When owners decide to take their dog to a groomer, they are making a crucial decision to trust their pet with a canine professional.
As groomers, it is our duty to be aware of all aspects of dog care, including potential for disease, and to keep our grooming environment and equipment clean, safe and sterile at all times to prevent the spread of infection.
Here, we discuss bacterial canine infections, their symptoms and what steps grooming professionals should take to keep dogs safe.
Types of infection
When it comes to canines, there are two possible types of infection – bacterial and viral. In this post, we focus on bacterial infections. For information on viral infections, check out our post: Canine viral infections explained.
Bacterial infection
Bacterial infections can live and remain in the environment far longer than a virus, which is why groomers must always keep the working environment clean and sterile.
Bacteria is known as an opportunist. While the dog’s natural immune system is resilient and will work hard against it, sometimes bacteria can still get into the body, spread quickly in a specific are and cause serious damage.
Fighting against bacteria
As we all know, dogs are not only adorable but highly intelligent, with smart physical attributes to match. This includes two stages of building up an immunity to bacteria, the first through their skin and saliva.
If a healthy dog with a robust immune system encounters bacteria, this will be destroyed through their skin and saliva. The second stage of immunity to bacteria are the cells within the dog’s body. If a dog has cut, damaged or broken skin, there is potential for harmful bacteria to enter the body.
To prevent this, the dog’s immune system sends defense cells to destroy the bacteria and stop it from entering the rest of the body.
Unfortunately, if the dog’s immune defense system is weakened, which can be caused by several factors, these cells may fail to remove the bacteria. In this case, the bacterial infection will target the place within the dog’s body where it wants to be and start to grow. At this point the signs of infection (explained below) will usually start to show.
Types of bacterial infection
Common canine bacterial infections include:
Kennel cough
This is highly infectious disease affecting a dog’s airway and is the common name given to bronchitis in dogs. It causes a dry hacking cough and is easily spread between dogs. Most kennels prefer to vaccinate against this, due to the disease constantly mutating.
Lyme disease
This is a bacterial infection spread through a tick bite. While Lyme disease can be experienced by both dogs and humans, they cannot spread between the two. Symptoms of Lyme disease in dogs include muscle pain, high temperature and extreme tiredness (lethargy).
Leishmaniosis
This is a parasitic bacterial infection most often transmitted by a mosquito. The bacteria affects either the major organs or the skin. Symptoms include increased thirst and urination, alopecia (hair loss), kidney problems, skin lesions, heart attacks and swollen lymph nodes.
Babesiosis
This type of bacterial infection is usually transmitted in a tick bite, attacking the red blood cells. It causes symptoms including blood in urine, coughing, jaundice, anaemia and extreme tiredness (lethargy).
Toxoplasmosis
This type of infection affects the dog’s digestive system and is caused by eating raw or undercooked meat. Symptoms include severe digestive issues, loose bowels, vomiting and going to the toilet excessively. Other symptoms can include fever, jaundice and shortness of breath.
Giardiasis
This bacterial infection targets the intestine and is transmitted by drinking infected water or eating the faeces (poo) of infected animals. Symptoms of Giardiasis include weight loss, vomiting, poor condition and diarrhoea.
Campylobacter
A digestive system-based bacteria, Campylobacter is transmitted through handling or eating raw meat. A dog carrying this type of infection within his digestive system can be infectious without showing any symptoms. If transmitted to a human, the bacteria can cause miscarriages in pregnant women.
Leptospirosis
Leptospirosis is transmitted through rodent urine entering a dog’s broken skin. If a dog swims or comes into contact with infected water, the bacteria can enter the body via a small skin break and spread rapidly. Symptoms of Leptospirosis include shock, dehydration, diarrhoea and collapse. Other symptoms can include kidney and liver problems, flu-like symptoms and jaundice.
Keeping your dog safe
We as groomers have a duty of care to keep your dog and others safe and preventing the spread of unwanted and harmful infections. We do this by:
• Keeping our working environment clean and sterile
• Keeping our grooming equipment clean and sterile
• Ensuring we are vigilant and look out for any symptoms of potential infections and alert the owner as soon as possible
• Canceling/rearranging appointments to protect other dogs if we feel a dog has a contagious infection
Find out more
If you would like more about canine bacterial infections, their symptoms or more advice, please contact us today.
Our team of friendly expert dog professionals are on the end of the phone and more than happy to provide any insight or advice you might need.
