Saving our best friend: symptoms and treatment of toxocariasis in dogs. Characteristic symptoms of toxocariasis in dogs and methods of treatment

The causative agents of the disease are Toxocara, which have a grayish-yellow color. The female reaches a length of more than ten centimeters, and the male - up to four centimeters. This type of worms belongs to roundworms.

The small intestine and stomach are a great place for toxocara to become established in dogs. They live in the body for six months. They manage to lay more than two hundred thousand eggs per day. Then they mature in the soil, where they can lie for several years. At the same time, their ability to further development doesn't disappear. Lying in the ground, they dry out, crush under the influence of water and air, becoming dust.

It is very easy for toxic cars to get into any living space along with dust and dirt. They are also found on the dog bed, in the animal’s mouth, in the digestive tract, in the grass, in the sand, in the stadium, in public gardens, on sidewalks, in children’s sandboxes where animals like to walk. Even dogs that do not leave their living quarters can easily catch this disease by licking their fur. In apartments and houses where he lives four-legged pet, there are always worm eggs on the floor.

The dog swallows the larvae along with grass or leftover food that it picks up from the ground, or by eating small rodents. The source of infection can be pigs, sheep, and birds. Even newborn puppies become the cause of toxocariasis infection in other dogs. For the puppies themselves, which have just been born, this disease is life-threatening. And puppies up to two and a half months old usually die.

Development Integration

Excrement that has just been left by a sick dog somewhere convenient for it is not infectious to others because the Toxocara eggs have not matured in it. To “ripen” they will still need to lie for eight to thirty days.

The egg begins to develop in the digestive tract. The larva that hatches there, along with semi-digested food, moves towards the small intestine. Having bitten through the intestinal wall, the helminth settles in the first vessel that comes its way.

Together with the blood, toxocar enters the liver, heart, and lungs. There, in the lungs, it grows to required sizes and lives for two weeks. Because of this, the dog develops bronchitis. Together with the departing sputum, the larva again finds itself in gastrointestinal tract. Here the larva lives until it becomes adult, that is, twenty days. And again the release of eggs into the environment begins.
They can become a place of refuge for many larvae:

• liver;
• heart;
• kidneys;
• bile ducts;
• pancreas;
• muscles

Living in these organs, the larvae develop and grow. Such “addition” can lead to heart failure, kidney failure, sometimes pulmonary failure, or abscesses in the dog. But some of the larvae enter the liver, muscles, kidneys and are encapsulated there, retaining all their vital forces for quite a long time, more than a year.

Symptoms of toxocariasis

If only early stage it would be possible to easily diagnose toxocariasis in dogs, treatment would be more successful and shorter. The first symptoms that should attract the attention of owners regarding the health of their pet are:

• loss of appetite;
• anemia develops;
• vomit;
• stomach upset.

You may notice alternating constipation with severe diarrhea.
The dog becomes nervous and its behavior changes. During vomiting, balls of Toxocara may fall out of the mouth. Dogs can also experience intestinal colic. Epileptic convulsions are even possible.

The dog develops a cough. This occurs at the moment when the larvae move from the lungs to the gastrointestinal tract. This cough lasts about two weeks and then goes away. This condition does not cause concern to the owner. And in vain... Seeing such symptoms in your pet, you need to collect feces and submit it for analysis to determine the eggs for the presence of worms. In the laboratory, the Fulleborn method is used for this. With the test results, only a veterinarian can accurately diagnose your dog.

Treatment of toxocariasis in dogs

If a visit to a specialist and test results confirm this disease in your dog, then you need to start treating it. Just don't do this on your own. After all, you can cause so much trouble that then treating your pet will cost an exorbitant amount. Please contact us with this problem knowledgeable doctor. Those drugs containing piperazine are considered effective in the treatment of toxocariasis in dogs. It can be:

1. Droncit or Pyrantel tablets;
2. piperazine salts;
3. nilverm and fenbendazole tablets;
4. mebendazole tablets.

But those diseases that caused Toxocara will require long-term treatment under the close supervision of a veterinarian. So that you and your loved ones do not get infected similar disease, in this case, you should not pick up or stroke the dog.

It is advisable to simply limit close contact with your pet for a while. Adhering to basic hygiene rules - keep your hands clean at all times, just wash them often. To protect your pet from such a disease, it is necessary to carry out examination and preventive treatment twice a year.

