Dog Heartworm

 Heartworm MUST NOT be taken lightly!!

Dog Heartworm Disease: What Is It?

Heartworm is a condition in dogs caused by a certain type of parasite. These parasites are transmitted to your pet through mosquitoes. If you are living in an area where there are lots of mosquitoes during the night, it is very important that you seriously consider heartworm prevention measures for your dog.

Heartworm is a very dangerous disease. It can kill your dog if you don’t do something about it. Even more disturbing is the fact that this disease is very prevalent in the US, more particularly in the West where there are large open fields. As everybody knows, mosquitoes are common in rural areas and in the countryside.

The moment heartworm-transmitting mosquitoes bite your dog, the larvae will be transferred into its bloodstream. It will incubate there for several days. That’s the on-start of the disease. If left ignored, the parasites will eventually cause your pet a lot of harm. As such, it has to be treated right away.

On the other hand, heartworm in dogs is a type of disease that can easily be prevented. However, it can be very challenging to treat. The only good news is that this disease is rather seasonal so it is much easier for pet owners to protect their dogs from it.

Heartworm in dogs can be prevented in many ways. There are preventives in the form of injections and oral medicines. The injection is usually given to the dog on a monthly basis, quite diligently during the heartworm peak season. Examples of such vaccines are Ivermectin, Milbemycin, Lufenuron, and Selamectin. Talk to your vet as to how your dog can use these medicines to keep heartworm away from their system.

This disease is called Heartworm because the parasites tend to invade the heart of dogs. The eggs are deposited into the bloodstream and are transported into the rest of the body until they reach the heart. Once the parasites find their way in the right ventricle, they will duplicate in number. Too many of them can cause an extreme hazard to the dog’s vital organs. As you very well know, failure of the heart may mean failure of the whole system.

The initial symptom of heartworm is coughing. As the parasites find their way from the heart and into the lungs, it will cause a group of symptoms similar to a pulmonary disease like lung cancer. Hemoptysis and chest pain come along with it.

This makes heartworm in dogs a very difficult disease to detect. Even a veterinarian may find it hard to diagnose your dog’s disease, and to provide the necessary cure for it. Unlike most parasites, these ones don’t affect the coat or the fur of your dog. They affect your dog’s internal organs instead, which compounds the problem.

Heartworm can infect the rest of your dog’s vital organs, not just the heart and lungs. It can cause the veins to work abnormally and the liver to shut down its normal operation. There are many dogs that have died from heartworm. Don’t let your dog be the next victim.

Provide your dog with the necessary care it needs. If you live in a place where mosquitoes grow in number during the summer or a particular time of the year, be sure to consult your vet for the best preventive measure against this disease.

information taken from http://www.dogheartworm.org/

how to trim dog nails

When you hear your dog walking around the house making too much clicking sound, that means the claws are too long and its time to trim it. Surprisingly I found out lots of people out there sent their dog to saloon to have those claws trimmed, and together with services that can cost a bomb! Trimming those nails aint that hard, lets DIY!

Problems faced during trimming include:

1. dog will try to avoid it because of the unpleasant felling or maybe pain,
2. owner will be terrified if they accidentally cut the Quick and bleeding occurs.
3. the nails are too long even after trimming.  (result from too long time not cutting those nails and the quick grows longer together with the nail)

How to cut dog nails DIY:

1. First and foremost, do not cut the nail too short. Locate where is the Quick. Perform trimming under good lighting.
2. Get your dog to stay still. Sitting position will do, lying down with paws facing up is best for me. Pet the dog, keep saying “good boy”, with friendly tone. if he goes hiding, try play with him first, lure him out with a ball or treats.
3. Explore the best suitable way to trim its claws that causes the least reaction from the dog (feeling of pain). here is a video from petside.com that show the details.
4.  Trimming not cutting! trim a little by little. Remember, do not reach to close to the Quick. The closer to the quick, the more sensitive it is for the dog.
5. If nails are still too long even after trimming, due to long Quick, here’s the solutions. I recommend this for further reading.
6. After trimming is done, award the dog with treats or play ball. This is associate conditioning, very soon the dog will associate cutting nail to playing ball or treats, he will love to have his nails cut.

How often do we need to trim those nails? it really depends. if your dog often walk on rough surface such as road pavement, claw will be worn away. My rule of thumb is, when ever I feel that my dog is having trouble walking or running in-house or the clicking sound really starting to annoy me, then i will grab the nail clipper and say “goooooood boy, come here boy!!!”.

He met a new friend in the park

At Central Park Bandar Utama with my Jack Russell

There is a park in Klang Valley where dogs are not forbidden, which is the park next to One Utama shopping mall, name is Central Park Bandar Utama. You can bring your dog to this park at any day of the week. There are groups organizing dog obedience training on every Sunday with minimum charges. This event attracts many other dog owners to bring their dogs to Central Park on Sunday. many things that dogs are only allowed in the park on Sunday but it’s actually not true. i always goes there on week days, less crowded, n less distraction for my dog ( imagine a male dog that have not been neutered!)

Brought him to a park at One Utama, he was so excited meeting other dogs.

Playing fetch. He is extremely good at finding that particular branch that i throw away.

He is tired and hot after whole day of hyperactive mode, on the way home.