How do I know if my dog has a virus
9 Signs Your Dog Has COVID-19 and What to Do About It
The contents of this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. It's important to consult with your medical providers and the CDC before making any medical decisions or changes to your health planor your pet'sparticularly with regard to COVID-19 and its variants.
As we take precautions to avoid getting infected with the deadly coronavirus, we want to ensure that the rest of our family, including our pets, is equally protected as well. So how should one know if beloved Max has the coronavirus? Do dogs exhibit the same symptoms as humans?
But Wait, Can Dogs Get COVID-19? What Are the Signs?
According to the Centers for Disease and Control, yes, dogs can get COVID-19. There were reported cases of dogs and cats who were infected with the virus. Although only a small number, most of them alarmingly contracted the virus because of their close contact with a person infected with COVID-19.
How, then, can we know if our pets are infected? Here are 9 signs to watch out for if you suspect your dog to have COVID-19:
- Your dog has a high fever. Your dog should have a normal body temperature of 101 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit (38.3 to 39.2 degrees Celsius). Your dog has a fever if his or her body temperature rises above 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Your dog is coughing. This can be serious if it is in combination with the other symptoms listed here, and if the coughing has lasted more than a week. However, it can also be due to other reasons.
- Your dog has difficulty breathing or has shortness of breath.
- Your dog is unusually lazy or sluggish.
- Your dog is sneezing and has a runny nose.
- Your dog has eye discharge.
- Your dog has diarrhea.
- Your dog has been vomiting.
Keeping Your Dog Healthy During COVID-19
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle for your pet is especially important in these stressful times. Choosing the right nutrition is the first step to helping your dog unleash his or her best health. Many pet parents have moved to dog food delivery to avoid an extra trip to the store. There are many options out there, and you want to choose the right one for your furry family member.
Tailored Pet offers personalized dog food subscriptions based on your dog's size, age, breed, sensitivities, and wellness goals. Pet food experts and veterinarians craft health-first dog food blends, delivered quickly and contact-free directly to your doorstep, at the frequency you choose, or as a one-time purchase. Monthly subscriptions start at $26 for small dogs, $40 for medium-sized dogs, and $54 for large dogs, and shipping is always free.
They even have great trial offers and discounts for ongoing subscriptions. If your pet does not like their personalized blend the first time around, pet nutrition experts will work with you and your pet until you the blend your dog loves at no extra cost.
Get started by taking this 3-minute quiz to build your dog's profile. You can also check out their latest subscription offers here.
How To Take Care of Your Pet With COVID-19
If your dog is experiencing a few of the listed COVID-19 symptoms, it is not a sure sign your pet has the coronavirus, it could in fact be a different illness. However, by getting your dog tested, especially when living with a Covid-19 infected human, you will know.
If you need to consult a veterinarian, you can do so over the phone. Veterinarians may consider a physical visit, only when needed.
And if your dog does have the virus, immediately isolate your pet in a closed area in your home, and keep it there for the next 14 days. Your dog may be healthy, but if he or she has exhibited signs that make it uncomfortable to move or even breathe, it is also equally important to ensure your dog recovers. This means you need to prep the quarantine area with your pet's bed, toys and other things that comfort him or her, like a security blanket. Your dog will be isolated from the rest of the family, and without any of the usual petting, hugging, or snuggling to reduce the risk of transmission, you want to ensure he is as comfortable as possible.
The food and water bowl and bathroom area should also be set up close to the door for easy cleanup without contact or touch. If you have to enter the area to clean up, make sure to wear a mask, face shield, gloves, and clothing that protects your skin before entering. By sanitizing everything and taking a bath afterward, you can further minimize transmission. Throw your worn clothes immediately in the washing machine and wash it separately.
How Do I Know if My Pet Is Safe to Be With My Family?
