If you recently added a puppy to your family, or you own an older dog, then you’ll want to read this article right away.

In this article, we’re going to discuss several important facts about heartworm that are vital to your dog’s well being. First, we’ll talk about what heartworm is and how your dog can contract it. Next, I’m going to tell you about symptoms you should watch for and how to treat your dog if he does get infected. Last, we’ll finish up by talking about what you can do to prevent heartworm in your dog altogether.

First, let’s talk about what heartworm is and how your dog can catch it. Heartworm is caused by a parasite that is carried by mosquitos. Mosquitos carry the larvae from one animal to another by biting. When they bite, they draw blood from an infected animal, and then deposit it in a healthy animal when they bite again.

The heartworm parasite gets into a blood vessel and travels to the right ventricle of the heart. There’s an incubation process, and then the parasite begins to multiply. One female parasite can lay thousands of eggs every day. The parasites anchor themselves in the heart, and begin to grow. They can reach lengths of up to 12 inches long and resemble thin, cooked spaghetti.

Next, let’s talk about the symptoms and treatment of heartworm. The most common symptom is excessive coughing. You’ll also notice that your dog may start panting heavily and wheezing, even with just light exercise. Your dog may vomit often. If the disease has progressed sufficiently, loss of consciousness will occur. Heartworm restricts the flow of blood to the heart, and that causes many respiratory and circulatory problems. You should always be on the lookout for these symptoms in your dog.

Once the symptoms do appear, that means the disease has already progressed to a very dangerous stage. Your vet will do a blood test to detect the disease. If the disease is found, the most common treatments are medications in the form of pills, and topical solutions. In some cases, the worms may need to removed surgically. The problem with heartworm is that symptoms may not present for up to a year after your dog has contracted the disease. That’s why prevention is the most effective way to fight heartworm. That’s what we’re going to discuss now.

The best way to keep your dog free of heartworm is to get your dog on a monthly dose of preventive medication. This medication is usually given in the form of a chew tablet, but it can also be given by injection. Injections are usually given once every 6 months. This is a great option if you have a hard time getting your dog to take pills. It also ensures that you won’t forget to dose your dog on time. It’s very important that you medicate your dog at the same time every month.

Regular visits to the vet are also a great way to prevent heartworm. Your vet will do a blood test to detect the disease. If the test is positive, the vet will most likely do an angiogram to see what stage the disease is in. this way the vet can develop an effective treatment plan for your dog.

Another great way to keep your dog safe is to keep him from playing near standing water or damp, low-lying areas. These are big breeding grounds for mosquitos, and they increase the chances of your dog being bitten.

If you know what heartworm is, understand how your dog can get it, and use preventive techniques to avoid it, you can be sure that your dog will be happy and healthy for years to come!

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About the Author:
As I said earlier, you should train your dog to stay away from damp areas. Do you need some information about how to train your dog? You can get a great complimentary dog training guide at: Dog Obedience And Training Guide.
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Feeding is the most important thing when grooming hermit crabs. What your crab really wants is commercial high quality food. The ingredients of quality food are listed on the label to help people understand what they are feeding to their pet. Crab food is mostly dry and consists of worms like cricket, planktons and blood worms. These are the treats that your crab will love to have.

Feeding can be done both with your hand or you can also leave it to eat by itself. The choice is always yours. Again, feeding has several do’s which one need to take care of. These are listed below:

• Give your hermit crab a healthy diet. This is the diet that consists of all the essential nutrients. You will start to see changes in your pet as soon as you adopt this trick.
• Supplements for your crab. Supplements fill the gaps which commercial food does not always provide. Commercial food tastes better than any ordinary food and has more nutritional facts.
• Give your crab bird seed. Bird seed and clutterfish bones are the treat for your crab and he will love it.
• Water for all metabolic purposes. Water is the medium required for all chemical activities in the body to take place. It should not be normal tap water. Tap water is a killer for your crab because tap water destroys the shell of the crab. This happens initially with the start of an infection and then causes the protective layer to rot. A fungus known as chitin build up on the crab’s skin which acts as a parasite and destroys the keratinized layer. To serve the purpose of washing, use de-chlorinated warm water but feeding water must be the one which we drink.
• Boil everything that you use to feed and groom your crab. This is the most important step which most of the people tend to skip due to their laziness. Boiling helps to disinfect the germs on equipments and helps to keep mites away. Boiling for about 15 minutes will sterilize everything and prevent build up of microbes.
• Feeding during molting period. During molting, the outer exoskeleton sheds, so extra care is needed during this time. Giving calcium rich diet is an essential process. The outer layer is composed of calcium so calcium rich food is a must during molting.
• Feed your crab a lot of green leafy vegetables. Green vegetables contain a lot of active enzymes. These enzymes are essential for the crabs at all times. Also zinc and copper are other nutrients that are required by the crabs all year round. Lastly, don’t forget to wash the vegetables in de-chlorinated water before feeding.

What you feed your crab determines how healthy your crab is. Keeping your hermit crab in the tropical warm environment will increase the activeness of your crab. This does not mean you have to struggle to find a tropical forest or woodland. With a very little effort, you can make a tropical environment at home. Though this might require you to make a little investment, but this is not much to raise a favorite pet.

Preston Blackmore is a hermit crab enthusiast. For more great tips and advice on feeding a hermit crab, visit www.hermitcrabclub.com.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/seven-dos-when-feeding-a-hermit-crab-1785292.html