Spotting A Ringworm Dog
Ringworm is a fungus and is extremely contagious. Infected dogs with ringworm can infect other types of animals and people. It is easily passed from people to pet or pet to people. A ringworm dog is treatable. Knowing the signs and symptoms is extremely important in sharing your home and surroundings with animals and friends.
How do you spot a ringworm dog? This fungus lives in hair follicles resulting in hair being broken off. Thereby, ringworm is seen through patches of missing hair in dogs. The skin with the missing hair looks circular with raised edges and may have a pale spot in the center. The skin may also become red, scaly or crusty and becomes itchy to uncomfortable for the dog. The dog than begins itching the area spreading their infection to other parts of their own body. In people, ringworm is a red circular rash with healthy skin in the center. Here again, itching the rash area in people will result in spreading as well. Ringworm also can be spread through bedding and blankets in both dogs and people.
What should I do if I believe my dog has ringworm? Go to your vet immediately. The vet will diagnose the fungus by taking a scraping of the skin and testing it. The test results may take between one and two weeks. Also, your vet may use a special ultraviolet light to look at the rash area. There is a gestation period of ten days between exposure and occurrence. The vet will suggest the best treatment for your ringworm dog. There are different methods of treatment available for dog ringworm. The treatment is easy to do and requires persistence. Staying on top of what needs to be done at home, with family and dog is important. This will remedy the situation fairly quickly. If not, re-infestation can occur at anytime.
First, you and your dog should start the recommended treatment by your vet. The vet may prescribe a shampoo, cream or even medication. If medication is required, the medication should be given daily as instructed by your vet. Creams are an alternative, but are not usually successful due to the ease of your dog’s rubbing and or licking the cream away. The other alternative is using an antifungal shampoo. Usually more than one shampoo treatment will be required to rid your dog’s ringworm situation. Shampooing will remove fungus spores from the hair. The shampooing treatment over all parts of the dog’s body will help in eliminating the upcoming fungus spores as well.
Now, it is also important to treat your home for ringworm. A must do is wash the dog’s bedding with hot water and bleach everyday. Don’t become infected yourself, avoid direct contact with your ringworn dog. If you have more than one pet, treat them all as well. Shampooing the other pets without ringworm will not harm them, Once the symptoms subside in your dog, get the vet to retest your dog’s hair to verify that the fungus has been terminated.
