Tips To Protect Your Dog From Insect Bites
Spring and summer are the seasons when pets are most exposed to insect bites. Knowing the preventive measures to be taken, as well as the specific treatments to be applied for each injury, will ensure that your dog enjoys good health without having to give up the pleasures offered by nature.
Despite their small size, insects can pose a significant threat to pets that spend time outdoors. Furthermore, the risk can increase due to the great variety of insects and the different symptoms caused by the attack of each of them.
Before resorting to any veterinary recommendation, it is necessary to respect some important basic rules of hygiene.
- Proper washing. The frequency of baths to be carried out depends on atmospheric factors, on the time that the dog spends outdoors and also on his breed. Thus, those with thicker fur or creased skin where dirt can accumulate will need a more thorough cleaning. In the same way, it is necessary to check the pads or the area of the ears, in which ticks tend to lurk more frequently.
- Home hygiene. Just as it is important to take care of the animal’s body, at the same time it is necessary to keep the conditions of the environment in which it lives under control. In this respect, it is necessary to emphasize both the dog’s objects and the rest of the house. Installing mosquito nets or providing proper ventilation will help avoid insect bites.
- Avoid possible sources of infection. While it can be difficult to control the path a dog walks in nature, try to avoid ponds, mud or places that are excessively wet. For this reason, in the event that you have a garden, its adequate maintenance is important, especially if it is the place where the animal usually spends its day.
Specific measures against insect bites
After the internal and external hygiene habits have been guaranteed, it is essential to know what are the specific preventive and soothing measures to be taken against each insect. Among the most common we can find the following:
- Ticks. Even if their diffusion is greater in rural environments, parks or contact with other animals can favor the contagion within the city. They are easy to recognize, due to their shape and size, but proper procedure must be followed to extract them. To avoid them, it is useful to use sprays, pesticide collars, pipettes or other veterinary pharmacology devices.
- Fleas, lice and mites. They are the most common insects and their presence is associated with poor hygiene and the absence of brushing to remove dust. The symptoms are evident, because these parasites cause the animal to itch excessively. Just like in the case of ticks, collars and topical treatments are the most effective measure.
- Mosquitoes. Just like humans, their stings are more frequent during the summer or in humid places. The most common ailments resulting from this are redness, swelling and hives. While they may seem harmless, mosquitoes can cause one of the most dangerous diseases caused by insect bites, which lead to so-called worms in the heart. Medicines and doses are available to treat this disease depending on the size and exposure to which the animal has been subjected.
- Bees and wasps. In addition to the pain and intense itching caused by their bites, they can be very dangerous in the case of allergic dogs. In the presence of an allergic reaction, diarrhea, vomiting or even cardiac arrest can occur. For this reason, if there is a suspicion of extreme symptoms, it is necessary to contact the veterinarian as soon as possible.
The great variety of insects means that the most important countermeasure is prevention. To this end, hygiene and veterinary care are of fundamental importance.