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Characterized by long lasting and extensive damage. All breeds of dogs are susceptible to the disease, regardless of age and gender, and there is also no seasonality.

All dog breeds are susceptible to toxocariasis.

Risk group

Characteristics of the pathogen

The helminth development cycle is quite complex, differs in several stages .

Subsequent return to the lungs can result in respiratory failure.

Clinical manifestations

Constipation is one of the signs of toxocariasis.

The initial stage almost always passes without visible changes. Then more noticeable symptoms begin to appear. The main signs of toxocariasis:

At an early stage of the disease, severe intoxication occurs.

Therapy

Today, veterinary medicine has no shortage of special means against helminths.

1. Piperazine salt and levamisole are prescribed.
2. And it is also recommended to use drontal, pyrantel, nilverm.
3. Prescription of fenbendazole, mebendazole, droncit is allowed.
4. It is advisable to use Azinox Plus, Drontal Plus.
5. Except specific drugs, symptomatic medications are prescribed.
6. Intoxication is relieved through infusion physiological solutions.
7. Glucose is infused to fuel the body.
8. But they also use drugs to eliminate skin manifestations allergies – local application ointments and suspensions.

The drug Levamisole will help get rid of helminths.

Prevention

The best ways to prevent Toxocara infection are: simple actions. Near front door There should be a mat so that by wiping you leave most of the pathogen on it. Of course, this does not guarantee 100% prevention, but it will reduce the amount of hazardous substances.

Wet cleaning is a preventive measure.

Video about toxocariasis in dogs

In pets with strong immunity helminthic infestation It is practically asymptomatic, puppies and weakened individuals get very seriously ill, sometimes with a fatal outcome.

Description

Female pathogens lay great amount eggs that fall into external environment with feces. Outside the body of a pet, pathogen eggs mature within 1-2 weeks, depending on temperature and humidity environment. Further, when ingesting grass or soil, the invasive egg enters small intestine dogs or rodents, the larvae hatch and penetrate through the intestinal walls into the blood vessels. They enter the liver or lungs through the hematogenous route. In the liver, the development of the larvae stops, but they remain viable; the animal becomes infected by eating a rodent whose liver is affected by roundworms.

Larvae settled in the lungs migrate through the bronchi and trachea to oral cavity pet, where they are re-ingested and return to the small intestine. After this cycle, female nematodes reach sexual maturity and begin to produce thousands of eggs.

There are several ways to infect pets with Toxocara:

• Nematodes are transmitted to puppies from a sick female during embryonic development or breastfeeding;
• Penetration of worm eggs through ingestion of grass, soil, eating contaminated feces or rodents;
• Ingestion of nematode eggs through close contact with infected relatives: sniffing and licking fur;
• Infection also occurs by eating the meat of foxes, arctic foxes, mice and rats.

Given the widespread prevalence of the pathogen, it is almost impossible to prevent Toxocara invasion.

Symptoms t oxocariasis in dogs

It is almost impossible to detect an infestation in a dog with a strong immune system due to the lack of bright clinical picture. In puppies, weakened animals, with insufficient care and lack of balanced nutrition can be seen following symptoms diseases:

• Exhaustion of the animal, with sufficient feeding the animal continues to lose weight, the dog looks very thin with a bloated belly;
• The coat becomes faded, disheveled, areas of baldness and dermatitis are observed, the disease is characterized by severe itching, the animal scratches the skin with its paws until it bruises;
• In puppies severe vomiting and diarrhea, indigestion in adults;
• Numerous worm eggs and the pathogens themselves are found in feces white, twisted into balls;
• The animal behaves restlessly, may bark frequently, spin around, and whine;
• Paroxysmal cough with foam during migration of larvae through the respiratory system.

If there are signs of exhaustion, stool disorder, or helminths are detected in feces, it is necessary to urgently carry out therapeutic deworming of the animal.

Diagnosis and treatment

For staging accurate diagnosis it is necessary to examine the dog by a veterinarian using additional methods examinations. It is necessary to exclude other diseases characterized by exhaustion, stool disorder and cough.

In a clinical setting, laboratory testing of blood, urine and feces is required. Decisive diagnostic value is the detection of eggs or pathogens in the feces of a pet.

