Heart worm

The picture to the left is a little difficult to read but it gives you an idea of what these worms look like in the heart . Makes me feel sick just looking at them. To even think my dog could have that in her. So lets go on to how they get these.

Heartworm is transmitted by many species of mosquitos. The transmission occurs when a mosquito bites on an animal that is infected with heartworm and then goes and bites another animal thus tranmitting the larvae.

The mature larvae stage of the worm is deposited into the dog's skin by an infected mosquito. These larvae enter the dog through the bite wound of the mosquito.Then in 2 months the juvenile worm migrates through the bloodstream to the right side of the heart. There they grow into an adult worm. Some can grow up tp 12 inches long. The female then begins to produce off spring called microfilariae. She may produce as many as a 1000 of these offspring. Then they grow 1/2" to 3/4" in length and are fed by the blood of the infected dog This process takes about 6 months. As they grow the heartworms lodge in the heart and the large blood vessels going from the heart to the lungs. Adult worms can live up to 7 years in the dog's body. If left untreated the dog will die of heart failure.

Not a very pretty picture and I'm sure like me you hate to even think about those nasty critters but we need to understand them so we can keep our dogs healthy

Now lets look at the signs of heartworm so we can recognize them in a dog.

The first outward signs of heartworm may not show up until a year after the infection has started and it may begin as a soft cough. The severity of the desease depends on how many worms are present As it progresses the dog will have difficulty breathing He will not want to excercise, and he may show a decrease in appetite and weight loss

By that time your looking at a pretty infected dog so it seems to me prevention is really important. Lets see about prevention

Heartworm desease is easy to prevent.

1. Regular blood tests

This gives you peace of mind your dog is free of heartworms before you start him on a preventitive program Your vet will help you about how often your dog should have this test.

2. Now were ready for prevention This will include giving your dog once a month orally a medication . Now theres heartguard, tri-heart plus advantage multi heartgard interceptor and a few more I'm sure your vet will advise you Theres also natural things like Parasite Dr. like I mentioned before

You must decide what you want your dog to have but I wouldn't let it slide we can't eliminate all mosquitos and theres always that chance

We also need to look at reducing exposure to these nasty critters and that means checking our dogs environment. The places outside where mosquitos will live and hatch. What about that pale of water thats been sitting outside for awhile or the kids pool left unattended or a water barrel or any small container that will hold water and don't forget that pond you put in the yard Anything that will hold water is a breeding place for mosquitos. Search your yard and empty these things or use the tablets you can get at your local home depot or hardware store that you put in these watering places They kill the mosquitos before they can get going

A little time and prevention can go along way and may save your best friends life.

Places to go for information

www.ambassedorrottweilers.com

www.drsfostersmith.com

www.petalive.com

www.nativeremedies.com

Warning Flea Control can be Dangerous

I don't know about you but I've tryed all kinds of flea control from store bought to vet bought to natural control to spraying my yard. Fleas and ticks are an on going battle.
What I didn't know was theres a difference in store over the counter flea control and what your vet sells you.
Products like advantage and Frontline are topical flea control products sold by vets.
Pet supply stores and grocery stores sell numerous"look alike"products.
Each product is sold in packages of several tubes that contain indivitual doses to be applied to the dog's skin. It is reapplied every one to three months. Although the packaging and labeling is similiar the products are definitely different.
Advantage and Frontline contain a solution that remains topical and kills fleas that contact the skin. These two products interrupt nerve transmission in the fleas "short circuiting" their nervous system, causing death. The nervous system of the animal is not effected.
The products sold at pet-supply and grocery stores contain concentrated doses of insecticides similiar to those found in many flea sprays, dips, and shampoos. These insecticides not only kill fleas but also affect the nervous systems of our pets, our children and ourselves. Toxic reactions to these products can be serious.
I watch children and have for 25 years and I've always had dogs .It worries me that I may have used products on my dogs that could have hurt those children. Because the kids were always hugging and wrestling with my dogs. They could have been affected.
If you have children or even for yourself its something to think about.
I have found some all natural flea controls and will share them with you in up coming blogs

Good sites for dogs and information
www.ambassedorrottweilers.com
www.petsbynature.com
www.vonsederhausrotts.com
www.thedogfoodconspiracy.org

Introduction

The picture to the left is my Pandora . She is my baby ( my children are grown) My pride and joy. As is any one who has a dog knows how I feel. She's my buddy and constant companion. As my beloved friend I want her to be as healthy and live as long as she can to be by my side as long as possible. Which is what started my journey into the health of dogs and the natural and healthy way for a dog.

I want to share these discoverys with every one so they can judge for themselves whats good for their friend. So thus begins this blog.

I want to cover regular health issues, feeding, and taking care of dogs. Perhaps we can help each other discover better ways to help our companions and thus bring our lives greater joy also with their company

We raise rottweilers and show them and have a passion for these loving faithful dogs. So you will see often pictures of our babies. But I love all dogs and animals and would like to share with all dog owners. These health issues are concerns for all pet owners

So thank-you ahead of time for reading these blogs and sharing things that you know. I look forward to this adventure