Prescription for Your Brittany's Health

Although internal parasites alone may cause diarrhea in your Brittany, this condition is more often caused by bacterial or protozoan infections. For any of these conditions, your veterinarian is the man to see.

Another parasite which may plague your Brittany is the heartworm. The adult worms live in the blood of the heart or in the great vessels of the heart. This parasite is trans­mitted by the bite of a blood-sucking insect such as the flea and mosquito. Tiny "wigglers" or immature worms from an affected animal are passed by such a bite from an insect which has dined previously on such an animal. It requires nine months for the adult heartworms to mature and repro­duce. Until the adults reproduce, this pest cannot be diag­nosed since the test demands that immature worms be found under the microscope in a sample of blood. Although a more serious pest in the southeastern United States, this disease has been found in all states of the Union. The treatment should be given by a veterinarian and often must be re­peated several times to be effective. In older dogs, the treat­ment may be too much for the dog, resulting in death.

Of the external parasites, perhaps follicular or "red" mange has been most troublesome over the years. This microscopic cigar-shaped mite should be no great problem with the remedies available in this day and age. First let us consider what the disease looks like. It usually, but not al­ways, becomes noticeable on one of two areas of the body­the head or the front legs. The affected areas appear "moth­eaten" in the early stages and not very significant. As time passes (sometimes weeks) the disease may break out any­where over the body, often causing intense itching with sub­sequent scratching and biting. It is after scratching that the affected areas become red-thus the name "red" mange. Since foxes and other wild animals may and often do carry follicular mange, our Brittany spaniels can contract the dis­ease afield and not necessarily from direct contact. Preven­tion is difficult if not impossible; however, early diagnosis and treatment will assure an early cure in most cases. Your veterinarian should be consulted for diagnosis and treat­ment.

Sarcoptic mange is caused by a crablike parasite which lives and reproduces under the skin. Like follicular mange it causes itching and reddening of the skin. However, it is more easily cured than the former, a host of home remedies being effective.

Other skin diseases are perhaps not as common with Brit­tany spaniels as with many breeds; however, seasonal skin diseases are not rare. Keep the coat clean by providing clean kennel space or other housing and by bathing only when necessary. Bathing with soap and water removes natural oil from the skin, thus predisposing the dog to summer skin dis­eases. Many commercial dry baths and dry cleaners are available for your dog which are helpful in place of a soap and water bath. These preparations are useful in keeping the flea population down. Fleas seem to be important in spreading skin diseases since once an infection starts, fleas biting the dog in the infected area may carry the disease to a non-infected area.

If a soap and water bath is necessary, use a mild hand soap and follow it with a flea-killing rinse. This technique will also control lice, but should be repeated in ten days to destroy the newly-hatched eggs or nits which the first bath did not kill. Ticks are a problem with Brittanys as with any bird dog breed. Commercial tick powders and solutions are effective. Your veterinarian can help with this problem. If ticks are to be removed by force, always twist them or use a freshly-extinguished match head. Touching a tick while the match is still hot will cause him to back out. Gasoline and turpentine have the same effect.