Perhaps you have heard the 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 speaking to pet owners and the care of their dogs. Heartworms in dogs is a perfect example where this relates to other areas. Curing heartworms can be be extremely expensive so learning the signs and information about this disease inside your animals can help to save lifespan of one’s pet and save lots of money.
Only the bite of the infected mosquito can actually transmit this parasite to your dog. While that is true, even areas that don’t have a lot of mosquitoes, for instance dry areas, still have reported cases of heartworms. All fifty states and most countries around the world have reported this infection in pets. The vet might convince you as you live in a dry area that your pet is not really vulnerable to catching this disease but the truth is that if you have even seen one mosquito in the area, your canine could catch heartworms.
Larvae takes about seven months to grow into mature adults within the animal once it is infected. The worm will take up residence in the heart, lungs and surrounding blood vessels within your dog. The true danger after all this in the infestation stands out as the parasites will reproduce in very large numbers. Some reported cases experience around two hundred and fifty worms living within of a single animal.
The good news is that there has been virtually no cases of heartworms in people. Also, the worms don’t reproduce in humans as they can’t complete their lifecycle. When detected, something which resembles a tumor will be seen in an individual’s lungs. The reality is that it is really a small lesion.
Finding information about heartworms on the web
Also of note is that one dog are unable to infect other pets in your home. Infected mosquitoes are the only method a pet might get heartworms. If the dog is infected and it is bitten by a mosquito which in turn bites another animal, your four-legged friend is safe. The other animal will not be infected from the now heartworm carrying insect. Your second pet is not at risk because the newly infected mosquito won’t be a carrier of the disease until after an incubation period within the parasite.
This may kill your pet. And prevention is quite economical with a years supply of medicine costing somewhere around 35 to 80 dollars depending on the size of the dog.
Curing heartworms is not easy
Treating heartworms in dogs is crazy. You will spend a bunch of money doing away with the parasite when by spending just a little in the way of prevention could save all of that hassle. Another advantage from prevention is the fact that modern medicines also help prevent whipworms, roundworms, and/or tapeworms. All of this prevention from one treatment. A small price to pay for a healthy dog.
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