Your veterinarian will advise you when it is safe for your pet to rejoin the rest of the household. In some cases, your vet might recommend follow-up testing to clear your dog. If your dog no longer exhibits symptoms of COVID-19 for the last 72 hours without any medical management and has been quarantined at least 14 days since the last positive test, then your dog will be allowed to rejoin the family.
Your vet will also recommend you to keep up with your dog's regular checkups and to continue addressing his dietary and wellness needs regularly.
Learn more how you can protect your dog and achieve his or her healthiest self with Tailored.
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How to Tell If Your Dog Has Worms
One of the most common concerns that you may face as a dog owner is whether or not your dog has worms. As gross as that thought may be, intestinal worms are pretty common.
Heres what you need to know about worms in dogs: how to tell if your dog has worms, how dogs get worms, and how to get rid of worms in dogs.
How Do Dogs Get Worms?
Here are some of the most common ways that dogs get worms:
Eating Feces
Transmission of intestinal worms (hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms) commonly occurs when your dog ingests contaminated soil or feces containing eggs or immature worms (larvae) that have been passed from other infected animals in the environment.
Roundworm infections can develop when the ingested eggs hatch and the larvae migrate through the tissues of other organs, often a dogs lungs and liver, before returning to the small intestine to grow to maturity. Whipworms typically grow to maturity in the upper part of the large intestine.
Getting Them From Their Mother
Pregnant and nursing dogs can transmit hookworm and roundworm larvae to their puppies during pregnancy if the larvae migrate across the placenta. These larvae can also migrate into the mammary glands and be passed to puppies during lactation. Hookworms, like roundworms, will eventually grow to maturity in your dogs small intestine.
Ingesting Fleas While Grooming
Your dog could be infected with tapeworms while licking herself during grooming, or by chewing at her fur. Fleas transmit tapeworms by ingesting the tapeworm egg packets in the environment before jumping on your dog for a blood meal. Once the flea host has been swallowed and digested, the tapeworm larva is able to attach to the wall of your dogs intestine and grow to adulthood.
How to Tell If Your Dog Has Worms
Since worm infestations can sometimes show few to no symptoms, keep an eye out for any or all of these changes in your dogs daily health and appearance:
Diarrhea, sometimes containing blood or mucus
Vomiting, which can sometimes contain adult worms
Weight loss, particularly if your dog has a good appetite
A bloated belly or generally unhealthy appearance
A dull, dry coat
Excessive scooting and chewing at their bottom
Visible segments that look like grains of rice attached to the fur around their bottom or on their tail (or in their feces)
Common Types of Worms and Their Symptoms
Heres a list of common types of worms in dogs and the specific symptoms you might see for each.
Whipworms
Adult whipworms are smaller than roundworms and may be visible to the naked eye, but they are uncommonly seen as adults in the feces. These worms can cause:
Hookworms
Adult hookworms are usually not visible to the naked eye. Hookworms could cause:
Bloody diarrhea
Anemia
Weakness
Lethargy
Roundworms
Roundworms are visible to the naked eye (they look like spaghetti) and can be seen in feces or sometimes vomited or coughed up as single worms or in clusters. They can cause:
Tapeworms
Tapeworms can look like grains of rice on your dogs fur (individual egg packets) or may be visible to the naked eye in longer segments. They can cause:
Excessive scooting
Itching
Chewing at the rear end
Can Humans Get Worms From Dogs?
Humans can also contract hookworm and roundworm infections if they accidentally ingest contaminated soil or feces. Frequent hand washing andwearing shoes and appropriate clothing outdoors can decrease the chance of exposure.
Roundworms
Humans can be exposed through dogs, usually by coming into contact with their contaminated waste. Theoretically, it may be possible to contract roundworms by petting a dog, if the dog had recently rolled outside in the dirt and picked up either contaminated soil or fecal material on their fur.
Roundworm ingestion can sometimes lead to a condition called visceral larval migrans, which occurs when the roundworm larvae migrate through the intestinal wall into other internal organs, including the lungs, heart, nervous system and eyes. Roundworm larvae have been identified in several cases of acute blindness and retinal detachment in humans.
