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| Rocco enjoys his outdoor time without worry of nasty parasites |
This post is sponsored by Virbac® Sentinel® Spectrum® and the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer NetworkTM. I am
being compensated to help create awareness about
protection against common parasites found in dogs but we only share
information we feel is relevant to our readers. More information about Sentinel Spectrum. Virbac is not responsible for the
content of this article.
The weather has turned beautiful here in Atlanta and Rocco and I are enjoying lots of time outside. But it’s not all sunshine and lollipops when the nasty parasites come out to play.
You’re probably aware of the need to protect your pup
against heartworms and fleas, but there are a whole host of intestinal
parasites -- including hookworms,
whipworms, roundworms, and tapeworms -- that can invade your dog’s digestive system
and can cause serious health problems for your pet.
It all may
sound pretty gross, and scary, but it’s so easy to protect your pet. And,
prevention is much easier and less costly than treatment.
Rocco just
had his annual vet checkup, so while we were there we asked our vet about
heartworm and flea protection. We’ve
been using Sentinel for years, and this year our vet told us he’s recommending Virbac®Sentinel® Spectrum®. It’s the pretty
much the same thing we’ve been using, but now with added protection for
tapeworms.
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| Rocco gets his checkup and annual heartworm screening |
We learned that Sentinel Spectrum
helps keep your dog
covered from the six most common parasites.
Here’s a primer on what each parasite is all about
Heartworms can be
transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito and the outcome can be
deadly. Nearly 300,000 dogs in the U.S. contract heartworms each year from
infected mosquitoes, causing lack of energy, weight loss, and breathing
problems. It’s a serious disease and so easy to prevent. We’ve always been
super diligent about protecting against heartworms. Prevention is so much easier on your pup, and
less costly, than the treatment of this dangerous disease.
Fleas are just
gross, right?! Where there’s one flea,
there could be hundreds more waiting to hatch. Fleas on a dog are only the tip
of the iceberg. Only 5 percent of fleas are adults, the other 95 percent are
eggs and immature fleas living in the environment. And what makes it even
worse, the fleas you can’t see are able to survive in a home for up to 1 year
before ever finding a host. Uck.
Not only are fleas nasty… and cause itchy dogs, they can
also cause tapeworms, another icky
parasite. Many dogs don’t show signs of
tapeworm infection until they are very sick, so it makes a whole lot of sense
to take action to prevent tapeworms. Dogs can get tapeworms by ingesting fleas
or by eating something that died that had tapeworms.
Speaking of eating something that died….
What are you eating?!!
How many times have you said that to your pup? It’s a common
occurrence in our household. Rocco will eat ANYTHING!
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| Rocco finds all sorts of goodies to eat in the great outdoors! |
Which brings us to whipworms,
hookworms and roundworms. Dogs can
get any of these simply by eating dirt (or by eating a tempting snack of kitty
poo!). Rocco LOVES dirt… and those other
kitty delicacies he sometimes finds in our yard. And to make it even more
gross, people can get hookworms and roundworms, too. In addition to the gross factor, these
parasites present a health risk for both pets and humans so it’s important to
practice good personal hygiene and protect your pet from these parasites.
So what can you do to protect your pup against these nasty parasites?
First, schedule a vet appointment. You’ll need to get a
screening with a simple blood test to make sure your pup is free of heartworm
disease. Then, get a prescription for a
parasiticide such as Sentinel Spectrum.
Sentinel Spectrum is chewable so it’s really easy to use and
Rocco says it tastes great… like bacon! It’s also the only product that
interrupts fleas’ ability to reproduce, so it helps keeps things under control
in a big way.
Rocco’s doing great on it and it sure makes me feel better
to know he’s protected against all six of these nasty parasites when he’s out
there in the great outdoors and finding all sorts of interesting things to eat!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Virbac® Sentinel®. The opinions and text are all mine.
