FLEA FACTS and Internal Parasites

Flea Infestations are the most common parasite problem of dogs and cats in our area. It is estimated that American  pet owners spend over 500 million dollars each year on flea products most of which do not work! During the past few years much research has centered on studying the life cycle of the species of fleas that attack dogs and cats in an effort to develop better flea control methods. There are over 2000 species of fleas, but only a few actually attack dogs and cats

Here are some facts you should know:

Flea eggs are white and about the size of a grain of sand. The eggs are laid while the flea is on the pet and easily roll off the fur into the environment. Eggs usually hatch in 1‑10 days, depending on the temperature and humidity.  Once the eggs hatch, the larvae move deeper into the carpet to get away from light and searching for food. Temperatures below 65⁰ and relative humidity below 70% slow down growth of the flea. When the larva is mature, it produces a silk‑like cocoon. Because the cocoon is sticky, it quickly becomes coated with debris from the environment that helps camouflage it.  

This stage can last 9‑174 days. Adult fleas emerge from the cocoon when stimulated by heat, vibrations, and exhaled carbon dioxide The entire life cycle can be completed in as little as 12‑14 days, or as long as 140 days.  Under average conditions, the entire life cycle takes 3‑4 weeks.

Adult fleas are attracted to house pets by the warmth of an animal body, movement, and changes in light intensity, and exhaled carbon dioxide. Fleas have tremendously powerful back legs, which they use for jumping. It is estimated that if have power in our legs as has the flea; we could jump over the Empire State Building. It is reported that fleas can jump as high as 13 feet.

It is now known that the adult flea species that attacks dogs and cats spends its ENTIRE Adult Life on them. Once the adult flea begins to feed on an animal, it must have almost constant excess to the blood of animals for it to survive. Adult fleas cannot live off an animal more than 3‑4 days without a blood meal.

Egg production begins within 48 hours of the first blood meal, reaches a peak of 40‑50 eggs per day and can last well over 100 days. Female fleas can produce over 2000 eggs during their life. This is equivalent to producing their body weight in eggs every day of their life. While only a fraction of these eggs will eventually develop to adults in the natural environment, this high rate of reproduction ensures that there will ALWAYS be fleas!

New adult fleas must have a blood meal within 2‑3 weeks after hatching. The higher the temperature and lower the humidity, the quicker the fleas will die.

It is common for people to be attacked by fleas after returning from vacation or being away from home for several days. This is often due to the increased temperature that occurs when the air conditioning is turned back providing a better optimum temperature and humidity (in our area) for fleas to mature.

Fleas consume 15 times their body weight with every blood meal. An infestation of 220 female fleas could consume 10% of a 1-pound kitten's blood volume in one day. The majority of blood 

consumed is passed out as partially digested feces ("Flea Dirt") that serve as essential food for flea larvae in the carpets and other areas. 

INTERNAL PARASITES

Dogs and cats can become hosts to many intestinal parasites and a few general statements apply to all parasitic infections:

• All deworming medicines are poisonous to some extent and should only be used as needed and under proper conditions.
• At this time there is no one dewormer that can eliminate all species of parasites.  Consequently an accurate diagnosis is necessary to treat your pet properly.
• Diagnosis is usually made from a fresh stool sample (passed less than 12 hours) or, in the case of tapeworms, seeing the segments in the stool.
• Most puppies and kittens are infected before birth and, for this reason, will need deworming starting at 6 weeks of age. If hookworms are suspected, stools should be checked starting as early as 2-3 weeks. 
• Occasionally, for a heavy parasitic infection, 3 or even 4 treatments may be necessary to eliminate the parasite.

§         The following is a brief description of the common intestinal parasites with their symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and human transmission.

