Animal health | Harmful parasites can have life-threatening consequences for farm dogs and cats
PONOKA, Alta. — Farm dogs and cats should be dewormed regularly for better health and to prevent the spread of parasites to people.
Ticks, fleas, lice and internal parasites live on dogs and spread unpleasant diseases.
“Some of the things they can potentially carry can infect man as well,” said veterinarian Lynne Copeland at the recent Alberta Goat Breeders Association annual meeting in Ponoka.
TICKS
Dogs can be covered with ticks that have the potential to spread Lyme disease.
Also of concern is a form of paralysis. It is a rare reaction that results when the tick’s saliva is injected into the blood stream and a slow paralysis occurs. It is not common among dogs and people, but ticks can also cause other damager.
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“A large number of ticks can cause really severe skin damage and anemia,” she said.
“If you have a really big infestation, they can be really nasty.”
Remove a tick by pulling it out gently with tweezers. Try and get the head. If the head remains, it could leave a big red bump that takes a long time to disappear and the dog may chew at it.
Flea and tick shampoos and sprays are available if the dog has many ticks, but there is a theory that they release toxins as they die.
They may be a better alternative than pulling them out if the dog has hundreds of ticks, but the ingredients in some products are poisonous to cats.
LICE
Lice are hard to see and live their entire life cycle on the dog.
They are host specific and each type lives on different species. Cattle or goat lice are not likely to spread to a dog.
“Anything that will kill fleas will kill lice, but often by the time you notice the dog is infested they are crawling with them,” she said.
The eggs are cemented to the dog’s hair and are hard to kill, so treatments may be needed for a couple months until all the adults hatch. The dog may have to be shaved to get rid of the lice because they cause severe itchiness.
SARCOPTIC MANGE
Sarcoptic mange is common in coyotes, dogs and foxes.
Microscopic mites tunnel deep into the skin and cause dramatic symptoms. The animal may chew off its fur to try and relieve the itch. Skin lesions result and antibiotic treatments may be needed.
“Of all the parasites, these are probably the ones that cause the most dramatic symptoms in the dog,” she said.
However, it is generally easy to treat with monthly doses of parasiticides or injectable ivermectin.
MITES
Ear mites are not a common problem in dogs on the Prairies. Their preferred host is the cat.
They cause itchy ears and possibly red-brown flaky debris in the ear. Cats can be treated with medications to keep them parasite free because they can pass the mites onto dogs if they live together.
“Barn cats are probably our biggest ear mite carrier,” she said.
“Ear mites are horrible. They are like having ants in your ear, so treat them in your cat.”
MAGGOTS
Maggots are fly larvae and are usually seen in summer.
Maggots and fly strike can be picked up on hair that is matted and has feces sticking to it, especially around the anus. They can infest a large area around untreated wounds.
Maggots can be life threatening because they move onto living flesh once they eat dead tissue. They have to be manually removed and the wounds treated.
“If you’ve got a dog that is fly struck, it is God’s way of telling you you need to pay more attention to coat maintenance,” Copeland said.
“Things should not get to the point where you have got maggots infesting the dog.”
WORMS
Endoparasites are also common and can be treated with regular deworming.
Roundworms are common and are spread primarily through feces.
Puppies can be born with worms, so breeding dogs should be dewormed regularly. The puppies suffer from vomiting, diarrhea, pot bellies and poor hair coats and fail to thrive.
Canine roundworms can spread to people.
“Good parasite treatment is important, especially if you have got little kids around,” she said.
Tapeworms are becoming more common in Alberta, so they could appear in guard dogs depending on what they eat. Segments fall apart and become new worms.
Rabbits, mice and gophers can also carry them, so guard dogs that eat a lot of vermin may get them. Cats can also pick them up.
“If your dog has a lot of little white rice like fragments stuck around its bum, it’s tapeworms and your dog needs to be treated,” Copeland said.
They typically infect adult animals, resulting in weight loss, poor hair coat, vomiting and diarrhea.
Heartworm is not present in Alberta and Saskatchewan, but has been seen in Manitoba and British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. Mosquitoes carry them and spread them during warm weather.
The condition is hard to treat. The medication may kill the parasite, but then the heart is full of dead worms.
Veterinarians recommend using monthly prescription treatments from April to October as well as supplementing with a good tapeworm medication every three to 12 months, depending on what the dogs eat.
Go to the vet if symptoms persist because other problems can mimic parasites. It is also easy to overdose a small animal such as a dog, so check with vets on dosage and read product labels.
