Now that we have some warmer weather, pet owners have to be aware of potential parasites that can affect their pets. Most of the following recommendations are for pets that live in Toronto. If your pet travels outside of Toronto, we would ask you to speak to one of our veterinarians at the Forest Hill Animal Clinic, so that we can come up with an individual parasite protection plan. The chances of a pet acquiring a parasite largely depends on the geographical area that the pet is exposed to. That is why we at Forest Hill Animal Clinic, believe that each animal needs to have an individualized parasite protection plan that is based on their risk level.

Intestinal Parasites

Most intestinal parasites are transmitted by contact with infected dog’s feces. All it takes is your dog to ingest a small amount of infected feces and they could develop a intestinal worm infection. Intestinal parasites are common in Toronto and the high density of dog parks, doggy daycares and dog walkers in the city makes transmission from dog to dog easy. The most common intestinal parasites are roundworms, whipworms, hookworms, tapeworms and giardia. If you are traveling with your pet outside of Ontario, we recommend that you speak to one of our highly qualified veterinarians about your pet’s individual risks.

Heartworm Disease

Heartworm disease is a parasite that lives in the dog’s blood stream. Dogs acquire heartworm through mosquito bites. Heartworm is a treatable condition and more importantly a preventable disease. Although the prevalence in Toronto is low, the treatment is expensive and can also involve several months of exercise restriction which is why we offer heartworm preventative products. The mosquito needs to bite an infected dog or coyote which results in the mosquito ingesting heartworm larva. When that infected mosquito bites another dog it transmits the heartworm larva infecting that dog. With each of our clients we spend the time to discuss your dog’s travel habits and environment when making recommendations about heartworm prevention. If you are traveling outside of Toronto, please discuss your pet’s individual risk with one of our veterinarians.

Fleas

It is important to understand the flea life cycle when talking about flea control. About 1/3 of a flea infestation is eggs. A female flea can produce up to 40 eggs per day, which are laid on a host (dog), where they eventually fall off into the environment and hatch. Almost 60% of a flea infestation is in the larvae stage. The larvae look like small caterpillars and actually feed off the feces of the adult fleas. When the environment is perfect, the larvae will pupate. Less than 10% of fleas make it to the pupae phase. The pupae develop in cocoons and when they hatch they are adult fleas.

Most flea infestations start with a flea from the outdoors attaching to your pet. The flea will sit at the end of a blade of grass and wait until it feels vibration from your dog walking by, and then the flea jumps onto your dog so that it can feed and lay eggs.

There are both oral and topical flea preventatives and treatments available for your pet. We generally see fleas during the spring, summer and fall, but we always see a few flea cases in the winter. Please speak to our veterinarians to discuss the best flea treatment for your pet. If your pet does get a flea infestation, then all the animals in your house should be treated.

Ticks

Ticks have been a hot topic for the last couple of years because we are seeing more of them in Toronto. The tick that has received the most attention is the Ixodes Scapularis tick (Deer Tick or Black-Legged Tick) because it can carry the infectious agent responsible for Lyme disease. Lyme disease can be devastating in humans, especially if not diagnosed early in the clinical disease. Dogs can get infected with Lyme disease, but it is important to note that 95% of these dogs clear the infection without showing clinical signs. Clinical signs of Lyme disease can include fever, lethargy, reduced appetite and lameness. Should your dog develop any of these clinical signs please contact the Forest Hill Animal Clinic to arrange a consultation.

A tick feeds on a dog’s blood and transmits Lyme disease when it is introduced to the host. It takes a minimum of 24 hours for the transmission of Lyme disease to occur, but it can sometimes take up to 72 hours. That is why it is important that any tick found on your pet is removed immediately.

Even though there has been a lot of attention to Lyme disease, the chances of acquiring Lyme disease in Toronto remains low. Warmer temperatures and bird migration patterns do influence the distribution of ticks and the risk of tick borne diseases. We will keep you updated on any changes to our recommendations for Toronto.

There is a Lyme disease vaccine that is available but we don’t routinely recommend the vaccine at this time. If you want more information regarding the Lyme vaccine, please call the clinic. If you travel to areas that have a high prevalence of Lyme disease, please call us to find out your preventative options.

For more information about the risk of Lyme disease please check out this poster from the Ontario Animal Health Network.