Ringworm is an extremely contagious condition, and can be transmitted to people and pets alike if left untreated. The key symptom of ringworm in puppies is constant licking or scratching, as well as patchy hair loss in a circular pattern. Ringworm is not actually a worm, but a fungus.
The transmission happens through skin to skin contact between infected parties. Most commonly puppies suffer from the condition for some reason, but the condition can also be transmitted to older dogs.
The fungus spores can live in carpets and bedding for a long time, making it easy to keep passing the infection back and forth.
The incubation period for symptoms to begin is 10-12 days, meaning it will take that long for lesions to crop up on your pet. You may be unsure exactly what is happening with your puppy when you begin to see lesions on your dog.
The lesions can differ in appearance. Some of them may be raised, while other may not be. Please take your dog to a vet so that he can make a diagnosis.
There are a few tests used to diagnose ringworm--the first is a woods lamp test. It is essentially a black light which will illuminate the fungal spores on your dog's fur and give a definitive diagnosis.
Another option is scraping one of the lesions off. This is not painful, so don't worry. Your vet will carefully scrape some cells off the lesion and will send them to be evaluated in a laboratory. They can then determine whether these are ringworm or not.
And last but not least: your vet might decide to take a hair sample. He will then look at it under a microscope to see if he can see fungal spores.
Summing up, ringworm is a nasty condition and you will want to know when you are dealing with it. Fortunately, it is fairly easy to diagnose by your vet. So have him check your dog out, so that you can then have the treatment started.
The transmission happens through skin to skin contact between infected parties. Most commonly puppies suffer from the condition for some reason, but the condition can also be transmitted to older dogs.
The fungus spores can live in carpets and bedding for a long time, making it easy to keep passing the infection back and forth.
The incubation period for symptoms to begin is 10-12 days, meaning it will take that long for lesions to crop up on your pet. You may be unsure exactly what is happening with your puppy when you begin to see lesions on your dog.
The lesions can differ in appearance. Some of them may be raised, while other may not be. Please take your dog to a vet so that he can make a diagnosis.
There are a few tests used to diagnose ringworm--the first is a woods lamp test. It is essentially a black light which will illuminate the fungal spores on your dog's fur and give a definitive diagnosis.
Another option is scraping one of the lesions off. This is not painful, so don't worry. Your vet will carefully scrape some cells off the lesion and will send them to be evaluated in a laboratory. They can then determine whether these are ringworm or not.
And last but not least: your vet might decide to take a hair sample. He will then look at it under a microscope to see if he can see fungal spores.
Summing up, ringworm is a nasty condition and you will want to know when you are dealing with it. Fortunately, it is fairly easy to diagnose by your vet. So have him check your dog out, so that you can then have the treatment started.
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