Dog Lice

[responsiblek9]

Dog Lice

(http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/paraav/images/lab9-35l.jpg)

http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/paraav/images/lab9-35l.jpg picture if image link does not work

http://www.seefido.com/html/dog_lice.htm
Have you discovered any ant-like animal - but that doesn't jump - on your dog? They are, most probably, dog lice. When there are many, lice can do a lot of harm to the dogs, as they cause anemia.
 
 
Lice only live on dogs whereas fleas can temporarily jump onto humans. In case of a lice infestation, an insecticide bath is recommended, which will be repeated as many times as you veterinarian indicates you to do so, as their eggs, stuck to the hair, are not easily removed by most products on the market. Luckily though, lice are not common nowadays amongst well-cared dogs.

Suggestion: You can ask your veterinarian to give you a preparation which acts internally. The dog will then, so to speak, remain impregnated and, when the louse bites, it will absorb a mortal toxic substance. That way your dog?s torturers will, slowly but surely, go dying.

[responsiblek9]

http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wolf.lice

Lice and Their Effects on Wild Canids
Lice are distributed worldwide but are very host-specific (Turner 1971). The biting dog louse (Order Mallophaga) is an ectoparasite believed to live only on dogs, wolves, and coyotes. These lice spend their entire life cycle within 1-2 mm of the skin surface of the host. Eggs (or nits) are cemented to hair shafts and hatch in 1-3 weeks. Their life cycle takes 3-4 weeks and may result in 11-14 generations per year (Turner 1971). Nymphs are smaller but similar to adults, which grow to 1-3 mm in length. Lice feed on skin debris, particles of hair, sebaceous secretions from the skin, and blood on the surface of the skin. Biting lice irritate the skin of their hosts by their movement and chewing. They are generally not a problem in healthy animals, and heavy infestations are probably due to poor condition of the host rather than the cause of it (Turner 1971).

The most obvious effect of lice on wolves and coyotes has been to their pelts. Pelts of wolves and coyotes infested heavily with lice are often in extremely poor condition, exhibiting various degrees of damage. In moderate cases guard hairs are broken at 10-20 mm lengths and underfur is matted by sebum that exudes from the skin because of the irritation by lice. This creates a smell described as a mix between rotting flesh and earwax. The irritation causes frequent scratching and rubbing. Hair damage and loss is greatest on the back between the shoulder blades and in the groin area. In extreme cases, pelt damage covers much of the body trunk and exposes the skin surface to the elements, causing skin to turn gray. Pups are usually affected most. The condition of louse-infested pelts makes many of them almost worthless to trappers and furbuyers, particularly later in winter when infestations intensify.

[Stefani]

*shivers*  bugs...