Therapeutic measures are aimed at destroying the pathogen and restoring the body.

For the treatment of t oxocariasis in dogs andTo destroy the pathogen, therapeutic deworming is carried out in several stages. There are a huge number of anthelmintic safe drugs, the use of which is allowed for pets from three weeks of age. Medicines are not effective against migrating larvae; the effect of the drugs is directed only at sexually mature individuals living in the small intestine. Also does not exist safe means, preventing intrauterine infection puppies.

To restore the body, it is carried out symptomatic therapy using expectorants, anti-inflammatory, immunostimulating and vitamin preparations, hepatoprotectors. Depleted animals are given drip infusions of physiological solutions to relieve intoxication.

Prevention

To prevent invasion, it is advisable to follow preventive measures:

• Wash the animal's paws after a walk;
• Frequent wet cleaning of the room where the pet is kept;
• Regular change and disinfection of litter;
• Decent conditions for keeping the animal;
• A balanced diet using vitamin and mineral supplements;
• Regular preventive deworming, carried out in several stages;
• Preventative examinations with a specialist laboratory research blood and urine;
• At the first symptoms of the disease, it is necessary to urgently deworm the animal after consulting a veterinarian.

Toxocara is a fairly large nematode of white or light yellow color. The body is fusiform, covered with a cuticle; in addition, it has cervical cuticular wings that form a hood on the head. Length from 5 to 18 cm. The tail end of the male is curved, while in the female it is straight and cone-shaped. The mouth opening is framed by thick lips. Maximum duration life is 6 months.

Causes of the disease

That is why toxocariasis in dogs is practically incurable. A healthy animal that sleeps on clean bedding and eats properly prepared food can easily find pathogen eggs by chewing the grass on the site. You yourself will bring them home on the sole of your shoe.

The egg falls into digestive tract and development begins roundworm. The larva that hatches here moves along with the food into the small intestine. Having bitten through the wall of the latter, the helminth enters blood vessel and together with the blood it reaches the liver, heart or lung. Most often they settle in the lungs, where they live for about two weeks. Because of this, dogs begin to cough and develop bronchitis. Together with sputum, the larva again ends up in the gastrointestinal tract. Here it develops into a mature individual.

Temporary shelters for nematodes include the lungs, heart, liver, pancreas, kidneys or muscles. Symptoms of toxocariasis in dogs will depend on which organ is affected. In this case, doctors may suspect cardiac, renal or pulmonary failure. If the larva gets into the muscle, it becomes encapsulated, and this leads to an abscess.

Symptoms

What should you pay attention to? loving owner? First of all, on the deworming scheme. Starting from two weeks of age, it is necessary to regularly feed your pet the recommended medications. Of course, they are also toxic, so do preventive actions often not recommended. But if you notice one or more listed symptoms, then an extraordinary course is required. If treatment of toxocariasis in a dog is carried out at an early stage, it will take much less time and will be highly effective.

The first symptoms are:

• Loss of appetite.
• Development of anemia.
• Vomiting and stomach upset.

If you notice that your pet's constipation is replaced by severe diarrhea, then you need to bring this to the attention of your veterinarian. An infected dog becomes nervous and its behavior changes. Vomiting with loss of helminths may occur. arise intestinal colic which are accompanied by refusal to eat. Bronchopneumonia often develops.

Allergic reactions

First of all, you need to contact veterinarian and carry out diagnostics. Symptoms may indicate dozens of the most various diseases. After general examination The doctor will take a stool test, after which he can make a conclusion. Now you can think about how to treat your dog for toxocariasis.

Today, the most effective drugs are those containing piperazine. You can find many analogues in pharmacies:

• tablets "Pyrantel";
• piperazine salts;
• "Nilverm";
• Mebendazole tablets.

Restoration of the body

It is important that you and your loved ones do not become infected from your pet. To do this, it is enough to limit communication with him for some time. For example, you shouldn’t pick him up for a while. Of course, you need to comply basic rules hygiene: wash your hands often with soap and floors with disinfectant.

Modern drugs

Development continues today medicines, which help fight toxocariasis in dogs. "Milbemax" is one of the latest and effective drugs. It destroys not only round ones, but also tapeworms, since it has wide range actions. Due to the peculiarities of the composition, it fights both adults and larvae.

