms.
The only good thing about heartworms is that owners can easily prevent the disease. Heartworm prevention tablets should be given every month to prevent the disease. This is a chewable beef tablet and most dogs eat it just fine.
There is an added benefit of giving your pet the chewable tablets. They also treat for roundworms, hookworms, and other intestinal parasites. If your dog gets these parasites, they can easily be passed on to you and your family! Some are really bad for humans.
Since heartworms ares easily prevented, there is no reason for you to lose your dog over the disease. Preventiion is much simpler than the disease and the treatment. Save yourself the heartache and get your dog started on heartworm prevention today.
Your pet’s vet needs to perform a heartworm test before starting your pet on heartworm prevention. Don’t hesitate to call us if you have any questions about the disease or would like to schedule testing for your pet.
Fleas
Here at Sunny Hills Veterinary Hospital, we truly believe in the importance of flea and tick prevention for our patients.
When pets get fleas, they can be miserable. Fleas are very irritating. They cause your pet to bite, scratch, and dig at him or herself. An itchy pet will do this until he or she has lost hair, has raw skin, or even developed skin infections. However, this does not stop them. They are too itchy not to scratch! They just keep getting even more upset and irritated.
It can be even worse for some pets who are allergic to flea bites. Even if they only have one or two fleas on them, they still feel itchy and miserable.
Fleas are also a problem in your home. You can’t imagine how many fleas are in your home. You probably don’t want to know. They will infest your home quickly and easily. Even if you only see one or two fleas, there are a ton of immature and adult fleas in your home. It only takes one or two fleas to overpopulate a home.
Fleas like to live in dark and warm places. They are able to hide in your carpet, bedding, under your furniture, and lots of other places.
If your home is full of fleas, it is often difficult to get rid of them. You should start with sprays, bombs, and other things to treat your whole house. You also need to vacuum several times to try to get rid of the fleas. You must wash all of your bedding and anything else that your pet lays on in really hot water to help to destroy the fleas.
Ticks
We also have to worry about ticks in our area. These parasites live on blood. They suck blood out of our pets, the wildlife around us, and even us. Most dogs and cats do not get sick from a tick bite unless they happen to be allergic to them. When this happens, a pet may not be able to move around much until the tick is removed.
The bad thing about ticks is their ability to spread disease. Some common diseases that we see include Lyme Disease, Ehrlichia, and more. These diseases can be very harmful to your pets (and your family). Ehrlichiosis (commonly known as “Tick Fever”) is transmitted through ticks, and this disease can cause serious anemia and death if it is not treated.
We offer flea and tick preventatives to protect your pets. These need to be given every month and all year round to get the best results.
Intestinal Parasites
Here at Sunny Hills Veterinary Hospital, we offer intestinal parasite screenings and dewormings. Intestinal parasites not only hurt your pets but also can cause damage to you and your family as well; therefore, it is very important to us to offer intestinal parasite screening and routine deworming for your pet.
Intestinal parasites often make pets hungry. Many suffer from diarrhea and even vomiting. They can’t gain or maintain weight because the parasites are using all of the food the pets eat to grow and cause more damage.
Intestinal parasites can do the same damage to the human body. Some forms can even cause blindness in children, so it is important to check your pets for parasites routinely and deworm them regularly. It is for your own health too!
With a simple stool sample, we are able to screen for parasites so that we can deworm patients with the best dewormer. Every dewormer targets different parasites, which is why screening is so important. There are times when we deworm pets regularly, just to keep them and their owners safe.
If you have any questions about heartworm and parasite screenings and prevention, don’t hesitate to contact us here at (714) 526-4694.