March 22, 2012
Posted in Pet Health, Pet Meds, Pet Supplies

Ringworm sounds like a creepy crawly bug, which is gross enough. But this skin condition is actually a type of fungus that can affect pets of all types whether they live indoors or out.

This fungus may not show a whole lot of symptoms at first, since it affects a dog's skin, which is covered in fur. At the same time, some pets can be carriers of the fungus and not actually show any symptoms at all. Your dog can become infected if it comes into contact with another animal that is infected or is a carrier. Your dog can also get this infection from the environment – this is particularly common if the animal's immune system is weak or stressed.

The classic symptom of ringworm is a round area of hair loss. However, your dog may also display symptoms like skin crusting or sores. If you suspect your dog has ringworm, you will need to bring it to the vet for a proper diagnosis. The vet will have to run a fungal culture of the hairs and sometimes a skin biopsy.

Ringworm can usually be treated with over the counter pet products like pet shampoo and anti-fungal sprays. Try giving your dog a bath with Malapet Medicated Shampoo or even a prescription shampoo like Keto Chlor. Vets will often recommend topical pet drugs like Miconazole or Tresaderm to treat ringworm. These are applied directly to the dog's skin.

If your dog suffered substantial hair loss from this, you may want to add a supplement like Nordic Naturals Pet Cod Liver Oil to its pet food. You will also want to make sure your dog's skin reaction is not actually an allergic reaction to a flea bite. Allergic skin reactions from flea bites are common in dogs, because many are allergic to flea saliva. That is why you should always keep your pet on flea and tick preventative medications like Pet Armor to protect it from flea bites. Luckily, this medication also protects against ticks and chewing lice. However, it does not protect against heartworm, so
consider keeping your dog on heartworm preventative medication like Heartgard to protect against this disease. 

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