The worms mature in the dog’s heart (they can grow up to an amazing one foot in length), and then mate and produce offspring. Adult heartworms live in the heart, lungs, and associated blood vessels of an infected dog. Heartworms enter a dog’s bloodstream from the bite of an infected mosquito. “A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its host.”Īccording to the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC), many dogs will be infected with parasites at some point in their lifetime. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sums it up:
For information about external parasites, such as fleas, ticks, and mites, check here.įirst, let’s define what a parasite is. So here is an overview of the most common internal parasites dogs can get, how they work, and the problems they may cause.
To cover all of the parasites in detail would (and does) take up a book. Parasites can cause anything from mild irritation to serious illness. Parasites in dogs take many forms, but they all have one thing in common: sooner or later their presence will almost always have an impact on your pet’s health or comfort.
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