External Dog Parasites
Lice are dog parasites that often affect dogs and puppies specially, expanding through direct contact or through brushing material. They generally establish around the head. On the other hand, ticks live in dogs only for a short period of their life span, going away from the dog once they have fed themselves with his blood. Better than taking away the tick, or beheading it, leaving it stuck in the skin acting as a source of infection, spread its body with common oil. With the respiratory pores obstructed, the tick won't be able to breath, and will give up completely. Specially in tropical zones, ticks can transmit serious protozoa diseases. One of the most expanded is the babesiosis, produced by the Babesia canis protozoa, related with the tick of the brown dog sanguine Rhipicephalus . The disease is known as red water, due to a strong anemia that causes red urine; normally there are necessary sanguine transfusions, along with drugs, for an effective treatment. To take the dog to a zone where these ticks are endemic carriers of babesiosis is very risky, and the dog has to be closely watched. The protozoa are detected easily in a blood smear, tinted in a proper way, to be examined through a microscope. Some flies can also parasite in dogs. Flies are attracted by their feces, where they place their eggs. These eggs originate worms, which attack the skin and produce a toxin that gets into the sanguine flowing, and could be fatal. Flies larvae should be eliminated at the first opportunity, and the affected zone should be cleaned with antibiotics if needed. In some zones of the US, dogs can be attacked by the flies worms Cutterebra maculata. These invade the skin when the dog walks by a place where eggs have been placed. Thick hair breeds are usually more affected, and worms should be extirpated through surgery.
A careful examination of the hair of your dog will help to detect these parasites in a first phase, which will ease the control of them
