Many dogs are infected with parasites at some point during their lives. These pests are microscopic and can cause illness and serious diseases if not treated properly.

Parasites in dogs can affect the skin, the intestines and the heart of your pet. Can be very difficult to diagnose, but if you can recognize these parasites, the treatment can help your dog recover faster.

Symptoms caused by parasites in dogs

While fleas and ticks are often easy to detect, intestinal parasites can be very difficult to identify. Most of them live inside the intestine of the dog and pass eggs microscopic spores in their feces that are too small to be seen without a microscope.

The symptoms vary depending on the type of parasite, where you live and how severe the infestation. The most common signs of a parasitic infection of the stools and diarrhea, loose or uneven.

Another complication is intestinal obstruction. The obstruction happens when your intestines are blocked by a wall of stomach inflamed or ulcerated, a narrowing of the bowel or other conditions.

Bowel obstruction can cause lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, abdominal pain, fever or body temperature abnormal, dehydration, and shock.

The hemorrhagic gastroenteritis is a very serious disease that affects dogs previously healthy. Cause a sudden onset of bloody diarrhea and is associated with damage to the lining of the digestive tract.

But not all are parasites, you can check on this article: the most common diseases in dogs.

Types of parasites in dogs

Parasites in dogs are an important cause of disease and can close multiple systems in the body of your dog if not treated. Are classified in two main groups: external parasites, such as flea, ticks and mites living on the outside of the body of your pet, and internal parasites, including worms, tears, hookworms, tapeworms, giardia and coccidios that live within the intestines of your pet.

Intestinal parasites are more common than you think, and they can be pretty severe if not treated. Can affect the entire digestive tract, including the liver and the spleen.

Most of the intestinal parasites can only be diagnosed by examining stool of a veterinarian, looking for eggs microscopic spores in the feces of your dog. Because we rarely see many intestinal parasites, an exam stool is an important part of the annual checkup of your pet.

The most common types of intestinal parasites in dogs are roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms and giardia. If your pet is infected with these parasites, it is likely that you have diarrhea and become letárgicas.

Treatment for parasites

Intestinal parasites are one of the health concerns common to dogs. Can cause diarrhea, lethargy, and weight loss in your dog. Fecal examinations for regular vet can help to detect intestinal worms before they can cause problems and to facilitate the treatment.

In addition, keeping your dog in a program of prevention of fleas and ticks can help you to protect him from the worms of the heart, which can be fatal. During the annual checkup of your pet, your veterinarian can assess these diseases and recommend the best treatment to keep protected your dog.

Hookworms are a type of internal parasite that affects the intestinal tract of most dogs. These small worms thin are less than an inch long and can be passed in the stool or ingested other infected animals. Symptoms include vomiting, lethargy, and diarrhea.

Prevention

Parasites can cause severe disease both in cats and in dogs if not treated. This includes fleas, ticks, worms, heart and internal parasites, such as hookworms, roundworms and tapeworms.

Some are zoonotic, which means they can be transmitted to people. This is especially important for fleas and ticks, because they can spread diseases to the people who come in contact with pets infested.

Fleas can infest your dog's fur and cause itching, redness, peeling, and irritation of the skin. It also can cause a loss of blood in small pets and young people.

Tapeworms, on the other hand, are parasites planes in the form of a tape that live in the intestines. Dipylidium caninum it is the most common kind of tapeworm found in dogs, but there are many others.

If you suspect that your dog has an infestation of parasites, ask your vet for a exam stool. This allows your veterinarian to diagnose intestinal parasites by detecting eggs and microscopic spores in the feces of your pet. In most cases, a test fecal you can catch infestations in their early stages.