ROUNDWORMS:

This is a common worm of puppies and kittens, but can be seen in any age dog or cat. Diagnosis is made from a microscopic examination of the feces or from a description of the worm if it is seen in the stool or vomitus. Treatment is an oral medication given at 2-week intervals.  Symptoms will vary from none to marked vomiting and diarrhea, and abdominal swelling.  Transmission to adult dogs and cats occurs by infected feces contaminating the yard. As a result, prevention is accomplished by isolating your pet from infected feces of other animals. For dogs, the heartworm preventives also prevent roundworm infection. Transmission to humans is rare; young children can develop “visceral larval migrans” by eating dirt contaminated with feces.

HOOKWORMS:

This is also a common worm of puppies and kittens but is seen with equal frequency in adults.  This parasite sucks your pet’s blood and can cause severe anemia.  Diagnosis is made from a microscopic examination of your pet’s stool.  Treatment is either an oral medication or an injection or both.  This is repeated 2 weeks later.  Symptoms will vary from none to blood in the stool (dark tar-colored stool) with diarrhea.  Severe cases may need a transfusion and hospitalization.  Transmission to adults occurs by infected feces contaminating the grass or soil.  Prevention, therefore, requires that the pet be kept away from contaminated areas.  Two types of heartworm preventive can also prevent hookworm infections in dogs. Transmission to humans is uncommon and is usually shows up as skin lesions.                                           

                                                                                                                                
 
WHIPWORMS:

This worm affects dogs only. Diagnosis is also made from a microscopic exam of the feces.  Eggs from this parasite pass intermittently, however, so it may be necessary to check multiple fecals before a diagnosis is made. Treatment is an oral or injects able medication given at 3-week intervals for several treatments depending on the severity of the infection.  Symptoms vary from none to a severe watery diarrhea, vomiting, and marked weight loss. Some dogs require hospitalization for treatment of dehydration, malnutrition, and infection. There is no human transmission.

TAPEWORMS:

This common worm affects both dogs and cats. Transmission occurs when your dog or cat bites and “eats” a flea. The intermediate form of the tapeworm is inside the flea’s body and it then attaches to the intestine and begins to grow “segments”. In about 3 weeks, these segments begin to pass in the stool. They are approximately ¼ to ½ inch long, flat, and white. After a short time in the air, they dry up to resemble a small yellow flat seed.  Diagnosis is made from seeing these segments on the stool or on the pet’s back end rather than a microscopic fecal exam. Treatment is either by oral tablets or by an injection. The tapeworm infection kills existing tapeworms but it does not prevent future infection. The only prevention is strict flea control. There is no direct transmission from dog or cat to a human.

GIARDIA:

This parasite is not a worm. It is a very tiny single-celled parasite that can live in the intestines of dogs, cats, and man.  It is seen most commonly in dogs coming out of kennel-type situations (pet stores, shelters, dog pounds, etc.) but its incidence is increasing.  Symptoms include intermittent or continuous diarrhea, weight loss, depression, and loss of appetite. Diagnosis is made from a very fresh fecal specimen that must be collected at the clinic for optimum results.  A surprising number of affected animals are “occult”; that is, they are infected but are negative on these tests even with multiple examinations. As a result, this parasite is often treated without a confirming diagnosis.  Treatment is an oral medication administered at home. Prevention involves careful disposal of all fecal material and cleaning contaminated areas. Humans can become infected with Giardia so special care must be taken to wash hands and utensils.

COCCIDIA:

This is also a single-celled parasite. It is seen primarily in puppies and kittens, although debilitated adults can also be affected.  Transmission occurs by eating the infective stage of the parasite. It then reproduces in the intestinal tract causing no symptoms in mild cases to bloody diarrhea in severely affected pets. Diagnosis is made from a fresh stool sample. Treatment varies greatly. Animals showing no signs of illness are often not treated because a mild case is often self-limiting. Pets with diarrhea are treated at home with an oral medication. Severely affected pets may need hospitalization. Prevention involves disposal of all stools and cleaning the pet’s living area. Human transmission is uncommon but can occur.

HOUSEBREAKING PUPPY

Using these guidelines a puppy of six to eight weeks can be housebroken within a couple of weeks.  Any mistakes the dog makes after that will be your mistakes, and you should consult our clinic for more information.

