With the Weather getting Warmer

My family enjoys the outdoors especially since it is getting warmer but we also enjoy to get out when it is cold; however, so does our one year old Boxer Destiny .   When she and your pets go outside they become a buffet for a variety of insects or parasites such as fleas, mosquitoes and ticks.  So it is very important to keep them protected.

Fleas feed on the blood of their host. In this case your dog. They jump on the dog, feed and then jump off into hiding. When a flea bites they inject saliva into the skin of your dog. The flea bites or red bumps you see are the results of a mild allergic reaction to the saliva in the flea’s mouth. Approximately 40% of dogs will have an allergic reaction to a flea bite.  Fleas if left untreated can cause anemia (low red blood cell count) in dogs. A dog can die if a severe case is not treated. It is also possible for fleas to give your dog a case of tapeworms.

Ticks carry diseases such as Lyme, Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, so you don't want them feeding on your pet either.

Heartworm disease is a serious parasitic condition caused by a worm, Dirofilaria Immitis, which lives in the blood vessels and heart of infected pets. The disease is spread by mosquitoes. When an infected dog is bitten by a mosquito, the blood that is withdrawn can contain heartworm offspring. When the mosquito bites a second dog, the offspring are passed through. Inside the host, the heartworm can grow into a parasite up to a foot in length. The parasite can cause injury to the lungs, arteries and the heart.

 Above all, keep your pets healthy and keep them treated with a prevention medication such as K9-Advantage which helps repel mosquitoes but you will still need to use a heartworm medication also or Revelation which does not repel mosquitoes but does include a heartworm medication or if you do not like using chemicals there are a few homemade cocktails that can be made and the instructions are easily found on the internet.

 Fleas and other parasites have less effect on healthy animals...and they tend to live on pets who are unhealthy and/or have weak immune systems. And, as with healthy humans, healthy animals recover from illness faster and in the case of contracting parasites, are not likely to get sick. It's a matter of immunity.