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A Comprehensive Guide to Parasites in Dogs and Treatment Options

While our loving and active dogs are running through the park or snuggling up next to us on the sofa at night, they could also be playing host to a series of parasites.

By MaddyPublished 3 years ago 6 min read
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While our loving and active dogs are running through the park or snuggling up next to us on the sofa at night, they could also be playing host to a series of parasites. The particularly worrying thing about a parasite infestation is the fact that symptoms can go undetected for a prolonged period of time.

Just as we have gotten used to taking our dogs for a walk everyday or sending them off to the groomers for regular appointments, we need to also schedule time for regular parasite treatments. Yet, every dog owner will tell you that the cost of these treatments combined with their oversaturation in the market, makes this task tricky.

However, in order to protect our pets and provide them with the highest quality of care possible, shopping for these treatments is a necessary evil. At the end of the day, providing our beloved pooches with these parasite treatments is just another component in the ever growing dog owner manual.

The cost of owning a dog

When looking to buy a dog, there are many positives and negatives to consider. Of course dogs provide endless love and fun. However, owning a dog can be a costly exercise. Before making any commitments, it's important to consider whether or not you can provide the dog with the best care possible. Providing this care is often dependent on money.

With this in mind, it’s important to note that owning a dog incurs both upfront and ongoing costs. The overall cost of dog ownership will depend on a variety of factors ranging from the dog’s breed and size to its age and predisposition to illnesses. Research suggests that, in most cases, this cost is around $910 per year.

Upfront costs include:

  • Beds or kennels
  • Car restraints, collar, leash or harness
  • Food and bowls
  • Toys and treats
  • Puppy vaccinations
  • Dog training
  • Desexing and microchipping
  • Council registration
  • Parasite treatments

Examples of ongoing costs include:

  • Annual vaccinations
  • Vet check ups
  • Food
  • Grooming
  • Toys and treats
  • Parasite treatments

Parasites to protect your dog from

Parasite treatment is both an upfront and ongoing cost of dog ownership. This is because protecting dogs from things like fleas, worms and ticks is paramount to their overall health and wellbeing.

With so many parasites able to do harm to our pooches, it's never been more important to invest in regular treatment options. This way, dogs can run through the yard or go for a swim without becoming infested by fleas, ticks, heartworm, lungworm and even intestinal worms.

Fleas

Seen often in warm and humid areas, a flea bite can cause varying levels of distress in dogs. Not only can a flea bite cause itching and biting, it can also cause your dog to develop hypersensitivity or even an ongoing allergy.

Worryingly, fleas can also play host to tapeworms. This means that if your dog was to find a tapeworm on their skin left by the flea and eat it, they would also be dealing with a tapeworm infection.

Ticks

It’s worth mentioning straight away that ticks bites can be deadly. This particular tick bite, known as a paralysis tick, is evident mainly in spring and summer and is often found in long grass and dense bush.

Heartworm

Heartworm is a condition that can affect the health and safety of both indoor and outdoor pets. This particularly nasty parasite is typically transmitted through mosquitoes and their bites.

Lungworm

Lungworm larvae have the potential to be very dangerous. Present in slugs and snails, dogs who happen to digest this larvae can cause harm to their lungs. This subsequently makes breathing very difficult.

Intestinal worms

Intestinal worms and the subsequent worm infestations can be fatal to dogs. This is because intestinal worms can infect dogs with everything from hookworm and roundworms to whipworms and tapeworms.

This type of infestation causes dogs to have bouts of diarrhoea and suffer from things like bloody stools, weight loss, anemia and dry hair. It’s also characterised by the dog having a generally poor or sickly appearance.

Treatment options

Reading about parasite infestations is enough to have dog owners everywhere running out to purchase tablets, spot treatments and even collars. Anything to protect our dogs. However, purchasing treatment options can in itself be very stressful, let alone costly.

In fact, it’s estimated that, in some cases, the average price per treatment for a dog's flea, tick and worm control is around $322. This isn’t hard to believe considering that the market is saturated with treatment options from single products to combination treatments.

Tablets

Tablets or chews are an effective treatment option. However, today’s dogs are savvy enough to spit out the tablet. My two border collies love to swim so products like spot treatments just aren’t viable options as they can lose effectiveness when exposed to water.

Instead of giving up on treatment, I like to get creative. Sometimes I will crush the tablets over their dinner for the night or squish the tablet into their chew treats. Thanks to this variety, my super smart pooches don’t cotton on.

Spot treatments

Spot treatments are a great option for dogs that always find a way to spit out tablets. However, spot treatments can pose a risk. As they are applied to the neck region, owners need to be careful not to pat the dog in this area, for the pooch’s and your own protection.

Dosage requirements

As previously stated, pet stores and vet clinics are full of parasite treatment options for dogs. This kind of variety makes choosing the best product for your dog’s needs especially tricky. For example, there are flea only treatments, flea and worm treatments except for heartworm and so on and so forth.

Choosing the right product and dosage comes down to you. If you religiously remember to treat your dog with parasite protection, an all in one product works great. However, if you find yourself skipping months, a flea and worm treatment might be best. Then you can see the vet for the yearly heartworm medication and have peace of mind that your dog is protected.

Protecting your pooch

Every dog owner shudders at the thought of their beloved pooch suffering from an illness or parasite infestation. However, choosing the right treatment product and knowing when to provide the dosage can feel a little overwhelming. To protect your dog it’s important not to bite off more than you can chew.

If your parasite treatment schedule is a little irregular, it wouldn’t hurt to get a vet involved. This way, your dog will be protected year round. On the other hand, if your treatment schedule is down to a fine art, providing treatments at home will probably be the best way to go.

While our pups can kick up a fuss come treatment time, spitting out tablets and refusing to be spot treated, we dog owners have to stand firm. A little bit of fuss is better than leaving our dogs susceptible to parasite infestations. At the end of the day, providing this treatment is just another part of the job, along with providing plenty of cuddles and pats of course!

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About the Creator

Maddy

Maddy has a journalism background and is an aspiring novelist. Proud dog mum to two border collies TJ and Max and has the ability to decipher any Taylor Swift song lyrics hidden meanings.

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