Puppy Parasites
There are too many internal and external parasites that dogs
develop to list here. They begin in the fetal life of the pup and
most times, the Mom already had them when she became pregnant.
After about forty days of pregnancy, the parasites will travel
through the placenta to the fetus. Parasites can also be passed
through the mother's milk. Of those parasites that have infected a
pup, Most are quite mobile. They can move to the intestines and
lungs.
An awful internal parasite is the heartworm. Transmitted by
mosquitoes, they can be fatal to your dog. Have a blood sample
taken and analyzed. Even if the test is negative, the vet will
probably start your pup on heartworm medicine that he will take
once a month. If positive, the animal will have to
hospitalized.
Roundworms can be a problem because most puppies are born with
them. The larvae are transmitted from the Mom to the fetus. They
are easily transmitted to humans in the dog's stool. They can be
ingested if your dog eats another animal's stool. Wash your hands
frequently after handling the puppy and remove all feces from the
yard. Some people have no symptoms at all. There have been cases
where the worms have migrated to the liver, brain, and eyes of
humans. Your puppy should be wormed at two, four, six, and eight
weeks of age.
An external parasite is the tick. These animals live on th dog's
skin. They look like small black dots. You must use tweezers to
pull them off the skin. DO NOT use fingers. Ticks can bite and suck
blood out through the skin as well as transmitting diseases such as
Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. You must make sure
the whole tick comes off the skin as they can burrow deep.
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