Don’t Let Roundworm Effect Your Hunting Dogs

Heartworm, or roundworm, is very serious can affect all types of hunting dogs. With gun dogs, working dogs, and other outdoor dogs, you must be especially concerned because they are more susceptible to heartworm. The worse case scenario is that an affected dog can pass it on to humans, as well as other dogs. In turn, you can also pass on heartworm to your own dog.

Prevention of heartworm is crucial, especially when you consider that once your dog is infected with this parasite it made lead to death. Of greater concern is other in animals that come in contact with your dog such as coyotes, fox’s, and others may have roundworm and may transmit that disease to your dog.

Preventing Roundworm/Heartworm

Giving your dog a tablet, food additive, or other preventive will greatly reduce his chances of getting infected. Tablets can be taken orally as a doggy treat while food additives are sprinkled, poured, or mixed in with food. Most preventive treatments require a monthly application, so mark a calendar to keep track of when dosage was given so you’ll know when to do it next.

In areas where there are four seasons, the primary carrier of roundworm is mosquitoes, which ingest infected blood and then give it to another animal as they sting them. In areas with less harsh seasonal changes, roundworm is more often transmitted from animal to animal. In all cases, giving your gun dog preventive treatment every month, no matter the time of year, is a best practice.

Symptoms of Roundworm

It’s difficult to notice roundworm infection early on as it generally has little or no outward affect on your dog. Only through blood tests or a very skilled veterinarian’s eye will it be seen. Usually, the roundworms will “gestate” or merely propagate themselves for the first few months before finally beginning to seriously affect your dog’s health. It is at this stage that they are easiest to treat, but when they are least often noticed.

Symptoms will begin as a cough, a loss of energy, and weight loss. You will see your dog become weaker and less interested in normal daily activities and fun. Take your dog to a veterinarian immediately if you notice these symptoms, as they can be many sicknesses, including roundworm.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Roundworm

A blood test is required to diagnose roundworm definitively, but it is a simple test that most vets can do easily. The next step is to determine whether an early infestation is primarily female or male roundworm, which will decide early treatment.

Once diagnosis has been made, treatment can begin. If the infestation has gone on for a while, it can become costly and extensive to treat. The roundworm must be destroyed completely and this is usually done through drug treatments and sometimes dialysis. It’s very taxing on your dog’s system and will result in weight loss and listlessness, especially when the worms begin to be discharged through your dog’s stool. Follow up treatments can last for months to ensure that all the worms were eliminated.

If left untreated, roundworm infection can lead to organ damage and treatment for a lifetime. Detecting symptoms as soon as possible is very important and treatment must start right away.

When you have any sort of hunting dog, you should always keep in mind that you should always keep your dog’s health as top priority. There are also lots of different hunting dog supplies that you should have on hand for your dog such as dog training collars or dog collars.