Housebreaking depends upon the instinct of dogs to keep their bed clean. You can make use of this instinct by creating a sort of home “den” for them. Dogs are “den animals.” Their own private place gives them a sense of security. Confinement is not cruel unless abused.

Do this by constructing or obtaining a box that will have a door or lid on it with adequate ventilation holes. The box should be big enough for the puppy to turn about in and even to lie at full length, but no larger. The lid, or door, is required to keep the puppy from climbing out.  Airline crates work well

A puppy does not want a mess in his bed and then sleep in it! He might get caught the first night, but he won’t the second.  However, if the box is so large that he can relieve himself in one end and sleep in the other, he will do so. 

Remember that on the very first day it is important to start giving the puppy all his naps in the box.  Puppies sleep 75% of the time.  When the puppy awakens from his nap, you immediately lift him out of the box and carry him outside to a spot that you previously have selected.

You must take him to this spot before and after play; always when he awakens from a nap; and always the first thing in the morning and last thing at night.  You must never “just put him out.”  Instead, you must take him to this spot, urge him to go, and PRAISE him when he does.  Within a week, you’ll have him going on command.

POINTS TO REMEMBER:

A dog can only understand scolding and praise if it occurs within a half second of the event you are trying to control. Catching a puppy “in the act” is the best time to scold or praise. After the event has occurred, it is too late to scold, or praise, because the puppy will associate your feedback with whatever he is doing at the time, not ten minutes before.  Rubbing his nose in his mistakes is a worthless technique and only confuses the dog.

Dogs need to relieve themselves after eating, sleeping and playing.

Feed your puppy the same time every day. This will help keep the dog’s digestive system regular and it will be easier to predict when he needs to go out.

Start housetraining on a weekend when everyone will be home and able to help. If mistakes happen, clean it up well and spray an odor neutralizer on the wet spot and rub it in well.

 Good luck and please consult our clinic if you are having any difficulties in housebreaking your puppy.

Giardia Alert

 The staff at Shoal Creek Animal Hospital would like to keep you informed of an increased incidence of positive fecal exams containing the intestinal parasite, Giardia lamblia.

  What is Giardia?  Giardia is a single celled parasite that can live in the intestines of dogs, cats, humans and wildlife.

 How is it spread? Giardia is found in soil, food and water.  Generally we think of it as being picked up from drinking water that has been contaminated with infected fecal matter.  Water from swimming pools, hot tubs, jacuzzi’s, fountains, lakes, rivers springs, ponds or streams can be contaminated with Giardia. The parasite can also be contracted by ingestion of infected stool.

 What are the symptoms?   Giardia infections can cause the following symptoms in humans and animals alike:

                        Intermittent or continuous diarrhea

                        Gas or flatulence

                        Intestinal cramps or nausea

                        Loss of appetite and depression

How do I know if my pet is infected?  Giardia can be very difficult for us to document due to the fact that many animals are asymptomatic carriers.  Evaluation of fresh stool samples is the main means of detecting the parasite.  Multiple stool samples may be negative and the animal is still a carrier.  Therefore, we also have an antigen test that can detect the antigen from a stool sample. 

How is it treated?  If your pet is diagnosed with Giardia, he/she will be placed on 10 days of the antibiotic, metronidazole.  We recommend that all stools be picked up and disposed of to prevent further contamination of the surrounding soil and water.  This will also help decrease the likelihood of reinfection.  During this time, your pet will not be admitted into daycare.  Ten days after completion of the antibiotic therapy, a Giardia antigen test will be performed to reassess the Giardia status.  If negative, daycare participation may resume and a Giardia vaccine will be administered.

Is there a vaccine to prevent infection? Yes, there is a vaccine that will help reduce the shedding of the Giardia oocyst in the stool of animals.  This Giardia vaccine is given as a series of two injections, two to four weeks apart.   As of January 1, 2007, Giardia vaccine will be mandatory for all daycare and boarding participants.