Fencing Your Dog Can Protect Him From Parasites

Karen saw the collie/shepherd each morning as he took a jaunt down the quiet country roads. Each day he was having a different adventure. One day, he was carrying a deer leg. The next, he was eating the remainder of a dead deer hit by a car. And the next day he was barely carrying a tremendous wild turkey carcass, quite proud of his find. Karen wondered if his owners had any idea of what he might be doing during his morning walks.

And what could he be bringing home to his family? Fleas? Ticks? Lice? What else?

Loose dogs can catch parasites from other animals or from eating things they shouldn’t be like animal feces and the road kill the collie/shepherd eats every day.

Free-roaming dogs are at risk for catching hookworm. Hookworms eat off the intestinal walls of animals. They are easily contracted from contaminated feces or dirt and soil.

Other parasites dogs can catch while running loose include tapeworms, roundworm, whipworm, coccidian in addition to ear mites, mange and cheyletiella dermatitis. And your dog can pass on some of these parasites to you.

Tapeworms can infect animals and people. Dogs usually get them from fleas that have eaten tapeworm eggs or dogs can get them from eating infected feces of other animals. Pieces of tapeworm are eliminated and often look like rice grains.

Roundworms are the worms that look like rubber bands, noodles or spaghetti. When an animal is infested with them, they sometimes vomit them.

Whipworms are also ingested from contaminated fecal matter or other body fluids. They live in an animal’s colon and then release eggs into feces about three months after initial infection.

Coccidia can’t be seen with the naked eye like tapeworms, roundworms or whipworms. This microorganism is often present when many animals cluster at particular locations. They cause diarrhea and stomach problems.

Loose dogs can also come home infested with fleas and ticks, which can cause a real problem in your household.

A dog that is infested with parasites can cause your family illness, run up medical and veterinary bills and cause a major disruption to your household. Aside from the chaos and economic issues a parasitic infection can cause, as a responsible dog owner, you have taken on the responsibility of being his guardian for his health. You owe it to your dog to take the very best care of him, and free roaming is not the best thing for his health. Walk your dog, fence your dog, build a dog run, whatever you decide, do it for the sake of his health and wellness.

Next article: Giving Your Dog A Dog Run - His Own Space