Loss Of Appetite Archives - Edie MacKenzie

Dogs are man’s favorite pet. Some are even raised and adopted to be part of the family. Pet owners nourish and care about their pets just as a parent to a young kid. Pet dogs are lucky because they are fed, groomed and well taken care of. When a dog is queasy, it is brought to a veterinarian who specially cares for animals. One of the most conventional health problems of dogs is tick invasion.

Ticks are blood sucking pests. They belong to the family of spiders and mites. They are not insects, but rather arachnids. Ticks are perilous because they carry certain diseases. As formerly mentioned, they fed on their hosts by sucking on its blood. By sucking, they get to transmit diseases from one host to another.

Ordinarily, when a dog is affected by ticks, the most common symptoms distinguishable are fever, sudden loss of appetite, irritation, swelling in the area, lethargy and depression. For proper prognosis and treatment, pet owners should report these symptoms rightaway to their vet.

If tick bites are ignored, it can advance and become serious. Complications from tick bites often have general symptoms. It is consequential to know the various complications of tick bites in order to arrest the condition as soon as possible. Cited below are some of them:

Ehrlichiosis
This disease is passed on via brown dog tick bites and lone star tick bites. The causative agent is rickettsia organism. It is bacteria. But some say that it is a virus because it produces flu-like symptoms. The common symptoms of this disease range from loss of appetite to fever, joint discomfort, anemia and bruising. Other possible symptoms are eye swelling and decrease levels of all types of blood cells. This disease is treated by antibiotic therapy like doxycycline or tetrachycline.

Anaplasmosis
Anasplasmosis is often mistaken as Ehrlichiosis because they have almost the same symptoms. Pets that are anguished from Anasplasmosis and Ehrlichiosis can exhibit signs of fever, headache, muscle discomfort, chils, queasiness and fatigue. On the other hand, they have different causative factors. If Anasplasmosis is caused by rickettsial parasite of ruminants. Same management with Ehrlichiosis, antibiotic therapy is the best management for Anaplasmosis.

Tick Bite Paralysis
This particular disease is very rare in dogs. It occurs when a poison is released by the female wood or mountain ticks. This poison blocks the signal between the nervous system and the muscles. Paralysis is the usual effect when the nerve function is stopped. Watch out for signs of weakness, difficulty of breathing and walking. The best management for tick bite paralysis is elimination of ticks. As soon as the tick is removed, the pet is on its way to recovery. Nevertheless, full recuperation is achieved in twenty four to seventy two hours. If symptoms on the other hand become critical or if the paralysis has progressed intravenous fluid may be given or the pet may need a ventilator to assist in breathing.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
This is a dangerous complication and most of the time fatal. Some countries call this disease as tick typhus and Tobia fever. The disease is transmitted by the bite of the Rocky Mountain wood tick or the American dog tick. Rickettsia then enters the dog in the tick spit. The most common signs and symptoms of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever are hyperthermia, nausea and vomiting, decrease in appetite, muscle pain and headache. Late signs of the disease are Petechial and maculopapular rash, abdominal and joint pain. Doxycycline is the drug of choice for the management of this disease.

Tick bites must be solved rightaway. It can cause complications and the symptoms are very disheartening. Prevention is still best key to manage tick invasion. So be sure to maintain a tick free home surroundings!

Treat fleas and ticks and use Frontline for dogs. Frontline flea and tick is effective in killing all stages of fleas and ticks.

Ticks can cause serious health problems for dogs, including humans. When it comes to transmitting communicable diseases, they rank second to mosquitoes. To identify if your dog is infested by ticks, following are the signs and symptoms to lookout for: irritation, inflammation, local infection, hypersensitivity, fever, lameness, loss of appetite, sharp pain in legs or body, arthritis, malaise or lethargy, cough, babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis.

Since ticks are hard to detect if the dog’s fur is long, most pet owners would maintain their pet’s hair short for easy tick detection. In searching for the presence of ticks, it is advisable to don gloves. Rub your hands against the dog’s hair and feel for bumps. Visually check if it is a tick.

Removing Ticks – Common Practice

To get rid of ticks, spray alcohol or pour one to two drops of mineral oil at the tick. It will immobilize the tick in seconds. It also helps loosen its clasp to the dog’s skin. Carefully, grip the head of the tick, as close to its mouth as possible. Carefully apply pressure. Carefully, remove the tick away from your pet’s skin. Avoid gripping the tick at its head as not to twist the tick. Twisting can leave tick debris or other parts behind. Be conscientious not to crush the tick. Crushing the tick can spread more microorganism, or worse, it can cause the blood of the tick to access the dog’s stab. If the head or any part of it remains in the dog’s skin, remove them cautiously. Although the immune system of the dog can usually banish these remainders, an infection or swelling might occur, so it is best to contact your veterinarian if uncertain.

After removing the tick, drop the parasite to a mineral oil or alcohol, ensure that it is dead before disposing it to a nearby garbage bin. To avoid transfer of infection, wipe the mineral oil in the dog’s fur and then disinfect the area with alcohol.

Efficient Tools For Tick Removal

It is not expedient to directly takeout the tick with your bare hands. Doing so can transfer bacteria from the tick to your nails. Although removing dog’s tick might not be as easy as you think, there are other strategies to readily remove ticks by using different tools such as curved hemostats, tick spoon, tick slider, tick nipper, tick noose, and tick pincers. Curved thermostats are traditionally used by physicians or veterinarians. Tick spoon on the other hand, is an impressively well-crafted little plastic spoon with a notch at the end. Tick spoon is used by sliding the notch under the tick before levering it off. The tick slider is very similar to the tick spoon. Simply, slide the instrument under the tick before lifting it off. Tick nipper is a little plastic instrument with a curved jaw, which enables you to grasp the tick by its head before lifting it off. Tick forceps is just like an instrument used by ophthalmologists. It can readily grasp the head of the tick because of its fine tipped end. Never use sharp objects when removing ticks as not to poke holes in your pet’s skin.

Although ticks might be removed easily using various instruments, prevention is still far better than cure. Regular bathing and other preventive tick medications are still the most excellent ways in keeping the ticks off your pet.

Manage fleas with Frontline for dogs. Frontline for Dogs treats all types of fleas and ticks and kills them quickly.

Understanding The Various Health Complications Of Tick Bites

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