Hookworms
People can get hookworms by walking barefoot, although there have been cases of people developing lesions on their back or shoulders after lying on the ground with no shirt on. Any exposure of bare skin to contaminated soil/feces could pose a risk for transmission.
Exposure to soil that is contaminated with hookworm larvae can lead to a skin condition known as cutaneous larval migrans. These infections look like red tracks or coiled lesions just below the surface of the skin and can cause a great deal of itchiness as the live larvae migrate through the tissue.
It is rare, but hookworm larvae can also survive in the intestine and grow to adulthood in a human host, which can cause intermittent and recurrent episodes of abdominal pain and cramping.
Tapeworms
Tapeworms can be passed to humans much like they are transmitted in dogsby ingesting an infected flea. Once the flea is swallowed and absorbed in the digestive tract, the tapeworm larva can attach to the wall of the intestine.
Whipworms
Canine whipworm infections are species-specific and not typically considered a zoonotic threat to humans.
How to Get Rid of Worms in Dogs
Heres what to do if you suspect that your dog has any type of intestinal parasites.
Call for a Vet Appointment
If you think your dog might have worms, you should schedule an appointment with your regular veterinarian right away.
If left untreated, intestinal parasites can migrate to other organs in your dogs body, including the heart, lungs, liver, eyes and brain, which could lead to worsening sickness and even death in the most severe cases.
Collect a Sample of Your Dogs Stool
Your veterinarian may ask you to bring a fresh sample of your dogs stool from home, especially if you are seeing worms in their feces or notice dried, rice-like segments in their fur.
You only need a small amount of feces; usually about a teaspoon-size sample will do.
If you cannot collect a fresh sample at home, however, the veterinary staff will collect a sample when you arrive for your dogs appointment.
If your vet is suspicious of hookworms, roundworms, or whipworms, they will be looking for individual microscopic eggs in the sample.
Tapeworms can be identified microscopically by their egg packets, which are the rice-like segments you might also see attached to your pets fur. Occasionally, you may also see an adult worm in the fecal sample, which can be extremely helpful for identification.
Use Deworming Medications Prescribed by Your Vet
Once your veterinarian has had a chance to examine your dog and analyze the fecal sample, they will determine the best type of deworming medications to treat the worms that are present.
Your veterinarian may prescribe an oral or injectable dewormer that will kill the adult and larval worms. They may also recommend starting your dog on monthly topical or oral flea prevention, since tapeworm infections can recur if there are fleas in your dogs environment.
Oral Dewormers
Broad spectrum prescription medications such as Panacur (fenbendazole) and Drontal Plus (pyrantel, praziquantel, fenbendazole) can be used to treat hookworm, roundworm, whipworm, and tapeworm infections, but they must be carefully administered according to your veterinarians instructions and may require multiple doses to kill any larvae that may have hatched after the first dose was given.
Oral dewormers do not generally cause severe side effects. If your dog has a large worm burden at the time of treatment, it is possible that an oral dewormer could cause mild diarrhea, vomiting, and a temporary loss of appetite as the worms are paralyzed or killed by the medication and passed from your dogs system.
Injectable Dewormer
Praziquantel is also available as a one-time injectable treatment for tapeworm infections, which works by paralyzing and dislodging the sucker of the worm from the intestinal wall, allowing the worms to be passed in the feces.
Injectable dewormers may cause a local injection site reaction, including pain, swelling, and local inflammation due to its viscous nature.
Over-the-Counter Remedies
Purchasing over-the-counter or natural remedies for treating intestinal parasites is never recommended. While it may seem like a faster and cheaper alternative to visiting your veterinarian, there is NO guarantee that those products are safe or effective in treating any type of medical condition, and they could actually be harmful to your dog.
Featured Image: iStock.com/yulkapopkova
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