Instead of a conclusion

Pets are susceptible to helminth infections. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out preventive measures throughout their lives. The first time the drug against nematodes is fed to puppies at the age of 2-3 weeks. After two weeks, the procedure must be repeated. At two months another deworming is carried out. And adult dogs are fed the drugs once every three months, with mandatory repetition after 12 days.

The high prevalence of toxocariasis is due to the simple penetration of its eggs into the host’s body. Infection occurs through ingestion of eggs; to do this, the animal only needs to lick its own fur, onto which pathogens have fallen along with pieces of soil; they can also be various subjects, which the dog decided to chew.

However, the process can be much more complicated if the larva does not immediately enter the lungs, but moves along with the blood to the liver, heart or other organ. There it will gradually develop, causing multiple complications in the animal, until it finally gets into the lungs, and from there into the intestines.

How to determine the disease

Toxocariasis in dogs does not have clear symptoms; as a rule, the manifestation of the disease is associated with the pathology of the organ that is more severely affected. Mostly puppies and young animals with developmental delays are affected.

In puppies, toxocariasis can manifest itself as:

• diarrhea;
• vomiting;
• flatulence;
• deterioration of the coat condition;
• severe anxiety when trying to palpate the intestines;
• perversions of appetite;
• increase in the content of leukocytes and eosinophils in the blood;
• nervous phenomena.

Puppies lose weight, and they experience delays in development and growth, and become restless: they squeal, may bite, and bark for no reason. Flatulence causes a very bloated stomach.

Diagnosis is carried out comprehensively. In this case, they can be assigned serological studies, blood test, but the main method is the examination of feces, where eggs are found, as well as adult nematodes.

However, fresh dog feces are not contagious because their eggs must mature within 8-30 days to be able to develop inside a new host.

Treatment of toxocariasis

For use:

1. Nilverm;
2. Pyrantel pamoate;
3. Febantel;
4. Droncite;
5. Morantel tartrate;
6. Piperazine salts;
7. Tividine;
8. Mebendazole;
9. and other means.

Nilverm is available in the form of a white, odorless powder that easily dissolves in water. The standard dose is 0.02 g/kg at a time; for young animals it is usually halved.

Pyrantel pamoate is sold in the form of tablets or suspensions taken orally. The product is effective against sexually mature adults and there are no helminths. The recommended dose is 5 mg per kilogram of dog weight. Three weeks later, the drug is taken again.

Piperazine is sold in the form of colorless, easily soluble crystals with the ability to volatilize and have low toxicity. They are usually mixed into the animal’s food at the rate of 0.2 g per kilogram of weight.

Tividine is a powder of small crystals, soluble in water, odorless. It is used in the form of salts: tartrate, pamoate, embonate. It is used at a rate of 0.015 g per 1 kilogram of animal weight, once every 2 days.

Mebendazole – powder with yellowish color tasteless and odorless. It is insoluble in water and other substances. The recommended dose is 0.015 g/kg of animal weight, which is mixed into the feed.

Febantel is produced in the form of a white powder of small, odorless crystals. The substance is very poorly soluble in water, so it is recommended to mix it into the animal’s food at a rate of 1 milligram per kilogram of body weight. Febantel is used for 3 days, once a day.

Morantel tartrate is white crystals, odorless, quickly soluble in water. Apply at a rate of 15 milligrams per kilogram of animal.

Azinox-plus includes several components: praziquantel, tetramizole and aminazine, which provide it high efficiency. It works on flat and roundworms in dogs and cats. Prescribed dose: one tablet per 10 kg of animal weight.

When carrying out treatment, it is necessary to consult a veterinarian, who will tell you which drug to choose and how to adjust the therapy. At the same time, do not forget about the instructions, which describe the technology for handling the drug. So, some of them are toxic and should be kept out of reach not only of children, but also of dogs.

Prevention of toxocariasis involves several measures. First of all, this is deworming, which is carried out not only to treat, but also to prevent the disease. Deworming is carried out in adult animals every 3-4 months, in bitches before mating, and in small puppies that have reached three weeks of age.

It is also necessary to remember to limit the spread of pathogen eggs. For this purpose, you should regularly conduct wet cleaning in areas where animals live. At the entrance to the apartment you need to put a rug on which the dog should learn to wipe its paws after a walk.