A Word About Dewormers

What is Deworming In Dogs?

Deworming is an important part of keeping your dog looking and feeling healthy.

It is an important procedure for young puppies or a new dog being brought into a household to eliminate the presence of any worms.

Parasites pose a significant threat to a dog’s health, and certain types such as roundworms can easily be transferred to human family members as well.

How Often Should Dogs be Dewormed?

It’s recommended that all puppies undergo deworming treatments every two weeks until they are twelve weeks.

They should then receive treatments to eliminate and prevent the parasites once a month until they are six months.

After six months, an adult dog should have a stool sample checked and then follow the advice of their veterinarian.

What Type Of Worms Do Dogs Get?

The most common types of worms found in dogs and puppies are:

Roundworms

There are two species of roundworm which can affect dogs, toxocara canis and toxascaris leonin.

Both species are long, white and spaghetti-like in appearance and absorb nutrients from the infected dog.

Hookworms

Hookworms are short, blood-sucking parasites with teeth.

They can be fatal in young puppies, due to the number of nutrients they strip from the dog.

Whipworms

Whipworms live in the large intestine and don’t extract as many nutrients as other types of worms.

Tapeworms

Tapeworms live in the small intestine, grabbing on to its wall with six tiny rows of teeth to absorb nutrients as food is digested.

They are long and flat in appearance.

When excreted, the worm normally splits into segments which look like small grains of rice.

Common signs that a dog or puppy has worms are:

Visible worms or eggs in stool:

Sometimes you can actually see parasites in a dog’s poop such as roundworms, however, not all kinds of worms are visible to the naked eye.

Scratching or rubbing of butt on the ground or against furniture:

If your dog shows signs of itchiness around the butt and they are scooting or licking more than normal, it may be irritated by worms in the area.

However, this could also be due to issues with the dog’s anal glands.

Vomiting with visible worms:

If your dog has worms, you may also see them in your dog’s vomit.

Bloated stomach or belly:

Often puppies will be infected with worms which will cause their stomach to be bloated.

Weakness, increased appetite, constant hunger or weight loss:

If your dog has an overload of worms, the worms are stealing your dog’s nutrition.

Your dog may be weak or always hungry, and in severe cases, maybe losing weight.

Diarrhea:

Diarrhea can be a sign of many conditions but it could also signify worms.

None:

Some dogs will not experience any symptoms when they have worms that’s why a yearly fecal check should be done on all dogs.

Treating a worm infestation

Treating worms in dogs will depend on what type of parasites that they have.

Treatment can be a pill, paste or liquid.

The dose will vary based on the medication and infestation

How Do Worming Treatments Work?

The way worming treatments work is to kill existing worms in your dog’s system.

To be able to ensure the treatment is being used correctly it’s important to determine the correct dosage based on your dog’s weight.

A veterinary recommendation is to dose pets every three months, except in cases of increased infection risk.

How to Avoid Worms In Dogs

Parasite infestations can’t always be avoided.

Dogs can be exposed to worm infections from a lot of different ways such as, from soil infested with parasite eggs, contact with an infected dog’s feces and, infected fleas, and mosquitos.

Maintaining a dog’s general health by making sure that they get a nutritious diet and plenty of exercises will also help keep a dog resilient against internal parasites.

Speak to your vet to find out the best treatment for your pet.