 Heartworms are a serious threat and in a lot of cases they can turn out to be fatal. These worms are transmitted by mosquitos and can affect internal organs such as the heart and lungs. The only way to keep your pet safe is to stay informed and take proper precautions. Following are 8 surprising facts about heartworms you probably didn’t know.
Heartworm Blood Tests Can Be Negative Even If Your Dog is Infected: This may come as a surprise but heartworm tests can be negative even if your dog has heartworms. This is mainly because these tests are geared to detect adult worms and it takes 6 months from heartworm larvae to become fully formed adults. Therefore, from the time your dog is infected till the time the heartworms fully develop into adults, there is a good chance the test is going to be negative even though your pet has worms. Regular Intestinal Worm Preventives Do Not Protect Your Dog From Heartworms: Some newbie pet parents believe that regular spot-on and oral worm preventives also protects your dog against heartworms. While some products such as the Advantage Multi Dogs Monthly prevention do protect dogs from both heartworms and intestinal worms most do not. Be sure to check the packaging. Dogs in All 50 States in the United States Are Susceptible to Heartworms: No state is completely safe from heartworms. Even low-risk states such as Washington, Montana, Nevada, and North Dakota witness cases of heartworms being reported on a regular basis. It’s Almost Impossible to Detect Heartworm Disease in Its Early Stages: As mentioned earlier, blood test can only confirm heartworm disease after the worms reach adult size. Apart from that, dogs often exhibit no clinical signs of heartworm infestation. This makes it almost impossible to detect heartworms early. Heartworm Prevention is Easy but Treatment is Difficult: Preventing heartworms is as easy as feeding a monthly oral tablet to your dog or administering a spot-on dose. Treating heartworm is not only much more difficult but oftentimes highly expensive. Heartworm Disease Can Be Fatal: As the name suggests, adult heartworms clog up the arteries of the heart, which can lead to congestive heart failure. If left untreated heartworm disease is often deadly. Wild Animals and Other Pets Can Also Have Heartworms: Dogs are not the only victims of heartworms. Ferrets and cats can also be infected. A mosquito can transmit the heartworm from one animal to the other. So, heartworm disease can be passed on from a ferret to a dog or vice versa. Heartworm Tests Are Important Even If Your Dog is On Preventives: There are several scenarios where a heartworm preventive fails to do its job. Dogs often spit out tablets, spot-on treatments can get rubbed off, and you can end up administering a counterfeit pet med. This is why the American Heart Society and vets recommend performing an annual heartworm test even if your pet is on preventives.
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 Greece civilization is one of the most interesting of all. And Greece is home to some interesting dog breeds as well. For example to the Cretan Hound. This is a dog from big Greek island called Creta and it is probably one of the oldest hunting dog in Europe. Unlike the Greek Harehound, they are using both, sight and scent equally while hunting. Cretan Hound is pretty obedient dog and they want to make us happy, which makes the training easier. Their temperament is active and focused while they are hunting or doing some other activity, but while they are with their family, they are gentle and affectionate. Have you ever heard about Kokoni? This dog is also known under its name Small Greek Domestic Dog and it is very popular dog in Greece. They are small companion dogs, that are sharing homes with Greek people for centuries. And they are great companion dogs, lively, fun to be around, bright and eager to please. And they are also pretty intelligent and good at training. Probably the most famous Greek dog is Greek Shepherd. It is livestock guardian from mountain region. These dogs are beautiful and sometimes they are confused with Great Pyrenees or other Mountain dogs. They have floppy ears, large head and broad muzzle. Their temperament is very independent and they are not good for novice owners. They are very loyal, brave, alert and intelligent. They might look lazy when they are resting, but when they have job to do, they are very active. Watch our full video about ALL the Greek breeds: 
The history of Saint Germain Pointer comes to early 19th century, when the English Pointer named Miss was crossed with Braque Francais called Zamore. They were crossed several times and the rumours about a new amazing hunting dog breed spreds quickly across the France. The official recognition of this breed came in the 1913, when the breed club of Braque Saint-Germain was found.
Saint Germain Pointer is very strong dog full of muscles. Their height is around 60cms. They have fawn and white coat and there should not be any black markings on it. The ears are dropped, tail is long. In general, they have the typical working or hunting dog appearance. Great thing is, that they dont need much grooming. You should only brush them when necessary. Other than that, only routine maintance is needed, like ear cleaning, ocassional bathing, nail clipping if necessary. Bad thing is, that Saint Germain Pointer is heavy shedder, so prepare for a lot of vacuuming. This breed is pretty healthy, they are not prone to any unusual health problems. Of course, as with most bigger dog breeds, they might have hip and elbow dysplasia, ear and other infections. But its the same as with other dogs of this size. Check our video about this awesome breed: New QnA is out. I answered your questions from Quora. You asked me on these questions:
What is the best excercise for a puppy? Why do dogs stick out their tongues often? Dogs will learn and recognize their name over time? Does this mean you could train a dog to respond to a cough as their name? What are good apartment dog breeds that I can take for 3 mile runs? Do you take your dog(s) to the dog park? Why or why not? What makes my dog’s farts smell so bad? Do you like Dogs or Cats better as pets? Why?
My dog reacts to snow for the first time. And he loves it! He was curious about it at first, but after that the dog zoomies started. Labradors are good at snow, they are doublecoated dogs and thanks to their coat they are very tough. But not all breeds are good for it.
If you have double coated or long coated dog, your walks might be the best at winter. Most dogs just love playing in snow. But if you are owner of Chihuahua, Boxer or Doberman, you should make your walks shorter. Or buy them some dog coat or sweatshirt, which will help them with the cold temperatures. Check my puppy enjoying snow in this video: |