Tips For Treating Severe Itching In Dogs

It is not unusual to see dogs scratch behind their ear or neck once in a while. But if you see them doing this frequently and it seems to be happening more often as the day goes by, your canine friend may be suffering from excessive itching.

One of the usual causes of excessive itching or pruritus is dry skin. Dry skin in dogs can be caused by a number of factors including using the wrong shampoo when bathing them, under-grooming, dry climate or excessive forced air heating, and even a poor diet. Allergies, infections, parasites, and eczema can also cause pups to itch and scratch excessively.

To correctly identify the cause of your dog's severe itching, it is best to bring him or her to your vet. However, you can help dogs get relief from this itching by following the useful tips below:

Change your dog's diet. When you start providing better, more nutritious, and well-balanced meals to your dog, you help him or her stay in tip-top condition and this will reduce itching and scratching. If the main cause of your skin's dry skin and itchiness is his or her diet, your vet will likely recommend a hypoallergenic diet for your pet. You can also consider cooking or making food for your dog using organic ingredients instead of feeding him or her commercial dog food since this a healthier and chemical-free option.

Groom your dog properly and regularly. You can reduce minor itching in dogs by using a special dermatological shampoo at each washing or as advised by your vet. Giving your pet an oatmeal bath may also be beneficial for your dog since this can temporarily alleviate itching. However, make sure to rinse all the oatmeal out of the dog's coat when you're finished. There will be instances though when frequent shampooing will not be advised by the veterinarian. This is especially true if the dog's skin is particularly dry. In such instances, the vet will recommend gentle brushing with a medium strength bristle brush to remove debris from the coat. You have to take special care though when brushing your dog to avoid scratching the damaged skin.

Get rid of the parasites. If parasites, such as ticks or fleas, are causing your dog to itch, ask your vet for a suitable and safe parasitic treatment. There are various flea control products and miticides available today, including collars, liquid treatments and injections. Your vet will also have to advise you on whether there are any specific areas on your dog's body that requires some particular type of parasitic treatment.

Hold an ice pack wrapped in a towel against the dog's itchy area to give him or her some temporary relief. Lastly, this tip can help alleviate itching in your dog, but make sure you remove the pack after a few minutes so that you won't injure or damage the pup's skin.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Tips-For-Treating-Severe-Itching-In-Dogs&id=9398012

Dog Hair Loss and Ringworm: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

If you can see on your dog's skin patches that are circular and crusty and the diameter of the patches ranges from twelve to fifty millimeters, there's a good chance that he or she has been infected by the skin disease called ringworm. Patches that are caused by ringworm are reddish at the sides and hairless in the middle. This can be a major cause of hair loss in dogs as well as other health issues. It needs to be identified and treated quickly.

The disease is fungal in nature and the involved parasites, Microsporum Canis, attack both the hair follicles and the hair strands themselves.

Modes of Transmission

The transmission mediums of the parasites are soil and hair strands that are infected. Part of the things that you should do to control the spread of the disease is cleaning or disinfecting carpets, furniture, toys, combs, and brushes. Your home should be made sure that it is free of the parasites because they can infect humans.

Symptoms

If the dog is feeling itchy, it is not the ringworm that's directly causing the itch. Some secondary infection is causing it. Thus, you need to act early and perform regular checking on the dog's skin and watch out for the following symptoms.

Development of crusts and scabs - these signs need to be checked especially if the dog is licking or scratching too much.

Check if the animal's nails are deformed, or brittle, or cracked or dry.

Check for lesions that are nodular in structure and round in shape. These lesions are a little bit raised from the skin. Veterinarians call these lesions as kerions.

The hair may fluoresce green when subjected to ultraviolet rays. Fluorescing hair strands can be subjected to laboratory examination to determine if it is ringworm that's causing the phenomenon. Fluorescing hair strands can be caused by other diseases.

Causes

One or two of these things might be the culprit in the development if the disease.

Do not use grooming tools on more than one dog and constantly disinfect your own dog's grooming implements. Open wounds are particularly appealing to the parasites.

Household dust is an easy companion for the parasites. If it is possible for you, use an electrostatic duster. Dirty places are favorite breeding grounds for the parasites.

Always ensure good health for your dog. The parasites can easily sense a weak immune system.

Treatment

A healthy dog can easily get rid of the disease in two to three months on its own, but it will be highly likely that your vet will prescribe medicine. This is to ensure that the disease won't progress and infect the members of your family. The vet would most probably prescribe an antifungal cream, and in cases where several bodily areas are compromised, would suggest that you use an antifungal shampoo. Three to four weeks is the minimum treatment period.

Despite the Ringworm

Despite the disease, don't forget giving your dog your loving care. However, always disinfect yourself after touching or caressing the dog's body. Use alcohol or always wash your hands.

Just don't let the animal feel that he is being treated coldly. It can help speed up the healing process.

This article is not a substitute for professional advice. If you are in any doubt or have any concerns about the health of your dog you may wish to consult with a professional for diagnosis and treatment at the earliest opportunity.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Dog-Hair-Loss-and-Ringworm:-Symptoms,-Causes-and-Treatment&id=8545265

Pet Care: All About Heartworms

For me, my dog is my very best friend. He's always there, waiting, and he's so happy to see me. Our relationship is one of the most rewarding in my life. That's why I want to make sure I take care of his health, especially when it comes to easily prevented and highly dangerous conditions like heartworm disease.

Heartworm disease is a parasitic disease that attacks the heart, lungs, and neighboring blood vessels. This results in lung disease, organ damage, and even heart failure. The parasites responsible, the heartworms, can reach up to a foot in length. If left untreated, dogs can play host to several hundred worms.

Dogs are not the only household pet or wild animal susceptible to heartworms. Cats, ferrets, wolves, foxes, coyotes, and even sea lions can play host to these worms. However, these are not optimal hosts, especially cats; in a cat, the worms rarely reach their final mature form.

The damage that mature heartworms do to your dog is irreversible. It remains even after the parasites are removed. The damage can affect your dog's quality of life and shorten his lifespan.

It's therefore very important to prevent heartworms before they can take hold. And even if you are using heartworm prevention, you should still have your pet screened regularly. The sooner an infected animal gets treatment, the better his prognosis will be.

Heartworms are transmitted using mosquitoes as a vector. Once the parasites take root, they reproduce by releasing microscopic immature worms into the host's bloodstream. When a mosquito feeds on an infected animal, it sucks up some of these tiny worms. Once inside the mosquito, heartworms mature into their infectious larval form in about 2 weeks. Then it moves on to another potential host. When that new host is bitten, some of these infectious larvae make their way into the body.

What this means is that heartworm is not directly contagious; other pets living in a home with an infected animal are not at a higher risk simply due to proximity. Heartworm isn't generally a danger to people either, even for people who have weaker immune systems. If your dog does get heartworm, there's no need to separate him from other pets or quarantine him away from your family.

You cannot simply wait out a heartworm infestation. First of all, as mentioned before, heartworms cause lasting damage to vital organs. And the parasites will not simply die off over time. Mature heartworms using a dog as a host have a nearly 7 year lifespan, approaching the lifespan of the canine host.

I love my dog more then I like most people. I want him to stay with me as long as possible, which means avoiding heartworm disease. Preventative treatment is simple and quick; there's no good reason not to do it, and lots of consequences if you don't do it.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Pet-Care:-All-About-Heartworms&id=8912000