Canine Fungi Infection
Is dangerous because of your dog’s likely hood of coming into contact with fungi



Canine fungi infection is very different than bacterial or viral infections, but unlike feline infections, they can be very serious threats to your dog.

Most cases of the same infections in cats are mild to moderately severe, but the infections in dogs can affect your pet’s bones, eyes, and even their brain.

In severe cases they can be fatal.

CANINE FUNGI INFECTION

Dogs by nature are more likely to come in contact with fungus as it is found almost everywhere in their environment and they are much more inquisitive than cats.

If a dogs immune system is not at full strength these forms of infections can attack very quickly.

Fungus cannot make their own food sources; they must get their food from absorbing it from whatever they are growing on.

Fungi reproduce by four different processes, but the most dangerous form for your dog will be the fragmentation form.

this is very dangerous as it splinters off and starts to grow on something else.

Once they fragment and attach to your dog, they start to secrete digestive enzymes and in this process they take several nutrients out of your dog’s body.

There are several anti-fungal treatments available, but they are not nearly as effective for dogs as cats.

They are also not as effective as antibacterial drugs because it is very hard to find medical agents that kill the anti-fungal cells and leave your dog’s cells alone.

However, it is also very difficult because fugal cells are much closer in their structures to the cells of dogs than are bacteria cells.

What compounds this matter even further with canine fungi infections is that those that do work are only successful at stopping the fungi from spreading further.

However, they do not kill the fungi infection.

The drugs that are often used for very serious infections can also have some potentially toxic and deadly side effects for you dog.

Here are some examples of Canine fungi infection:

ASPERGILLOSIS

There are two types of this canine fungi infection, nasal and disseminated.

How severely it affects your dog will depend entirely on whether it stays in just their naval cavity or if it becomes disseminated.

Disseminated means that it escapes from the nasal cavity and starts to grow and spread throughout your dog’s entire body.

The nasal form of this infection is very common for any breed of dog that has a large or medium nasal structure.

Canaan dogsThe best defense against canine fungi infection is garlic supplements

With the nasal form of this infection your dog’s nose can become ulcerated and bleed very easily as a result.

The symptoms will be a slight discharge to start with, followed by nosebleeds that will be both bloody and well as full of pus.

This form of the infection is easy to treat if you catch it and medicate it early.

If not caught or ignored and it continues to spread, large breeds of dogs become severely damaged if they survive at all, it can be that serious.

The symptoms that will follow if it has spread will be a very rapid loss of weight.

What has occurred is that this infection has spread to the respiratory system, and once there, it has spread to the bloodstream. It is now free to attack everywhere in your pet.

The next sets of symptoms are extreme weakness, severe back pains, and if very serious, it will paralyze them. At this point the chance of survival is not good.

There are treatments, but only for the initial symptoms as there is no treatment once it is in your dog’s bloodstream.

This form of fungus is found almost everywhere in the environment. 

BLASTOMYCOSIS

This canine fungi infection is found in sandy acidic soil that is close to water, especially rivers or lakes.

It is found primarily in the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio River valleys, as well as most of the areas in Canada by water.

These fungi can affect people, but it strikes dogs at a ten to one ratio.

Infection form this fungi will come from inhaling the spores of the fungus.

It will attack your dog’s skin, eyes, bones, lymph nodes, testes, and their brain.

It is a very serious systemic infection and it can be turn fatal very quickly if not properly diagnosed and treated very quickly.

The symptoms will start out as a loss of appetite, followed by a fever, loss of weight, coughing, several eye problems, and lameness.

It is also a tricky infection in that it will look like it has faded, only to reoccur more viciously.

In most all cases, severe or mild, your dog will also develop skin lesions. When severe, they turn into lung lesions. You will know the sound when you hear it.

It can also cause eye lesions that could develop into hemorrhaging as well cause retinal detachment.

There are fungal treatments for this infection but in order for them to be successful, they must be administered as early as possible to prevent it from spreading.

HISTOPLASMOSIS

This canine fungi infection is found in the soil and your dog is exposed from inhaling the spores.

It is found in areas that are rich in both bird and rat droppings and has been diagnosed in 31 states.

It can also be found in potting soil or dirt that may be brought in from infected areas. It is not nearly as severe, but can cause respiratory and intestinal problems in your dog.

The symptoms with this canine fungi infection will all depend on the amount of spores that have been inhaled. Most all symptoms will start in the lungs.

As the infection grows it will start to replicate itself and may spread to the lymph nodes, the intestinal tract, the eyes, and in severe cases, the spleen or the liver.

Weight loss, fevers, and depression will usually follow the first symptoms, but in most cases your dog’s immune system can beat this infection. If not, they usually respond to anti-fungal treatments.

There are other forms of canine fungi infections such as ringworm and yeast infections in several parts of the skin, especially the ears, but these are the most severe.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES YOU CAN TAKE

Building your dog’s immune systems with supplements is by far and away the best method of protecting them, but there is one natural herb that is extremely effective with dogs and fungi infections.

Garlic has very high sulfur content, and besides excreting your dog’s skin of fleas, ticks, mites and other insects, it also helps to attack fungi microbes.

It can be used topically on any type of fungi infection, but it is also a very potent expectorant for your dog’s lungs.

Garlic supplements can help to fight the cells of fungi where anti-fungal drugs cannot.

It also helps in the production of white blood cells in your dog and this will naturally strengthen your dog’s resistance to any type of infection, including fungus.

Summary

Canine fungi infection surrounds your dog in almost any venue that they live in. It is not a matter of if, but rather a matter of when your dog will be infected.

Building their immune system with supplements, especially garlic, can prevent their systems from ever being over taken by several different types of canine fungi infection.

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