No matter if you own, volunteer, or just love dogs – all of us play an essential part in protecting animal rights.

Helping local animal shelters reduce euthanasia rates is just one way. Speak up when animal cruelty occurs in your community!

Fleas

Fleas are parasitic insects commonly found on dogs, cats and other animals. Their feeding habit involves sucking the blood from their host animals while siphoning off blood for themselves to feed on, leading to fleabite and allergic reactions in pets as well as people.

Fleas have four stages in their life cycle: eggs, larvae, pupae and adults. Flea larvae hide beneath carpet fibers or other protected surfaces and feed on human waste as adults do; during pupal stage fleas spin themselves a cocoon that protects against harsh environmental conditions like freezing or drying conditions.

Adult fleas lay up to 50 eggs on their host per day, which are then scattered about its fur. After 18 days have passed, these eggs hatch and worm-like larvae begin to emerge from them.

Larvae feed on their host’s feces as well as hair or dead skin cells; after about one to three weeks they spin themselves into cocoons and pupate into adults.

Once pupae have emerged, adult fleas will find another host and continue the cycle anew – it could last a year or more without intervention! So it is essential that both your home and yard be treated effectively against fleas.

When dealing with a flea infestation, it’s essential that you vacuum floors and furniture regularly in order to remove eggs and larvae as well as wash bedding regularly with hot water and detergent. Your veterinarian or pest professional may recommend certain sprays that could also help.

Dogs and their children frequently snuggle close, sleeping in dog beds or playing outside under shaded areas, leaving them exposed to fleas. Some fleas are spread between pets by their owners while others feed off other animal fur.

Targeting specific insects with insecticides that specifically target them can be highly effective in eliminating an infestation and keeping it under control for good. To maximize effectiveness, however, one must be vigilant in following instructions on the label closely.

Preventative measures are key when it comes to controlling fleas and other household pests, including keeping your dog out of areas that could attract wild animals such as crawl spaces and cool, dark corners of your house or yard. This may mean keeping it off carpeted areas or off bare patches of ground outside.

Heartworms

Heartworm infections in dogs can have devastating repercussions. Left untreated, they can damage lung tissue and lead to respiratory failure and death; or enter bloodstream and grow large enough for death to occur.

Remember that any dog, regardless of where or how often it exercises, can contract heartworm disease from mosquito-borne microfilariae that develop into adult heartworms in its host animal (usually dogs or cats).

To protect their dogs from heartworm infection, veterinarians recommend year-round heartworm prevention plans which involve annual testing and regular dosing with chewable tablets or monthly pills administered at recommended dosage by a veterinarian. Medication must be given on time in order to be effective.

Pet parents frequently make the mistake of forgetting to start puppies on heartworm prevention, forget their regular monthly dose, or switch products without checking the expiration date – mistakes which put their dogs at risk of heartworm infection in areas with high mosquito populations. These errors make dogs especially susceptible to disease when traveling frequently or moving into areas with an abundance of mosquitoes.

Once a dog tests positive for heartworms, he or she will need to undergo treatment in order to control and eradicate them. This treatment plan may involve numerous veterinary visits, injections and medications – it should also be noted that treatment may be stressful and side effects may even be serious.

Once the treatment process has concluded, your veterinarian will need to monitor your dog closely for several months in order to detect changes in organ function as well as determine the effectiveness of their plan.

Furthermore, activity levels must be limited for your dog’s recovery. Although this will likely prove challenging at times, doing so is absolutely crucial to its wellbeing.

Heartworm infection can be devastating, yet most infected dogs can be successfully treated. The treatment process aims to first stabilize their condition before eliminating all worms within your pup’s body while keeping any side effects to a minimum. Your veterinarian will develop a treatment and recovery strategy tailored specifically for you and your dog along with any other pets in the household.

Intestinal Worms

Dogs can be excellent at protecting themselves against harmful pests; however, intestinal worms are far less trustworthy, potentially resulting in serious illness for both the dog and their families.

Puppies and young dogs can become infected with parasites when their bowel movements become uncontrollable, leading to bloating, diarrhoea and in severe cases even vomiting and death.

At regular intervals, it’s essential that dogs and cats be regularly treated for parasites with either tablets, chews, or drops placed directly onto the back of their necks.

Roundworm, hookworm and whipworm are among the most prevalent parasites affecting dogs, typically found infecting all breeds from puppies onwards and can severely impact growth in all stages. Furthermore, roundworm infections may even result in pot-bellied appearance in older dogs that ultimately prove fatal.

Intestinal worms can also infest individuals, particularly children. Infection is typically spread via direct contact with faeces or soil contaminants; however, they can also enter through water or food contamination.

Many people in developing nations are vulnerable to contracting worms due to lack of access to clean water and sanitation or having subpar hygiene conditions. Without access to clean water and proper sanitation facilities, they may consume undercooked or raw vegetables or fish while not washing their hands prior to eating or using the toilet. This increases their risk for contracting worms.

People suffering from worm infections typically exhibit signs of digestive discomfort such as abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhoea and bloody or mucous-filled stool; sometimes this condition may even accompany itchy spots around the rectum or vulvae.

If you suspect your child has worms, have them bring in a stool sample so they can be examined by your physician and treated. This will enable them to quickly identify and eradicate the parasites affecting them.

If your child has been diagnosed with worm infections, their doctor will likely prescribe medications to eliminate all worms present within a few days of starting therapy and take another stool sample once treatment has concluded in order to ascertain if all worms have been eliminated completely.

Lice

Lice have been around for at least three million years and show no sign of going away anytime soon. Although preventing head lice is the best way to protect your pup from contracting them, you can also eliminate them through regular treatment with topical treatments like Advantage Frontline Revolution.

An infestation of head lice can pose significant threats to the health and welfare of your dog if left untreated. Lice can cause itchy irritation that leads to skin sores, bacterial infections and blood infections – potentially creating further health complications and leading to skin sores as a result of scratching.

Head lice are notoriously hard to remove; however, insecticide shampoos or lime-sulfur dips can easily get rid of head lice and their eggs. Use of such products should occur weekly or biweekly over four to six weeks to effectively eliminate an infestation.

When administering these treatments, it’s crucial that a fine-toothed lice comb be used to ensure all dead and live lice are removed from your pet’s fur. Combing through their fur helps remove not only live lice but also their eggs called nits that may remain.

Nits can be challenging to remove from a pet’s hair because they adhere firmly to the base of each hair shaft with an adhesive substance, making them hard to pick out with regular grooming. You may need to comb through his or her coat several times in order to completely clear out all nits from his coat.

At every visit to your veterinarian’s office it is very important to treat every item your dog has come into contact with such as combs, brushes, hair accessories and hats, in addition to pillows, bedding clothing or stuffed animals he/she may have encountered.

Your best bet for combatting lice, nits and their eggs is to wash and dry any pet bedding, towels or fabrics your dog has been exposed to at a high heat, followed by disinfecting the area to avoid reinfestation.

Head lice are highly contagious, spreading from person to person through direct hair contact. This can happen by sharing personal belongings such as hats, brushes and hairbrushes; coming into close contact with an infested individual; or lying on beds, pillows or carpets that have come into contact with those carrying lice.