Most Dangerous Pet Parasites
Do you own a pet in your home? If you have a dog or cat, then their overall health should be your major priority. That’s why you should review this list to learn about some of the most dangerous parasites that could affect the health of your pet.
You should have a clue about these parasites. While it is hard for you to ascertain the presence of these parasites in the body of your pet, the symptoms of your pet can help you predict the likely parasite infestation at your home. After identifying the likely cause of those symptoms, you should consider your vet’s brief before buying the appropriate treatment.
This article discusses a wide variety of parasites starting with internal parasites like hookworms, roundworms, ringworms, and tapeworms. The piece also discusses some external parasites like fleas and ticks that affect the health of your pup or dog. Some of these parasites are dangerous and may result in your pet’s death
The Most Dangerous Parasites in Dogs
- Roundworms
These are 3-5-inch long worms living in your pet’s intestines and depriving your dog of nutrients. While roundworms swim in the intestines, they may grow bigger and block your pet’s intestinal tract.
How do they spread?
A dog can spread these worms to its puppies shortly after or during birth. A pet can also get these worms by swallowing their eggs.
Symptoms
- Diarrhea
- Swollen abdomen
- Vomiting
- Weakness
- Weight loss
- Respiratory distress, malnutrition
- Scruffy or dull fur
- Loss of appetite
Treatments
- Use a chemical cleaner like bleach to sterilize the housing and home of your pet
- Eliminate the parasites using a dewormer
- Tapeworms
Do you that a single tapeworm can grow up a length of several feet? True, sometimes, these worms can become bigger than you might imagine.
Tapeworms invest the intestinal lining of your pet. This is where the danger comes in. Like roundworms, they can become large enough to block the entire tract if not treated well.
How do they spread?
Fleas might consume the eggs of these worms. They then affect fleas after they hatch or become larvae. When these fleas infest your puppy, it might lick itself, ingesting an infected parasite. In turn, your pets also get infested.
Symptoms
- Rare diarrhea
- Anal irritation
- Dried components in pup bedding
- Vomiting
- Small worms in pet poops
- Loss of appetite
Treatments
- Use a single dose of a reliable dewormer
- Feed infested pets with food mixed with dewormers.
- Hookworms
These worms are common in humid or temperate regions. They are short and thin worms that may lead to severe problems when they reside in the small intestine of your cat or dog
How do they spread?
These worms can affect both dogs and cats by skin contact with other hookworm-infested animals. Ingesting their eggs present in the other animals’ defecation or from their parents while nursing or in the uterus.
Symptoms
- Minimal signs are evident
- A worn coat
- Bloody diarrhea
- Skin irritation
- Anemia
- Weakness
- Weight loss
Treatments
- Use treatments featuring anthelmintic to deworm your pet
- Regular deworming is needed to kill the worms that survived or were in their larvae stage during previous deworming
- Whipworms
While rare in cats, whipworms are common, dangerous parasites present in the colon of dogs and pups
How do they spread?
Pets vulnerable to corgophilia may be infected by whipworms. The infected dog’s poop features these worms because they reside in its large intestines. After the pet defecates, these eggs advance into the infective phase, where they can infest any animal ingesting them.
Symptoms
- Fatigue
- Weight loss
- Bloody diarrhea
Treatments
- Eliminate whipworms using multiple-step medication
- Regular deworming helps fight these worms because they might persist in the setting and re-infect your dogs.
- Heartworm
Have you heard of these parasites before? If not, you ought to review that. These parasites can be fatal if they invade your young or new pup!
Heartworms are dangerous worms in your dog’s heart, inhibiting in the arteries. They use the flow of blood to flourish throughout the lung.
How do they spread?
Heartworms are unique parasites that infest your dogs. Mosquitos pass these worms in their larval stage. They mature and develop in their hosts.
Symptoms
- Persistent cough
- Vomiting
- Lethargy
- Weight loss
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
Treatments
- You can treat the infestation of these worms in your dog in most cases
- Consider administering a vet-approved dewormers or medication
- Threadworms
Also known as pinworms, threadworms are small parasites existing in a pet’s intestine. They are rare worms but your dog and cats are vulnerable to them.
How do they spread?
Defecations from pets can spread these worms. They are also spread through contact. Threadworms flourish in the dog’s bloodstream after entering its body through the skin
Symptoms
- Diarrhea
- Respiratory issues
- Loss of appetite
- Fatigue
- Weight loss
- Dehydration
Treatments
- Regular deworming is needed
- Used vet-approved medication for severe cases
- Ringworms
It’s a fungus-like parasite. When these worms invade your pets, they cause excessive discomfort and severe irritation. However, this fungus rarely results in serious health problems
How do they spread?
They are transmitted shortly after, before, or during birth from mother to offspring. Ringworms may also affect animals that swallow their eggs
Symptoms
- Diarrhea
- Respiratory distress
- Vomiting
- Fatigue
- Malnutrition
- Weight loss
- Loss of appetite
Treatments
- Treat both the dog or cat, as well as its environment
- Use topical treatments to kill adult worms
- Antifungal shampoos are also ideal for eliminating these adults
- Clean your home using chemical cleaners or bleach
- Freeloading fleas and ticks
The ticks and fleas that feed on and live in the body of cats and dogs also invest people. As they feed, these parasites may spread germs causing the plague, Lyme disease, babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis.
Let’s review these two dangerous external parasites that can infest your pet.
- Ticks
These parasites are not as dangerous as most internal parasites. However, their disease-causing effects make ticks a big challenge for your pet’s overall health. By spreading various germs, ticks can spread illnesses like anaplasmosis and Lyme disease.
While these parasites may be present in your dog’s skin, prevent the likely diseases they cause via their bites by using a strong tick preventive spray. Plus, remove any visible ticks on your dog’s fur.
- Fleas
These external parasites make your cat or dog itchy. Besides, fleas may also bring about dangerous diseases such as bartonellosis, typhus, and plague to both people and animals.
The worst part about these parasites’ infestation is that they feed on the blood of your pets. Thus, they might cause anemia.
Using an appropriate flea preventive can help you guard your loved animals against the infestation of such parasites.
Final thoughts
Obviously, these worms and blood-suckers aren’t the only dangerous parasites in your pets. There’re more parasites, although this list includes the most common and risky ones. Consult your veterinarian about the prevalent dog parasites in your region. He should also guide you on the ideal treatments to eliminate each of them.
