Pet Sweaters

Maybe you have heard that old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Benjamin Franklin was giving some fire fighting advice but he might as well been talking with pet owners and the care of their dogs. When the topic is heartworms in dogs, this advice is very important. Prevention is notably cheaper compared to the cure and here is what you need to know.

Only the bite of the infected mosquito can actually transmit this parasite to your dog. All 50 states in the usa and quite a few countries all over the world experienced reported cases. Even areas where before many veterinarians would swear you can find virtually no chance of having your pets infected, the pure simple truth is, where you will discover mosquitoes, there is a probability of heartworms.

Once an animal is infected it takes about seven months for the larvae to grow into mature adults. The final resting spot for any heartworm is within the animal’s lungs, its heart or surrounding blood tissue. This is when they are going to burrow in and make a home for themselves. At this time they’re going to reproduce in large numbers. There are many cases where a dog has over 250 worms in its system.

Fortunately that there have been almost no cases of heartworms in people. Heartworms can’t reach the mature stage in their lifecycle within people. Because of this, they don’t reproduce. When detected, something which resembles a tumor will likely be present in a person’s lungs. The fact is that it’s really a small lesion.

Finding information about heartworms in dogs on the web

Your first question is likely to be; can one dog inside my household infect my other pets? The simple answer is no, this will not occur. Infected mosquitoes are the only method an animal will get heartworms. If the dog is infected and it is bitten by the mosquito which in turn bites another animal, your dog is safe. The other animal will not be infected from the now heartworm carrying insect. There is an incubation period inside the insect once infected. Because of this, your second animal is safe before the mosquito actually becomes a carrier of the parasite.

Your beloved pet can die from heartworms. It’s not something that should be forgotten about and not taken care of. And prevention is extremely economical with a years supply of medicine costing somewhere around 35 to 80 dollars depending on the size of your pet.

Curing heartworms in cats is not easy

While the expense of curing heartworms in dogs is expensive, just a small amount of care and prevention will keep your pet healthy for countless years into the future. Another benefit from prevention is the fact that current medicines also alleviate problems with whipworms, roundworms, and/or tapeworms. All this prevention in one treatment. A small price to pay for a healthy dog.