Ticks and fleas and worms – just the thought of them can make your skin crawl.
Yet, if you have a pet in your home, you have to face the real possibility that you might be hosting these little parasites, too. Fortunately, there are measure and medicines to prevent these tiny terrors from wreaking havoc on your pet – and your home.
The most common pet parasites are:
Fleas – These tiny pests cause skin infections, hair loss, anemia and tapeworm. Because they are so hard to see, you usually will identify a flea problem when your puppy starts scratching or when you spot flea residue - which looks like specks of pepper - on furniture and bedding.
Fleas are easy to pick up outdoors or from another animal. Once on your dog, they are difficult to eliminate because of their sheer number. A single female will drop up to 300 eggs each week – eggs that will end up on bedding, carpet, furniture, yard … anywhere your dog goes. In fact, the fleas on your puppy are only about 5 percent of the total population – the rest are lurking throughout the home. Even worse, just one of those microscopic flea eggs can launch an entire colony.
Ticks – These blood-sucking bugs carry different diseases depending upon your region of the country, most notably Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Your puppy can pick up a tick walking through tall grass or underbrush or rolling in leaves. The tick will crawl around on puppy’s body in search of a suitable spot to draw blood. Because of their small size, they often are hard to see at this stage, especially on dark- and long-coated pets. However, once the tick digs in and begins to feed, it become engorged and can actually be felt if you run your hands over your pet’s body. You should immediately remove the tick from your pet just as you would remove one from your own body.
Worms – The most dangerous of the parasites in this category are Heartworms, which are transmitted in larval stage by mosquito bite. Once in the dog’s bloodstream, the tiny creatures travel to the dog’s heart and take up residence, waiting to reproduce. Female heartworms bear live young. As the worms grow and multiply (adult heartworms can reach 12 inches in length), they infest the heart and lungs, causing cough, shortness of breath, and lethargy. By the time symptoms appear, your pet already is seriously ill. More than 250,000 dogs become infected each year, and if left untreated, will die.
Other common worm infestations include roundworm, tapeworm, and hookworm, all of which lodge in your pet’s digestive tract to feast on its contents. These parasites can cause disorders that provoke vomiting and diarrhea and can even lead to obstruction. Roundworms are especially common in puppies, often causing the pet to have “pot-belly.” Worms can sometimes be seen in the pet’s feces, or their eggs will be detected in stool samples.
An Ounce of Prevention
These parasites are harmful to the people in your home, as well as to your dog. Moreover, eradicating fleas and other pests can be difficult and costly. Preventing outbreaks is a better alternative.
Preventing fleas and ticks
The most effective method of preventing infestations by these dangerous parasites is with modern chemical treatments, which are generally recognized as safe and effective. There are a variety of preventatives available, each of which works against different parasites or a combination of parasites.
The most popular are the topical treatments to prevent fleas and ticks that contain insect growth regulators, or IGRs. An IGR is not an insecticide, but a substance that interrupts the life cycle of a pest, stopping growth and reproduction. (For example, flea eggs and flea larvae exposed to an IGR will not develop into adult fleas.) IGRs can be used alone, but are most effective when combined with an adult insecticide. These treatments are delivered in a liquid solution that is applied to the pet’s skin once a month. Frontline Plus and K9 Advantix are the top sellers. Widely recommended by veterinarians, these products are easy to use and have few adverse effects. They are highly effective against fleas and ticks, but they do not prevent worm infestations.
There are also several oral medications that can be taken monthly to prevent fleas. These treatments contain lufenuron, an insect development inhibitor, which like an IGR, breaks the flea life cycle. It is the active ingredient in Program and in Sentinel. Sentinel also contains Milbemycin oxime, which will prevent worms. Neither prevents ticks.
Flea and tick collars contain the chemical amitraz and are worn snugly around the pet’s neck to stop parasites from attaching. While generally safe and effective, amitraz can cause side effects in some animals, and may interact with other medications. Dogs must be at least 12 to 16 weeks old to wear them, and ingestion of amitraz can lead to poisoning and toxicity.
There are also shampoos, sprays, and combs specially formulated for fleas and ticks, however most of these products were designed to treat pets that are already infested. And, there are carpet, room and lawn sprays containing insecticides that kill ticks and adult fleas. It’s important to be sure the product you choose has been registered by the EPA for flea and tick control.
As with all pest controls, be sure to read the label instructions completely before using. If you do not understand the instructions, you should contact the manufacturer or your veterinarian for clarification.
Preventatives for worms
Heartworm prevention requires consistent monthly treatment with an oral medication that kills the larvae before they have a chance to mature. There are several widely-recommended heartworm preventatives. They include ivermectin, the active ingredient in Heartguard, and milbemycin, the active ingredient in Sentinel and Interceptor.
Because of the seriousness of heartworm disease, veterinarians generally recommend starting puppies on one of these preventatives at about 8 weeks of age. They should be tested for heartworm infection at 7 months and annually thereafter.
Although best known as heartworm preventatives, these monthly treatments are also effective against intestinal worms. Sentinel and Interceptor kill roundworm, hookworm, and whipworm eggs as they hatch, and Heartguard is formulated to protect against roundworms and hookworms. Still, annual fecal tests are recommended for all dogs.
Homeopathic approaches
Some pet owners are fearful of using chemicals of any kind. If you are among them, you should investigate homeopathic alternatives. There are dozens of herb and oil recipes offered by naturopathic healers for repelling pests. They include mixing garlic and brewer’s yeast into a pet’s food, or placing apple cider vinegar in his water, to make the breath unpleasant and skin more acidic. Other repellants include aromatherapy products, citrus mixtures, and tea tree and citronella oils.
Remember, however, that just because a substance is “natural” does not necessarily mean that is completely safe. As in humans, some natural substances can have harmful side effects or can interact with other medications.
What’s right for your pet?
As you can see, there is no “magic bullet” that prevents all potential parasite infestations.
It’s important to talk with your veterinarian to review the many factors that need to be evaluated before deciding on an approach. These include your dog’s age, weight, health, and breed history. Your vet will guide you concerning at what age a new puppy should begin treatment and the correct dosage for his size and weight.
Remember that proper dosage of parasite preventives is crucial for both effectiveness and safety, so check with your veterinarian. Also, observe your dog after using any of the preventives. If he exhibits unusual behavior, or becomes depressed, weak, or uncoordinated, seek veterinary advice immediately.
A few other prevention tips
Regardless of the approach you choose, there are some simple steps that every dog owner should take to safeguard both pet and home.
Indoors:
- Groom your dog regularly, checking for parasites and skin irritations. Run your hands up and down your pet’s body to check for bumps and looks for signs of scratching.
- Wash your dog’s bedding weekly, checking for signs of flea residue.
- Vacuum your home frequently and dispose of the bags.
Outdoors:
- Mow areas of the lawn where pets spend time. Rake and dispose of leaves and trim back underbrush.
- Clean up feces from your yard right away and keep your dog away from other animal feces.
- Keep pets out of sandboxes and soil, where flea larvae thrive in shade and high humidity.
- Avoid community areas where pets with fleas congregate.
